Chapter 1628: SSS-Rank Mandatory Mission! Just Make an Egg!

"Then let's head back to the planetary fortress first."

Xu Jingming mused.

The Hundred Clans Ranking War is about to end; we really should return once.

"Alright." Lin Qianxue also felt a hint of anticipation.

With the military merits they've accumulated, they can lead the Ember Warband to first place.

With the warband's rewards, she can attempt to break through to the Immortal Stage.

"Leaving so soon?"

Duncan sighed with regret, but quickly smiled and said:

"Then let's part ways for now—if you ever come to the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance,

be sure to find me. I'll take you out for a proper tour!"

"Of course." Xu Jingming smiled in reply.

On the other side, Yin Hongyu, clad in a crimson battle suit with a graceful figure, walked over gracefully.

Her alluring peach-blossom eyes swept once over Xu Jingming and Lin Qianxue.

Especially pausing slightly on Lin Qianxue's exquisitely beautiful face, now subtly softened with feminine charm.

A flicker of understanding and faint complexity passed through her eyes.

Then she smiled, her voice sweet and intoxicating:

"Little Brother Jingming, Lady Lin.

After this parting, I wonder when we'll meet again.

Wishing you a safe journey—next time we meet, you must treat your sister to a drink, okay~"

"Until next time." Xu Jingming nodded to her.

Lin Qianxue also gave a slight bow in response.

Without another word, she lightly waved her jade hand.

A sleek, entirely silver-white starship materialized out of thin air, hovering low above the ground.

The hatch opened.

Xu Jingming, Lin Qianxue, and the obedient Hive Queen Haley behind them stepped aboard in sequence.

Hum—

The ship's engines emitted a deep roar, its rear thrusters glowing with brilliant blue light.

The next instant, the silver-white starship shot upward like a streak of light.

It swiftly vanished into the azure sky of Aries Star.

On the square, Duncan, Yin Hongyu, Ross, and others gazed up at the direction where the ship had disappeared.

Their expressions varied, but most carried a sense of reflection.

"Brother Xu really cleaned up this time—

heritage, military merits, beauties, servants… he got it all."

Duncan rubbed his chin, murmuring in awe.

Yin Hongyu stared at the empty sky, now devoid of any trace.

A faint, almost imperceptible melancholy crossed her alluring face as she sighed silently.

Ross of the God-Slaying Martial Hall remained silent.

The special lifeform, the three-eyed race, was understandable—they were naturally powerful.

But no one expected that the Eternal Star Alliance had produced such a freak.

He had a feeling.

Sweeping the Four Races was merely the beginning.

Xu Jingming's name would soon echo throughout the entire universe.

The starship sailed steadily through the vast cosmos, starlight streaming past the windows like flowing sand.

Inside the cabin, Xu Jingming and Lin Qianxue both chose to split a thread of their consciousness to log into the Virtual Universe.

Because Lin Qianxue chose to follow Xu Jingming's login,

their figures simultaneously appeared in Room One of Daylight Island in the Virtual Universe.

The moment they appeared,

Vera, the virtual sprite of the succubus little girl, materialized beside them and reminded:

"Master, you have 231 unread messages and 134 video call requests unattended."

Vera, whose perception had been blocked, was much more obedient and showed great respect.

Meanwhile, Xu Jingming's gaze swept across the virtual interface before him.

Unread messages and call requests were densely packed.

He had already told the women of Blue Star about entering the secret realm.

So most of these messages came from fellow students in the Talent War.

Like Yan Ji, Beth, Carlos, and others.

"Who are they?" A cool yet slightly tender voice came from his side.

Lin Qianxue leaned closer, her pale golden eyes curiously glancing at the light screen.

"Some friends from the Talent War," Xu Jingming briefly explained.

"Talent War?" Lin Qianxue paused slightly, then understood.

Of course—this little junior brother had entered the Eternal Star Alliance years ago as the champion of the Talent War.

Immediately, a wry smile curved at the corner of her lips:

"Your friends are probably still stuck in the Low Stellar Realm, aren't they?"

"Yet you've reached the peak of the cosmos, your combat power nearing Eternal Stage Six..."

"This gap is simply absurd."

Xu Jingming smiled but said nothing.

A life boosted by cheats naturally differs from that of a prodigy who advances step by step.

At that moment, Vera suddenly spoke again, sounding surprised:

"Huh? There's still one pending task notification?"

Let me check... hmm?

It's an SSS-tier high-risk task. Status: 'Accepted, Pending Execution.'"

"SSS-tier task? Where did this come from?"

Xu Jingming frowned.

He didn't recall accepting any task before entering the secret realm.

"The task was issued half a year ago."

Vera quickly pulled up the records and explained:

"According to academy regulations, if the task publisher holds a Mentor-level authorization,

and if the student fails to reject the task for a full month, the system automatically accepts it."

"No rejection means automatic acceptance? That's allowed?"

Half a year ago, Xu Jingming was still inside the Starfall Secret Realm—how could he have rejected it in the Virtual Cosmos?

Lin Qianxue beside him also furrowed her brows and said:

"Unless the student's accumulated task failures hit the red line,

or they've been in a prolonged task-free state, the academy rarely forces assignments."

"You've been in the academy less than ten years—you couldn't possibly have triggered these conditions."

She paused, her eyes suddenly flashing with cold light:

"Unless someone with Mentor-level authorization deliberately bypassed standard procedures and assigned it directly to you!"

"Who issued this task?"

Xu Jingming immediately thought of one person, yet still asked.

"It's Colt," Vera replied after checking.

"I knew it was him."

A cold glint flashed in Xu Jingming's eyes.

The battles and trials in the Outer Domains over the past two years had nearly made him forget there was still such a persistent rat in the academy.

Last time, he arranged for a Cosmic-stage assassin to ambush Eva—and failed.

Now he's resurfacing again, using such despicable tactics to scheme against him.

"Colt? The personal disciple of the Time Sovereign?"

Lin Qianxue's exquisite face instantly froze over with ice.

She knew this man well.

As another disciple of the Supreme Sovereign, Colt had failed the Frost Crown Sovereign's trial back then

and had ever since harbored resentment toward the Frost Crown lineage, often harassing them in daily life.

She herself had endured it.

But she never imagined he'd now turn his hostility toward her little brother!

"Mm."

Xu Jingming nodded and briefly recounted how he'd come into conflict with him.

"What a piece of work, Colt!"

"You can't even discipline your own son, conspire with alien races, yet blame others."

"Now you dare use academy rules to frame him!"

Lin Qianxue's pale golden eyes turned glacial, then she turned to Xu Jingming:

"This man holds grudges and is ruthless.

Little brother, shouldn't we ask our teacher to intervene?"

This man holds grudges and employs cruel, ruthless methods.

Xu Jingming waved his hand and turned to Vera:

"What's the exact task content?"

"Travel to Barlok Star and apprehend or kill a traitorous Eternal Stage Three deity.

He was formerly a peripheral member of the Star Alliance.

A thousand years ago, he stole a classified star map and fled; he's recently been spotted near Barlok Star."

Vera projected the task details onto a screen:

"Task rating: SSS. Recommended executor strength: Eternal Stage Three or higher, or a squad possessing Eternal-stage combat power.

Failure penalty: Deduct 3 million points, downgrade academy contribution rank."

Mission rating: SSS. Recommended executor strength: Eternal Stage III or higher, or a team possessing Eternal Stage combat power.

Failure penalty: Deduct 3 million points, downgrade academy contribution rating.

"Ha......"

Xu Jingming laughed in spite of his fury: "When I left the academy, I had just broken through to the Cosmic rank.

Sending a Cosmic First Stage to deal with an Eternal Third Stage?

Kort, you really do think highly of me!"

"What a vicious scheme!"

Fury surged in Lin Qianxue's eyes as well, and Bai Xi's hand unconsciously clenched into a fist:

"He simply wants you to abandon the mission and bear the punishment for failure!"

"So, are we doing this mission?

With you being a beast, ahem, ahem.

With Master, your strength, taking down an Eternal Third Stage isn't hard."

Vera in mid-air blinked her clear, big eyes and asked.

"Do an egg!"

Xu Jingming rose abruptly. "Since he's shameless,

I don't need to save him any face either. I'm going to Sky Peak Mountain to find him right now."

For an Eternal Peak deity like Kort,

he should always keep a sliver of his consciousness logged into the Virtual Universe for long stretches.

He wanted to see just who would lose more face when this blew up.

"Alright, I'll go with you."

Lin Qianxue stepped to his side without the slightest hesitation, her cool voice firm as a blade.