Chapter 1530: Hundred Warbands Ranking Battle! Boost the Spirit Cultivation Art!

As Jior and his group walked far away, the man from Ashen Warband who carried twin blades couldn't help cursing:

"Pfft! What a piece of trash!"

"Boss, Jior's getting more and more insolent!"

"Why don't we find an opportunity to beat him up outside the battlefield?"

Another squad member chimed in:

"Yeah, Boss! The Outer Battlefield is huge—no one would notice."

But Lin Qianxue shook her head.

She turned to the squad members, her pale golden eyes gleaming with calm resolve:

"The Planetary Fortress's military law is strict—do you think the surveillance system is just for show?"

If you really dare to lay a hand on him, Jior will report you to the Military Tribunal by tomorrow."

Then our warband's points will be stripped, our ranking will plummet, and all the resources we've accumulated over the years will be wasted."

Is it worth it for a moment of revenge?"

Hearing this, several squad members, though resentful,

knew their boss was right, and fell silent in frustration.

"Sister, who is Jior?"

Xu Jingming, who had been watching silently until now, finally spoke up.

"He's Jior, leader of the Blood Hammer Warband, a Cosmic Apex."

"He specializes in the Fire Primordial Source, and has a fiery temper."

Before Lin Qianxue could answer, the female squad member with the high ponytail interrupted.

She paused, her tone laced with disdain:

"For the past few decades, our boss has been vying with him for first place in the Hundred Warbands Ranking."

We're first; he's second."

He can't beat us, yet he won't swallow his pride."

Over time, they've become mortal enemies—every time they meet, he sneers and mocks us."

"Hundred Warbands Ranking?" Xu Jingming frowned in confusion.

"The Hundred Warbands Ranking Battle is the grand warband competition of the Planetary Fortress, held once every hundred years."

The only factor determining warband rankings is the total military merit of the entire warband."

Lin Qianxue explained softly, "The 102nd Planetary Fortress has a total of 124 warbands."

Currently, our Ashen Warband ranks first; the Blood Hammer Warband ranks second."

But Blood Hammer's military merit is tightly clung to—they could overtake us at any moment."

The number-one warband!

Xu Jingming's heart trembled.

No wonder—Sister, even here in the Outer Battlefield, the warband you lead is the best."

"Jior comes from the God-Slaying Martial Temple, a core member."

That's why he can match our boss—otherwise, any other Cosmic Apex would've been crushed long ago."

The female squad member with the high ponytail smiled sweetly.

"I see." Xu Jingming suddenly understood.

"Don't mind Jior—on the Outer Battlefield, strength speaks. No amount of verbal wit matters."

Lin Qianxue turned and continued walking north: "Let's go—back to the warband base first."

"Yes." Xu Jingming followed.

The group passed through wide alloy streets, traversing several zones.

There was the Equipment Resupply Zone, lined with all kinds of battle armors, weapons, and potions, many warriors shopping.

There was the Mission Posting Hall, where a hundred-meter-tall giant holographic screen rolled endless mission details.

From simple patrol and reconnaissance to high-difficulty extermination of beast nests, rewards ranged from hundreds to hundreds of thousands of military merit.

There was also the Training Zone, where through transparent energy shields, warriors could be seen battling fiercely inside, continuous thunderous roars echoing.

Xu Jingming observed it all silently, his understanding of the Outer Battlefield gradually sharpening.

Here, there was no warmth—only the naked law of the jungle.

Strength, military merit, ranking—that was everything.

After about twenty minutes, the group arrived before a vast metallic building.

The structure was prismatic, about three hundred meters tall, its surface clad in dark-silver alloy armor.

Above the main entrance floated three burning virtual characters: "Ashen Warband," majestic and imposing.

"We're here."

Lin Qianxue stopped. "This is our warband's base."

The basement level holds the equipment and potion storage; the first floor is the conference hall; floors above are members' dormitories."

Your room is on the seventeenth floor—already arranged."

She looked at Xu Jingming, her tone unusually gentle:

"You've come all the way from the Academy—you must be tired. Rest today."

Get your state in order; tomorrow at nine a. m., meet me in the Virtual Universe."

"Understood." Xu Jingming nodded.

Lin Qianxue hadn't said—

But recruiting him as a Universe Rank One member into the battle squad will surely bring immense pressure, and there are likely many eyes watching within the squad.

He must perform brilliantly in tomorrow's strength test.

After Lin Qianxue left, Xu Jingming quickly ascended to the seventeenth floor and arrived at his room.

The room is about 150 square meters.

It has a living room, a bedroom, and a small training room.

Although it cannot compare to the living conditions at Star Dome Academy, it is sufficient.

Xu Jingming walked straight to the massive floor-to-ceiling window at the end of the living room.

Outside the window, the full panorama of the planetary fortress spread before him.

Endless metallic buildings extended like a steel forest to the horizon.

On high-orbit tracks, massive defense platforms rotated slowly, their pale blue energy shields glinting with cold light under the star's illumination.

Farther out, along the fortress's edge, the outlines of energy artillery platforms were faintly visible, their muzzles pointed toward the deep void.

"This is the Outer Battlefield," Xu Jingming murmured to himself.

Cold and deadly—that was his first impression of the Outer Battlefield.

But then again, a battlefield is meant to be this way.

"Entering the Outer Battlefield, danger may arise at any moment.

Although I have Sister Jie looking after me right away, I cannot let my own strength lag behind.

During the over one month of cosmic travel, I've already thoroughly studied the Ninefold Refining Spirit Art.

I should be ready to start allocating points."

Xu Jingming sat cross-legged on the floor, eyes half-closed.

His consciousness sank into the system interface, and after a brief sensation, he indeed detected signs of available points to allocate.

"As expected."

Xu Jingming's mind shifted, locking onto the '+' symbol after the Ninefold Refining Spirit Art, and slammed down!

Source Points - 200 million!

Ninefold Refining Spirit Art → Ninefold Refining Spirit Art, First Transformation!

In an instant, an unprecedented mental storm erupted within his consciousness sea!

Hum—

The Iceheart Crown surfaced autonomously, its ice-blue radiance blazing fiercely, firmly guarding the core of his consciousness sea.

Yet even so, Xu Jingming felt as if his soul had been cast into a furnace!

Countless threads of mental energy were forcibly extracted, restructured, and refined!

The First Transformation requires the mental energy to be refined nine times!

Each refinement is like tearing apart the soul and reshaping it anew!

"Ugh—"

Xu Jingming grunted, veins bulging on his forehead, sweat instantly soaking through his battle suit.

But he clenched his teeth tightly, enduring the tearing agony without yielding.

After what felt like an eternity, the storm gradually subsided.

Within his consciousness sea, the mental energy that had once drifted like mist now solidified several times over!

It transformed into a vast, pale golden sea of mental energy.

Waves surged violently, each droplet of 'sea' brimming with astonishing energy.

Xu Jingming slowly opened his eyes.

A flash of pale golden light vanished from his pupils; the world before him seemed washed clean, crystal clear.

The metallic patterns on the walls, the dust motes floating in the air, the faint vibrations of patrol craft engines kilometers outside the window...

Every detail was laid bare before him!

【Mental】: 0.1 billion Hertz (+)

"My mental energy surged by 400 billion!"

Xu Jingming's heart trembled, "No wonder I felt such a drastic change!"

He subtly willed his mind, and a strand of pitch-black Lei Ting materialized in his palm.

Crack—

The electric arcs leapt, no longer wild and uncontrollable as before.

Instead, they obeyed his will effortlessly, shifting shape at his command.

Sometimes coalescing into a spear, sometimes forming a shield, sometimes dispersing into a net of lightning.

"My control precision over the Annihilation Doushen Shenlei has also improved dramatically."

Xu Jingming's eyes gleamed with sharp light.

These are only the changes visible now.

Only in battle can the benefits of the mental energy surge be most directly felt.

In short, the cultivation of the Refining Spirit Art has succeeded—his strength has increased by a great deal.