Chapter 1641: Cosmic Peak? Total Shock!

"Sixth stage?!"

Yan Ji and Beth both exclaimed in shock.

The students quietly eavesdropping around them couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath.

"Yue Ying, aren't you guessing a bit too high?"

Yan Ji widened her eyes, "In just over two years, from Cosmic Stage One to Six?"

"Less than half a year per stage? That's utterly unheard of!"

Beth shook her head repeatedly:

"Although Xu Jingming is incredibly gifted.

But breakthroughs in the Cosmic Stage require massive accumulation of Yuan Energy and profound comprehension of the Laws.

Sixth stage... I find it unlikely."

Yue Ying's fair face flushed slightly, yet she insisted, "I believe in him."

"Tsk tsk tsk."

Yan Ji leaned closer, teasing,

"No wonder you're Xu Jingming's woman—your favoritism knows no bounds~"

"Exactly, exactly!" Beth chimed in with a laugh.

Yue Ying's ears turned red from their teasing, and she was about to retort.

Suddenly.

Whrrrrm!!!

A deep engine roar drew nearer, rapidly growing clearer.

The students on the square all looked up.

A sleek, deeply silver-gray starship, its lines fluid and elegant, was slowly flying toward the square.

The ship exceeded three hundred meters in length.

Its surface shimmered with a mercury-like luster, refracting a cold metallic sheen under the sunlight.

Intricate dark-gold patterns were engraved along both sides of the hull, faintly radiating an unsettling energy.

"Is this a Class SS1 Star Trace series starship?!"

A knowledgeable student cried out in disbelief.

"My god! Even the cheapest Star Trace series costs five million credits! Whose teacher's ship is this?"

"Could it be a Sovereign himself has arrived?"

Under the gaze of astonished and curious onlookers,

the silver-gray starship slowly hovered to a stop a hundred meters above the square.

The hatch slid open silently.

The first to step out was a tall, graceful woman.

She wore a black combat suit, fitted closely to her form.

It accentuated her curvaceous figure and made her legs appear straight and elongated.

Her face was coldly exquisite, with a faintly glowing azure lightning emblem pulsing at her brow.

Merely standing there,

she seemed like a solitary, icy moon, dimming the surrounding light.

"Whoa! So beautiful!"

"A Deathless Deity! Is she our new instructor?"

Below, everyone's faces showed curiosity.

Such a beautiful Deathless Deity—

if she'd been here before, they would've known her already.

Yet before the murmurs could subside,

another figure stepped out from the hatch.

The moment this figure appeared,

the entire square fell utterly silent!

It was a young man clad in a black combat suit.

His face was resolute, his aura not deliberately radiated,

yet he carried an aura of profound stillness, unfathomable and deep.

As if the very spot he stood upon was the center of this world.

"Xu, Xu Jingming?!"

Yan Ji was the first to cry out, her sultry face filled with astonishment.

"It's Xu Jingming? But he's changed so much!"

Beth's eyes widened too.

Yue Ying had prepared herself mentally,

yet when she truly saw the figure she had longed for,

her gray eyes instantly filled with tears, her lips trembling slightly.

And the entire square, after a brief moment of deathly silence, erupted!

"Xu Jingming! It's Xu Jingming back!"

"Wasn't he on that SSS-class mission? How did he come back so fast?"

My heavens! His aura feels more terrifying than that of some Eternal Stage instructors!

Who is the beautiful woman beside him? How did they end up together?

Under the focused gaze of over a hundred pairs of eyes.

Xu Jingming himself remained expressionless.

His gaze swept across the square and quickly locked onto the position of Yue Ying and the others.

A faint, gentle smile curved his lips.

In an instant, his figure flashed.

Shua!

As if teleporting, Xu Jingming appeared before Yue Ying.

"Ying'er, I'm back."

He spoke softly, his voice deep.

Yue Ying could no longer hold back.

Like a swallow diving into the forest, she flung herself into his arms, gripping his waist tightly.

Her cold voice trembled with sobs:

"Jingming......"

Xu Jingming gently patted her back and murmured:

"It's alright, I'm back."

After a long while, Yue Ying finally calmed down.

She slowly loosened her arms from around Xu Jingming.

Tears still glistened on her exquisite face, but a shy blush had already risen.

The countless eyes gathering around her made her feel uneasy.

Meanwhile, Lin Qianxue, who had already landed, spoke softly:

"Hello, Sister Yue Ying. I'm Lin Qianxue, Jingming's senior sister."

She stepped lightly to Yue Ying's side.

A faint smile played on her lips; her pale golden eyes were clear and gentle.

The Lei Ting mark on her brow shimmered with faint divine radiance, yet carried not a trace of condescension.

Lin Qianxue had already learned about Xu Jingming's background.

Since she chose to be with him, she naturally prepared herself to coexist peacefully with these other women.

"Hello, Senior Sister Qianxue.

A few days ago, Jingming mentioned you to me—you're even more beautiful than he said."

Yue Ying's gray, beautiful eyes brightened slightly, and she returned a sincere smile.

She spoke the truth: Lin Qianxue's aura was cold as the moon,

yet carried an innate divine radiance from her divine body's consolidation—truly breathtaking.

The first meeting of these two women, so different in style yet equally exquisite, was unexpectedly harmonious.

This quietly eased the tension Xu Jingming had felt beside them.

At that moment, Yan Ji, who had been staring wide-eyed at Xu Jingming, suddenly realized something was wrong:

"Xu Jingming, your aura? Is this... Cosmic Apex?!"

Normally, Xu Jingming controlled his aura perfectly and rarely revealed his level.

But during this period, he had been consuming Jade Marrow Heavenly Peaches daily.

His internal energy surged like an ocean, the Cosmic Apex aura on the verge of breaking into the Eternal Stage—

Impossible to conceal, naturally exposed at a glance by Yan Ji.

"Cosmic Apex?!"

"My heavens! It really is!"

"What the hell?! This is insane!"

The students present who sensed Xu Jingming's aura nearly popped their eyeballs out.

This was too outrageous.

Just over two years!

From Cosmic Stage One to Cosmic Apex!

Unheard of!

"I did have a small opportunity out in the Outer Battlefield, and gained some rewards."

Xu Jingming smiled, not hiding anything.

Yet his casual tone made many students twitch their lips.

Could this even be called a "small opportunity"?

If there had been a big one, would he have leapt straight to the Sovereign Stage?

Upon confirmation, Bei Si and the others were even more stunned.

Yan Ji opened her mouth, then finally chuckled bitterly:

"Just now we were betting on your level.

Yue Ying guessed the highest—Cosmic Stage Six. Now it seems even that was too conservative..."

Yue Ying also felt a pang of emotion.

Jingming's strength has grown ever stronger.

But immediately, she felt a surge of pride.

This is her man!

Always radiant and brilliant!