Chapter 207: Arrival

"Then... have I awakened my Authority now?"

The Seventh Imperial Prince looked at Lin Qing somewhat cautiously and said, "Rest assured, although I suffered heavy losses this time, as long as I can awaken my Authority, Father will definitely value me extremely. I can solve this problem for you."

"That's good." Lin Qing also seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and said, "However, since you suddenly lost contact this time, the Nine-Star Civilization will surely react, right?"

"Yes." The Seventh Imperial Prince also sighed and said, "It's my fault. I specifically told my trusted confidant back home about Earth. Once something happened to me, he would report to Father. Now Father probably already knows. Your Majesty has always valued us Imperial Princes. He might already be on his way here personally."

He added, "But rest assured, after we sign the contract, I will help you come up with a suitable reason. It won't be hard to deceive Father."

Lin Qing nodded slightly and said, "Then I trouble Your Highness."

He knew the Seventh Imperial Prince's words were also a threat, and very likely the truth.

However, he did not care.

From the very beginning, Chu Hongjun had been prepared to face a 1.9-level civilization, naturally including the Void Beings of a 1.9-level civilization.

"From now on, we are comrades. I should do this too."

The Seventh Imperial Prince shook his head slightly and said very sincerely, "A genius like you has limitless future achievements. I am also happy to make your acquaintance."

Yet in his heart, he sneered coldly: "Your Majesty values us Imperial Princes, but we are merely his tools. Your Majesty has surely already received news of Earth. Given Your Majesty's nature, how could he be persuaded by me? Perfect... once Your Majesty arrives, I will exterminate all of you."

He did not lie, but he also did not tell the whole truth.

Recalling that cold back in the dark red imperial robe, he understood that his father had no affection for him at all; there was only calculation of interests.

There was absolutely no way to persuade that Emperor.

As for an alliance?

The moment he ordered the extermination of Earth, both sides had already become absolute mortal enemies!

Even if peace was temporarily reached, it was because the other side feared the Void Beings and worried about the crisis after Earth opened up, so they dared not kill him.

But... once these Earth natives grew up, how could he feel at ease?

Moreover, after he lost contact, his confidant must have already reported to Your Majesty. Anyway, the treasures of Earth were destined not to be something one person could swallow alone. At this moment, just awakening his Authority had already delighted him.

So...

These Earth natives must be exterminated, especially this monster genius named Lin Qing!

The sooner it is resolved, the better, to avoid trouble from a long night.

"Seventh Imperial Prince, let us begin then."

Lin Qing patted the huge Starfall Source Stone beside him and said, "After Your Highness confirms the Authority awakening is successful, then sign the contract with us."

"Good." The Seventh Imperial Prince nodded slightly.

He had long ago learned the Authority Awakening Method and immediately began to chant the strange incantation of the Authority Awakening Method in a low voice.

Lin Qing watched quietly from the side, while using telepathy to transmit a message to the War Commander: "Be ready. The instant he awakens successfully, act immediately."

"Yes."

"Gravity Prison?"

The Seventh Imperial Prince slowly opened his eyes: "Is this my Authority..."

Although he possessed a Natural-type Ninth-Level talent and could sense space, he did not have Ninth-Level abilities. Now he had gained an additional means.

Ninth-Level abilities were also rare; generally, only Void Beings possessed various space-related abilities.

More importantly...

"I can begin condensing the Starfall Source Stones!"

The Seventh Imperial Prince felt excited and filled with anticipation. In this moment, he desperately longed to become the reformer driving the evolution of the Nine-Star Civilization. This was not only glory but would also bring the resources of the entire civilization to bear, giving him a greater chance of becoming a Void Being!

Just then—

"Boom!"

A terrifying telepathic shock suddenly descended, instantly penetrating his sea of consciousness, making him feel as if struck by lightning. His entire consciousness became chaotic.

"I..."

Before the Seventh Imperial Prince could think anything, he had already collapsed softly onto the ground.

An invisible telepathic force continued to erode the Seventh Imperial Prince's mental consciousness, making him seem trapped in a swamp of consciousness, always in a daze, difficult to break free.

Lin Qing looked at the fallen Seventh Imperial Prince, the corners of his mouth rising slightly.

"My lord." The silver-haired woman nearby spoke up: "With his ordinary willpower, I should be able to keep him in a state of confused consciousness continuously. He cannot regain clarity."

"That's good." Lin Qing nodded.

At this moment, a figure flew over from not far away; it was none other than Qi Lingxiao.

"Hall Master Qi."

Lin Qing glanced at Qi Lingxiao and said, "Just stand here. I will now upgrade your Authority for you."

Qi Lingxiao immediately nodded with a gaze of anticipation and said, "Good!"

Before coming, he had already awakened his Authority. Given the quantity of Source Stones Lin Qing brought from the Vacuum Great Tomb, Qi Lingxiao's share was nothing at all.

"Starting now."

Lin Qing reached out, and the Seventh Imperial Prince, who was in a state of confused consciousness, immediately floated up.

With a thought, he also activated the Demi-God Core in his mind.

Compared to the pseudo-God Core formed purely by virtual energy, the Demi-God Core already possessed substance and also had a special divine ability—

Authority Completion.

According to the information provided by the Demi-God Core, the most perfect Authority in legend required nearly one hundred thousand tons of Starfall Source Stones to awaken.

All Authorities below this were imperfect and needed completion.

The Demi-God Core could extract the source of another's Authority and merge it into one's own or another person's Authority, thereby elevating the height of the Authority.

The higher the extracted Authority, the higher the height the completed Authority could reach.

Just as Lin Qing's authority awakened at over eight hundred thousand kilograms, this represents a height; if others were to extract the source of his authority, they could complete those with inferior authority up to eight hundred thousand kilograms.

—This is the heaven-defying aspect of a Divine Son, or rather, a demigod.

The ability of a Divine Walker to wash away Holy Words and rapidly comprehend the essence of energy is already astonishing.

Yet the ability of a Divine Son is even more heaven-defying.

It broke the rule that Holy Words, once inscribed, cannot be altered, and also broke the rule that authority is innate and unchangeable.

This is undoubtedly power belonging to a god.

No wonder the divine office trials of the Cosmic God series are so difficult and cruel.

"Extract."

An invisible vortex condensed in Lin Qing's eyes as he began to slowly extract the authority source of the Seventh Imperial Prince.

Only to see wisps of invisible, formless emerald-green flowing light fly out from the Seventh Imperial Prince's body; these authority sources from the depths of the soul immediately began to be continuously drawn out. "My... my authority... no... no..."

Although the Seventh Imperial Prince could feel his authority being extracted, under the continuous mental assault, his consciousness was as confused as a ghost pressing on a bed; besides fear, he could do nothing.

About twenty minutes later.

"Haa..."

As the last wisp of authority source was drawn out, Lin Qing also sighed with relief, turned to look at Qi Lingxiao, and said, "It's done, Hall Master Qi, do not resist."

He immediately tapped with his fingertip, and the authority source extracted by the demigod's divine seat turned into points of flowing light, directly merging into Qi Lingxiao's body.

"My authority..." Qi Lingxiao immediately closed his eyes, beginning to slowly feel the authority source merging into his soul, the sensation of his own authority constantly transforming.

Lin Qing let Qi Lingxiao slowly transform his authority, glanced at the Seventh Imperial Prince, then looked at the silver-haired woman, and said, "It's done, kill him."

The silver-haired woman couldn't help but ask, "Does he still have authority now?"

She was also from a Level 2 civilization and had awakened authority; naturally, she knew that Level 9 authority sometimes involved spatial abilities, and perhaps even had strange escape capabilities.

No mistake, one sentence, one issue, one content, one inside, one look!

Not knowing what ability the Seventh Imperial Prince possessed, she maintained mental erosion at all times to prevent the Seventh Imperial Prince from activating his ability, just in case.

"Let alone authority, his Level 9 talent is gone; he cannot sense any energy at all," Lin Qing said casually. "Talent and ability cannot be born out of thin air; they are merely transferred."

Everyone actually has the talent to sense a certain kind of energy; it is just that for the vast majority, it is latent, the talent is hidden.

And when talent is manifest, that is a genius.

Authority awakening is what makes talent change from latent to manifest, granting the ability to correspond with that energy, and the permission to condense Starfall Source Stones.

Like the eyes of the Three-Eyed Clan, that is an additional ability, an additional talent.

Extracting authority source with a demigod's divine seat harms the soul; this will cause the other party's talent to revert to latent, and since authority awakening only has one chance, this means... the Seventh Imperial Prince has already become a useless person.

"Yes."

The silver-haired woman said no more; immediately her gaze sharpened, and the Seventh Imperial Prince, whose consciousness was confused and who had lost the ability to resist, instantly turned to powder on the spot.

Lin Qing waved his hand again, turning this powder into nothingness as well.

Thus, this Seventh Imperial Prince of the Nine-Star Civilization completely vanished from this world.

"My lord, do you not need him as a clone?" the silver-haired woman asked.

During the discussion of the plan this time, Lin Qing had also stated his authority; for a Level 2 civilization, a Level 10 authority, while rare, was not considered legendary.

"I did have that thought, but I abandoned it."

Lin Qing said, "His talent probably hasn't comprehended the essence of many Level 8 powers; the help to my cultivation can be ignored. As for his identity... after all, he is merely an Imperial Prince of the Nine-Star Civilization; once the news leaks, he cannot stop the arrival of the Nine-Star Civilization."

He took a deep breath and said, "What I need most now is a clone that has already comprehended the essence of a large amount of Level 8 power, to let me master Level 8 divine techniques as soon as possible."

As long as he can master Level 8 divine techniques, he can reach the strength of the Yu Xingyuan's tenth layer!

In this way, two of the three conditions to become the Gravekeeper of the Void Great Tomb are completed—Primordial Realm Star-level citizen, Yu Xingyuan tenth-layer strength, and the Gravekeeper's secret art.

Once he becomes a Gravekeeper, he can completely resolve Earth's current crisis!

And in comparison, the Seventh Imperial Prince's identity is not that useful to him; once the Seventh Imperial Prince is turned into a clone, to replace the clone again requires paying a sufficient price—

First, destroy the Eternal Gate corresponding to that clone, then slowly reshape a new Eternal Gate with source power; the time this process requires is related to the clone's life level; for a Supreme Star-level being, it takes at least several thousand years.

Actually, this price is not too great, but he currently has no time to waste.

So, he still abandoned using the Seventh Imperial Prince as a clone.

"Indeed."

The silver-haired woman said, "For a 1.9-level civilization, Void Beings already understand Level 2 civilizations quite well; they certainly know of the existence of abilities like clones. Even if my lord turns the Seventh Imperial Prince into a clone, such a contrasting change, the Void Beings could not have no suspicion at all."

Lin Qing nodded and said, "Anyway, it is not just the Nine-Star Civilization that knows of Earth; hiding is no longer possible; let us respond according to the original plan."

The Qiyan Civilization behind the Dawn Group also has a background of a 1.9-level civilization.

"It is indeed quite difficult for my lord to find someone who comprehends multiple Level 8 power essences."

The silver-haired woman pondered and said, "However, such people do exist. To become a Void Being and comprehend the true form of space, the most effective method in legend is to comprehend the essence of all energies within one's own faction; this allows for more effective sensing of spatial structure. Furthermore, since Void Beings must create their own divine techniques from the start, some geniuses will deliberately comprehend all energies within their faction in the universe."

Lin Qing understood, speaking thoughtfully, "A genius with the opportunity to become a Void Being, and who lives long enough, has this possibility, right?"

The silver-haired woman nodded and said, "Yes, there are actually quite a few such people in Level 2 civilizations."

"We can only wait and see."

Lin Qing shook his head slightly. "If we can delay, it won't take many years for me to master Level 8 divine techniques; I am mainly worried that time brings trouble; what if a Level 2 civilization is drawn in?"

"That is possible." The silver-haired woman also nodded gently.

"So..." Lin Qing sighed.

At this moment, Qi Lingxiao beside him suddenly opened his eyes, looking at the world before him somewhat dazed.

"This is... Level 9?" he murmured.

"It is not."

Lin Qing smiled and spoke, "Dean Qi, what you sense is not Level 9, but the spatial fragment where the Void Secret Realm is located. Now, do you have the confidence to transform into a Void Being?"

Qi Lingxiao hesitated for a moment and said, "I am not clear yet; I have not yet tried the process of a divine office pushing a higher-level life form."

"My lord, it is not that simple."

The silver-haired woman beside him shook her head and said, "It is merely the possession of spatial talent. The lifeforms promoted by divine offices utilize energy that does not exist in the universe, a unique energy imbued with spatial properties. Therefore, one must first comprehend and realize a certain aspect of the true nature of space to truly transform into a void creature, and this process is very long."

"Very well." Lin Qing shook his head slightly.

Energy that does not exist, and the need to comprehend the true nature of space—this is equivalent to moving forward in darkness.

"Qi Lingxiao, how are your powers?" Lin Qing asked.

"Very good. My powers have indeed reached the ninth level." Qi Lingxiao's face showed a hint of a smile. "Previously, my powers were merely a second invisible 'me' formed by energy. Now, the second me can exist independently of me, and the quantity has increased. I would say my strength now is roughly in the upper reaches of the ninth layer of the Yu Xingyuan."

"That is good."

Lin Qing nodded and said, "The matter is finished. Let us return to Earth."

In the blink of an eye, five days had passed.

In the boundless darkness of deep space, only endless stars shone.

Suddenly, a tall figure shrouded in a dark red robe appeared silently within the starry sky of the solar system.

This figure walked slowly within the solar system; the first step brought him near Neptune, and the second step already revealed Saturn's rings.

With another step, that blue planet appeared before his eyes.

The invisible rule power fused with gravity repelled his arrival. He took another step forward, and his feet already landed on the surface of the Moon, gazing at that life-bearing planet three hundred and eighty thousand kilometers away.

"Earth..."

(End of this chapter)