Chapter 206

The towering World God hovered above Mars, looking down at the tiny Ape Guard in his palm, his voice booming like thunder: "You have some skill; you managed to break free?"

Immediately, he flipped his hand and flung the Ape Guard away.

Below, the twelve Combat Group puppets instantly surrounded him, and webs of energy threads immediately caught the Ape Guard, wrapping him tightly once more and binding him completely.

The puppet resembling a middle-aged man leading the Combat Group immediately apologized: "My lord, I apologize. We did not expect this person to have a treasure with great power as a trump card. We were momentarily inattentive, and he actually broke free."

The World God reformed into scattered energy. Lin Qing descended from the sky, glanced at the Ape Guard, and said casually: "After all, he came from a Level 1.9 civilization; having some skill is quite normal."

The combat power of the twelve Combat Group puppets was all ordinary Yu Xingyuan Ninth Layer, but their abilities were identical, allowing them to perfectly execute a battle formation.

With this formation, the power of the twelve combined; even a peak Yu Xingyuan Ninth Layer expert would be suppressed.

This Ape Guard had just paid a heavy price in injuries to forcibly erupt and break through the formation, leaving his strength greatly diminished.

In fact, even if Lin Qing had not intervened, the Ape Guard would not have been able to escape.

Thus, this battle was considered over.

On the entire planet of Mars, apart from Lin Qing and his group, other living beings were nearly extinct.

"My lord."

The silver-haired woman said respectfully: "This operation was perfect. All enemy star beings were killed. Only a few primitive beings were captured alive, and those below the primitive level were all cleaned up. Warships and fortresses below the Seventh Tier could not stop my telekinetic penetration, so the beings hidden within them are all dead."

She paused, then said: "Additionally, we captured two legion-level space fleets, two Seventh Tier fortresses, fifty-one warships and fortresses meeting the Sixth Tier standard, and over sixty thousand units meeting the Fifth Tier standard."

Lin Qing showed a slight smile and said: "With so many warships and fortresses, can they be flown back to Earth?"

"Of course, no problem."

The silver-haired woman nodded and said: "Since they are controlled by intelligence, these warships and fortresses are worth a lot of money even for their materials alone. Some Level 1.8 civilizations in the universe could not even field a fleet of this scale."

Lin Qing smiled and said: "After all, he is an Imperial Prince of a Level 1.9 civilization. The Yuanchen Civilization is also linked to the Nine Stars Civilization; otherwise, we would not have such gains."

A single Seventh Tier fortress is something a Level 1.8 civilization could not produce.

Only a Level 1.9 civilization like the Nine Stars Civilization, which possesses Void Beings, could construct Seventh Tier fortresses.

Fortunately, among the puppets he obtained in the Vacuum Great Tomb were mechanical scholars from various fields. As long as they could find the core of a Seventh Tier fortress, capturing it would not be difficult.

"By the way, my lord."

The silver-haired woman said: "The Seventh Imperial Prince of the Nine Stars Civilization has been captured alive. However, since he is a star being, we cannot take him back to Earth. We must deal with him as soon as possible and then return to Earth to avoid the arrival of Void Beings."

"It should be fine for a short time, right?" Lin Qing said. "As far as I know, the coordinates of the Nine Stars Civilization, if traveling via the nearest light-speed wormhole along the shortest route, would take at least three months."

"My lord, that is not the case."

The silver-haired woman said: "Putting aside the Void Beings for now, most Void Beings of a Level 1.9 civilization possess Eighth Tier spaceship fortresses. Spaceships with such technological content have mastered a certain degree of space technology and can easily achieve faster-than-light flight."

"Warp drive?" Lin Qing asked thoughtfully.

"Yes." The silver-haired woman nodded and said: "Actually, Seventh Tier spaceships can achieve this, though they cannot exceed light speed by much. Eighth Tier spaceships might exceed light speed by more than ten times. Most importantly... teams from a Level 1.9 civilization do not require so many procedures when traversing wormholes, so no time is wasted."

Lin Qing understood.

He knew that in the universe, most Level 1 civilizations could only achieve navigation technology infinitely close to light speed, but because the starry sky contained numerous artificial wormholes, travel was very convenient.

And these wormholes were actually created by Level 1.9 civilizations.

For a Level 1.9 civilization mastering space technology, creating wormholes was as simple as Earthlings building roads, using them to collect tolls from other civilizations.

Just in the Milky Way Galaxy, there were countless artificial wormholes, some of which originated from the Nine Stars Civilization.

It could be said that wherever there were life-bearing planets, artificial wormholes were inevitably connected.

And relying on these countless wormholes, Level 1.9 civilizations had earned unimaginable, terrifying wealth.

This was also the reason why a single Imperial Prince could easily produce trillions of Star Coins and casually dismiss the Black Tower Civilization and the Goddess Stream Civilization like beggars.

"Not to mention... if a Void Being arrives in person, especially one whose cognitive spatial essence leans towards evasion, traversing the void would be even faster."

The silver-haired woman said solemnly: "Once a Void Being arrives, we would be in danger even on the Moon. With the abilities of a Void Being, although they cannot forcibly break through the rule protection to enter Earth, landing on the Moon is very simple."

Lin Qing nodded.

The protective rule power of a life-bearing planet is closely related to the planet's gravity. If the rule power on the surface is so strong as to be unresistible, then at an altitude of fifty thousand kilometers, only one percent of that intensity remains.

And the average distance between the Moon and Earth is 380,000 kilometers, where the rule power is only a few thousandths of that on Earth.

However, even at a few thousandths, a Star God Official could not shake it.

I never thought...

... that a Void Being could forcibly land on the Moon?

"But isn't there a quantum-level shielder manufactured by engineers?"

Lin Qing frowned slightly and said: "The news cannot get out, so the Nine Stars Civilization shouldn't be able to discover it quickly, right?"

The reason he dared to unleash his true strength publicly was because the 'Engineer' among the mechanical scholar-type puppets had manufactured a shielder of extremely high technological content, sufficient to shield the consciousness sensors of the entire planet and prevent logging into the Second Universe Network.

Whether mechanical components implanted in the brain or body, or external equipment, everything was shielded.

The Second Universe Network, such a magnificent existence reflecting the entire universe, could not even be stopped by the Vacuum Great Tomb from reflecting the Second Universe, so it naturally could not disperse the Second Universe Network.

But merely shielding consciousness sensors was achievable.

"Once Mars loses contact, the Nine Stars Civilization will inevitably discover it."

The silver-haired woman analyzed: "After all, he is an Imperial Prince, so he must be under constant watch. Once they discover the Imperial Prince has lost contact and others cannot be reached, the Nine Stars Civilization will naturally realize something is wrong."

"The Void Beings have lived for so many years; he is just one of their children. They wouldn't come in person directly just because one suddenly lost contact, would they? They would send someone to verify first," Lin Qing pondered.

A powerful being with infinite lifespan, with countless children throughout a long life, would not come in person directly just because one suddenly lost contact without first sending someone to verify?

"My lord, this is different," the silver-haired woman said. "For this imperial-style Level 1.9 civilization, the Void Beings strive to breed geniuses with Ninth Ability Level talents not only for inheritance but also to shed the responsibility of sitting permanently on the throne. Therefore, for the Emperor of the Nine Stars Civilization, an Imperial Prince is not only a son or an heir, but also a successor to help him shed responsibility."

"Shed responsibility?" Lin Qing pondered thoughtfully.

"Take the Nine Stars Civilization as an example, my lord. Think carefully."

The silver-haired woman said: "The First Emperor of the Nine Stars Civilization, as the progenitor, must have sincerely wanted the civilization to endure, so he was willing to become its leader. As an immortal Void Being, becoming an immortal Emperor allows him to lead this civilization to eternal prosperity forever."

"But... before becoming the imperial leader, he was first an individual with his own pursuits and ideals. At this point, the home civilization becomes his constraint. Yet he is unwilling to shed or abandon his home civilization."

"So he chose to pay an enormous price to cultivate a second Void Being, signed a four-star contract, and had it inherit his throne to forever manage his homeworld civilization, allowing him to leave without worry and pursue what he truly wished to do."

"And after the second emperor sat on that throne for long enough, he too would inevitably develop such thoughts, and thus also seek to cultivate a new Void Being to replace him."

The silver-haired woman sighed: "So, as the youngest of the nine-star civilization's imperial princes, the Seventh Prince has a chance to inherit the throne. For that emperor, producing a ninth-tier genius like the Seventh Prince must have cost him greatly—he certainly wouldn't let the Seventh Prince die lightly."

She looked at Lin Qing: "So, it's possible the emperor himself might come in person."

Lin Qing nodded slightly and said: "Then let's resolve this quickly and return to Earth—it won't take long."

"Also…"

No error in any single word or content within!

The silver-haired woman paused, then added: "Before coming to Mars, the Seventh Prince already knew Earth's secret. He likely told certain trusted allies in the nine-star civilization. If he's harmed, they may learn Earth's secret—or at least conclude Earth is a fragment of a level-two civilization's secret realm."

"No problem. We're already prepared," Lin Qing said. "We have seven months left. We'll see then."

The silver-haired woman nodded slightly.

Lin Qing spoke: "Black Assassin, hand over the Seventh Prince to me."

A black-clad figure emerged from nothingness, holding in his hands a silvery-white cocoon.

"My lord, shall I remove the bindings?" the Black Assassin asked.

"Unbind him," Lin Qing nodded. "Commander, assist with mental control—prevent the Seventh Prince from committing suicide."

"Yes," the silver-haired woman bowed her head.

The silvery-white cocoon instantly peeled away and dissolved, revealing the Seventh Prince, unconscious within.

As the cocoon vanished, the Seventh Prince snapped awake. He froze for a moment, then his eyes filled with uncontrollable fear as he stared fixedly at Lin Qing, trembling: "You can't kill me! I'm the prince of the nine-star civilization! Lin Qing, don't go astray—you're a genius! If you release me, I'll immediately…"

"I have no intention of killing you," Lin Qing interrupted.

The Seventh Prince blinked in surprise: "What?"

"Your father is a Void Being. Why would I kill you?" Lin Qing said. "I only seek revenge against the Yuan Chen civilization for persecuting Earth. I never expected you to get involved—but since you did, I have no choice. So I ask you to keep this secret… Do you still have a four-star contract?"

The Seventh Prince thought it over—it made sense. He nodded quickly: "Yes, yes."

"Then draft a four-star confidentiality contract now," Lin Qing said. "The terms: as long as you keep this secret, I will never kill you, nor order anyone to kill you."

"Really?" The Seventh Prince's heart surged with excitement, as if he'd glimpsed the light of life.

"Do you think Earth's civilization dares provoke a Void Being?" Lin Qing shook his head. "Moreover… I could even cooperate with you."

"Cooperate?"

The Seventh Prince felt genuine hope—his fear eased slightly.

After all, even if Earth had produced such a monstrous genius, it would take ages to grow into a Void Being—impossible before Earth's opening.

So it was only natural they wouldn't dare provoke a Void Being.

"Yes. Cooperation."

Lin Qing looked at him. "If you're willing to aid Earth's civilization from now on, I can help you ascend to the throne."

"Help me ascend to the throne?" The Seventh Prince frowned. "How? I must become a Void Being to inherit the throne—or outcompete my elder brothers to earn my father's full teaching and sufficient cultivation resources. Are you planning to give me Earth's treasures?"

He couldn't believe the other would be so generous.

"No. I have a method that will ensure your father takes notice of you."

Lin Qing smiled mysteriously. "Once it succeeds, your father will value you immensely—and spare no effort to cultivate you into a Void Being."

"What method?" The Seventh Prince grew even more confused.

"Look at what this is."

Lin Qing suddenly waved his hand, and a massive black crystal appeared on the ground before them, radiating strange light.

The Seventh Prince stared closely—and froze completely.

"This… this is…" He gaped at the enormous crystal, whispering in disbelief: "Starlight Source Stone? This large a Starlight Source Stone?"

He'd seen Starlight Source Stone many times—but always in tiny fragments. He'd never seen one large enough to awaken a power.

Let alone one this colossal!

"You mean…" The Seventh Prince's heart surged, his face flushed red—as if he'd leapt from the depths of death straight into heaven.

"Yes," Lin Qing said. "If you awaken your power, and gain a ninth-tier power, don't you think even your father—and the nine-star civilization's progenitor—would value you immensely?"

The Seventh Prince could no longer suppress his excitement, nodding repeatedly: "Yes! If I awaken my power, my father and the progenitor would spare no cost to make me a Void Being!"

Power Awakeners can help more people awaken powers and unlock talents—but crucially, they also produce ever-increasing quantities of Starlight Source Stone!

With enough people and enough Starlight Source Stone, under the guidance of a Void Being, a high-dimensional planet can transform into a legendary Void Secret Realm!

And he would become the civilization's greatest benefactor!

"Prince, now do you believe I'm truly cooperating with you?" Lin Qing said. "You may awaken your power first, then sign the contract—just add this clause to it. Please."

At the same time, he extended his mental force and whispered to Qi Lingxiao: "Qi Guan Zhu, you may come now."

(End of Chapter)