Chapter 1674: Second Phase Mission! Break Through Eternal Second Stage!

Inside the star-trace ship's cabin, Xu Jingming received Hai Li's intelligence.

"Chasing me? First, find me!"

After reading the message, Xu Jingming let out a cold snort, his eyes flickering with faint Lei Guang.

The entire Seven Stars Continent was vast beyond measure.

Once the ship entered warp travel or light-speed flight, divine perception could barely track its trail.

He was aboard the SS1-class Star-Trace!

Its stealth and speed were top-tier—could the insect race really lock onto him?

It would be like searching for a needle in an ocean.

"Master, I'm going to follow them back to the insect race's main base on the Seven Stars Continent."

Hai Li's voice came again through the Heart-Eroding Pattern.

"Mm, stay hidden. Prioritize your own safety above all."

"Send me any intelligence immediately."

Xu Jingming gave his order in a low tone.

"Yes, Master." Hai Li replied respectfully.

"This is the advantage of having a mole—intelligence arrives the instant it's gathered."

After the communication ended, Xu Jingming smiled.

"Why didn't you try to enslave those two Eternal Sixth-Stage insect empresses just now?"

"If you could control them, wouldn't their value be even greater?"

Lin Qianxue leaned in, her exquisite face thoughtful.

"The battle was fierce and changed in an instant—there was no time to cast the enslavement technique."

Xu Jingming wrapped his arm around her slender waist.

His fingers idly brushed against the soft skin beneath her battle suit as he explained:

"Besides, the soul strength of an Eternal Sixth-Stage being is formidable—I have no full confidence in succeeding."

"Moreover, enslavement isn't better the higher the rank."

"Take Hai Li—though low in rank, she's of royal bloodline."

"She can infiltrate the core more easily and obtain far more critical information."

"That's true."

Lin Qianxue nodded lightly, then asked softly:

"So what's our next move? Stay in the Fourth Star Zone?"

"No rush. First, let's see what the second phase of the Starfire Plan's updated mission is."

As he spoke, Xu Jingming summoned his smart bracer.

Just moments ago, the smart bracer had already notified him that the first phase mission was complete, and the second phase mission had been issued.

A holographic projection unfolded, revealing the mission details clearly:

【Second Phase Mission: Kill one alien planetary fortress lord within five years.】

"Planetary fortress lord?"

Xu Jingming raised an eyebrow. "How powerful is a being of that level?"

"Anyone who commands a planetary fortress is at least an Eternal Sixth-Stage powerhouse."

"And they typically have condensed a Class-One Divine Body—far surpassing peers of the same rank."

Lin Qianxue's expression turned Solemn as she explained:

"More importantly, a fortress could never be guarded by just its lord alone."

"It must have many Eternal-Stage subordinates, and possibly even higher-level guardians."

"This mission… is extremely difficult."

By the end of her words, Lin Qianxue's expression had grown distinctly Solemn.

"This tenfold leverage is indeed not to be underestimated."

"The second phase mission is already this hard?"

"A normal Eternal First-Stage cultivator would have no chance of completing it."

Xu Jingming narrowed his eyes and turned to Vera, who floated nearby:

"Are there any alien planetary fortresses near the Seven Stars Continent?"

"Nope."

Wei La shook her small head:

"The Seven Stars Continent is a massive, independently drifting landmass—there are no planets nearby."

"The nearest alien planetary fortress is thirty light-years away."

"That star region has many planetary fortresses."

"Not just alien ones—our human race has outposts there too."

"Thirty light-years."

Xu Jingming's gaze flickered. "Then let's leave the Seven Stars Continent first."

"The insect race is hunting us—this is the perfect chance to avoid their锋芒."

Though he didn't believe they could find him.

Still, caution was always better.

"Go straight to the alien fortress?" Wei La asked, blinking her eyes.

"No, head to the nearest human planetary fortress first."

Xu Jingming said, "We've gained plenty from this battle—we need to process the spoils and exchange military merit."

"At the same time, we need detailed intelligence on the alien fortress."

To storm a planetary fortress blindly is no different from walking into death.

"Alright, I'll set the course right away."

Vera's small hand tapped the air repeatedly; the Star Trace's navigation hologram updated instantly.

"But after leaving Qixing Continent, let's land somewhere random first," Xu Jingming suddenly said.

"Hm?"

Lin Qianxue cast him a puzzled look. "What else do you need to do?"

Xu Jingming grinned, his eyes brimming with anticipation: "I'm about to break through."

"Break through?!" Lin Qianxue's beautiful eyes widened sharply.

No.

He'd only just broken through to Eternal Life Stage one two months ago—now he was about to break through again?

Half a day later,

the Star Trace had left the Qixing Continent's range and entered a desolate asteroid belt.

The ship slowly landed on a gray-brown asteroid several hundred kilometers in diameter.

The hatch opened, and Xu Jingming and Lin Qianxue flew out in succession.

"Right here," Xu Jingming surveyed his surroundings.

The void was silent, save for the faint light cast by a distant star.

Lin Qianxue guarded at a distance.

Xu Jingming sat cross-legged, his mind sinking into the system interface.

"First, level up."

With a thought, he directly tapped the plus sign beside his level!

-6000 essence points!

【Level】: Eternal Life Stage One → Eternal Life Stage Two!

【Divine Power】: 1861 points → 2661 points!

【Divine Sense】: 1156 strands → 1956 strands!

Boom!!

6000 essence points were instantly deducted.

Vast cosmic energy poured in from nothingness!

Spontaneous Lei Guang surged around Xu Jingming, golden-green lightning arcs leaping and surging.

His aura rose visibly, his divine body voraciously devouring energy.

Undergoing essential strengthening!

Divine Power surged instantly from 1861 points to 2661 points!

Divine Sense skyrocketed from 1156 strands to 1956 strands!

A stronger, more oppressive pressure spread outward, causing the surrounding void to tremble faintly.

"This is Eternal Life Stage Two?! Divine Power and Divine Sense both increased by 800 points."

Xu Jingming's eyes blazed with sharp light.

The most immediate sensation of leveling up was the sheer increase in inner power!

And his perception of the cosmic primordial laws had instantly become far clearer!

"Actual combat power still needs battlefield testing."

"But I still have over eight thousand essence points left—I can't level up again."

"Then I'll invest in primordial laws."

After a brief pause, Xu Jingming continued investing points.

-2000 essence points!

Lightning Primordial Law acknowledged Level One → Level Two!

-4000 essence points!

Destruction Primordial Law acknowledged Level One → Level Two!

Boom—!

It felt as if thunder exploded in his mind.

Insights into Lightning and Destruction flooded in like a tidal wave.

The lightning mark on Xu Jingming's forehead grew even more brilliant, radiating astonishing pressure waves.

"So this is the advancement of primordial laws?"

A radiant Sun Divine Thunder appeared in Xu Jingming's palm.

He could feel that, with his primordial law's enhancement, the power of Lightning had increased further.

"Over a thousand essence points remain—keep investing!"

Xu Jingming activated his mind.

-10 essence points!

Lei Ying Step → Lei Ying Step Beginner!

This T1-level movement technique gifted by Shuangmian.

Long before, he had already understood the scope where points could be added.

He simply hadn't added any points because he had no attribute points.

At this moment, as soon as he added a point, the many profound truths of this combat technique instantly became clear to him.

Though only at the beginner level, it had already given him a completely new understanding of Lei Ying Step.

"Lei Ying Step combined with teleportation."

From now on, unless someone is several ranks above me,

they won't escape my grasp."

Xu Jingming slowly rose, golden-green lightning flickering in his eyes like swords.

His aura was now more condensed and profound than before.

"He truly broke through?!"

Not far away, Lin Qianxue's stunningly beautiful face was filled with shock.

From the sudden surge of divine power to the advancement of his origin, the entire process took only a quarter of an hour!

"This breakthrough speed is as simple as eating and drinking."

Vera couldn't help but whisper in awe.

At this rate,

she felt it wouldn't take ten years before Xu Jingming could break through to the Sovereign Realm.

"But that's fine.

The faster he breaks through, the sooner he can go to the Demon Clan and reclaim my inheritance!"

Thinking of this, Vera grew excited again.

She could hardly wait for the bitch Huan Mo to pay the price!

PS: Today is Children's Day. Wishing all the big kids and little kids a happy holiday, and may you always keep a childlike heart.

Also, humbly begging for some free gifts—let's push up the gift leaderboard at the start of the month. Thank you, great masters!