Chapter 1534: Team Members! Nine-Star War General!

Can all needs be satisfied?

Xu Jingming raised his sword-like eyebrows.

The tone of this Xiaoyao Tian is truly bold.

But then again.

On the extraterrestrial battlefield, danger lurks everywhere; every mission could be a final farewell.

These warriors fight for survival, accumulating rich military merits and wealth.

Rather than taking these worldly possessions to the grave, they might as well enjoy the moment.

Thus, in material pleasures, they spend lavishly, without hesitation.

This has given rise to luxurious venues within the planetary fortress that can satisfy all kinds of demands.

Before he could speak, a booming voice came from the right side of the hall:

"Brother Xu! Over here!"

Xu Jingming turned toward the voice.

There stood Du Ke's towering figure beside a window-side booth, waving vigorously.

He walked over quickly.

This booth had an excellent location, right next to a massive floor-to-ceiling viewing window.

Outside the window lay the dazzling night view of the planetary fortress and the distant, boundless expanse of stars.

Four people were already seated in the booth.

Besides Du Ke, there was Lai Er, whom Xu Jingming had met before.

She had changed out of her silver training suit and now wore a simple yet form-fitting dark red long dress.

Her high ponytail remained neat as ever, and she watched Xu Jingming with keen interest.

The other two were a man and a woman.

The man looked around thirty, with a muscular build, a square face, and a kind, honest expression.

He wore a plain gray battle robe and smiled warmly as he nodded to Xu Jingming.

The woman was entirely different.

She wore a sleek black leather bodysuit that accentuated her slender yet powerful frame.

Her long black hair fell to her shoulders, slightly curled at the ends.

Her features were exquisitely refined, her skin Bai Xi, her nose high and straight, her lips a natural pale pink.

Yet her entire face was cloaked in an unmelting frost, her gaze cold and distant.

Even as Xu Jingming approached, she merely lifted her eyes slightly and glanced at him.

That gaze was calm and unrippled, as if viewing an insignificant object, then she lowered her eyes again.

She did not utter a single word the entire time.

"Come on, come on, Brother Xu, sit down!"

Du Ke enthusiastically pulled Xu Jingming into a seat, then introduced everyone one by one.

He first pointed to Lai Er:

"Lai Er, you've met before.

Our team's secondary attacker, expert in fire primordial source, straightforward personality."

Lai Er turned his head, raised his wine cup to Xu Jingming, and smiled slightly:

"We're teammates now—look forward to your guidance."

"New here, please give me your advice," Xu Jingming replied humbly.

Du Ke then pointed to the kind-faced man:

"This is Shi Shan, our team's defensive core.

Specializes in earth and life primordial sources, tough skin and thick flesh, can take a beating."

Shi Shan grinned warmly, his voice deep and resonant:

"Brother Xu, the captain sang your praises to the skies—let's fight side by side!"

Xu Jingming sensed his sincerity and smiled back: "Alright."

Finally, Du Ke turned to the black-clad woman and introduced her:

"This is You Yue, our team's assassin and scout, specializing in darkness and space primordial sources."

In response to the captain's introduction, You Yue merely glanced at Xu Jingming.

Then she turned her gaze away without saying a word.

The atmosphere grew momentarily silent.

Du Ke quickly laughed it off and explained to Xu Jingming:

"Don't mind her, Brother Xu—You Yue's just like this.

Born quiet, treats everyone the same, not targeting you."

"I understand."

Xu Jingming nodded.

He never expected to be liked or approved of by everyone.

Human nature is complex; upon first meeting, some are warm, others cold—it's perfectly normal.

He joined the Wildfire Team to quickly acclimate to the extraterrestrial battlefield.

As for teammates' personal likes or dislikes,

as long as they don't interfere with mission coordination or team survival, he didn't care about such trivial matters.

"Alright, everyone's here!"

Seeing the atmosphere ease, Duke let out a hearty laugh and raised the wine cup already prepared on the table.

"This meal is both to welcome Brother Xu and to mark our Wildfire Squad's first gathering with our new lineup!"

"Welcome, Xu Jingming, to officially join our Wildfire Squad!"

"From now on, we're brothers who can trust each other with our backs!"

"Bottoms up!"

Lyer and Shishan also raised their cups with smiles.

Only You Yue, even as she raised her cup, remained as cold and icy as a Bingshan woman.

"Bottoms up."

Xu Jingming paid it no mind.

He raised his cup and lightly clinked it with theirs.

After draining his cup, Duke grinned and said:

"Now that Brother Xu has officially joined our squad, it's time to lay out the essentials."

Xu Jingming set down his cup and listened intently.

"First, our squad's strength composition."

Duke thumped his muscular chest, his voice booming:

"I, Duke, are from the Beastkin race.

Cosmic Peak realm, main cultivation path: Metal and Destruction Primordial Sources.

My rating on the Outer Domain battlefield is Two-Star Warlord."

He then pointed to You Yue, still expressionless beside him:

"You Yue, also Cosmic Peak, rated One-Star Warlord."

"As for Shishan and Lyer."

Duke continued, "They're both Cosmic Ninth Stage, like you — classified as 'Elite Warriors.'

But even among Elite Warriors, they're top-tier.

They've accumulated plenty of military merit; with a few more high-difficulty missions, they'll likely reach the threshold of One-Star Warlord."

"Follow the captain, and military merit piles up fast."

Shishan nodded earnestly.

"Warlord? What rank is that?" Xu Jingming looked puzzled.

"Warlord is a rank above Warrior."

Duke explained with a smile, "On the Outer Domain battlefield, Warlords enjoy far better benefits than Warriors.

You get discounts on all equipment and potions.

But to advance from Warrior to Warlord, you must earn military merit alone.

And the amount required is enormous.

Also, Warlords have nine ranks, from One-Star to Nine-Star.

Most Cosmic Peaks are at the One-Star Warlord level.

To go higher, the military merit needed becomes astronomical."

"I see."

Xu Jingming suddenly understood, then asked curiously:

"What rank is my Senior Lin?"

"Senior Lin? She's incredibly strong."

Lyer took over, her voice brimming with admiration:

"She's been at Outpost 102 for just over four hundred years, yet her military merit has already reached Nine-Star Warlord."

"Outpost 102 has over a hundred thousand Cosmic-stage warriors!

There are plenty of Warlords — One-Star and Two-Star are common, Three-Star and Four-Star are the backbone.

Five-Star and Six-Star are already leaders of top battalions or elite aces.

Seven-Star and Eight-Star? Rare as phoenix feathers!

And Nine-Star..."

Duke extended his index finger, emphasizing, "Only our commander — one and only!"

Lyer added quickly, her tone laced with disdain for rivals:

"You know Jiao from the Blood Hammer Battalion? That guy from yesterday?

So arrogant — he's just an Eight-Star Warlord!

Before our commander, he's always been one star short!

That one star has crushed him for centuries — he can never turn things around!

She gave a light laugh, "That's why he always acts like he's swallowed gunpowder every time he sees us.

Can't match us in strength, so he tries to save face with words."

"Senior Jiao... he's actually quite strong too."

Shishan chimed in earnestly.

"I know."

Lyer rolled her eyes at him: "But compared to our commander, he's just not the same!"

"Of course — Nine-Star Warlord isn't just about accumulating military merit."

Du Ke also smiled and said, "Put it this way, one who reaches the Nine-Star War General rank of the Cosmic Tier.

Even against ordinary Immortal Tier warriors, one can hold their own!"

After he finished speaking, Xu Jingming was not overly astonished.

Sister Ye Li, as an Immortal Tier warrior, can fight across tiers against a Dominator Tier.

Lin Qianxue is also his sister, and for a Cosmic Tier to possess Immortal Tier combat power is normal.

"I wonder at what level I'll finally gain Immortal Tier combat power."

Xu Jingming silently looked forward to it in his heart.

Judging by the rate at which he accumulates Source Points on the Outer Realm battlefield, this day shouldn't be far off.