Chapter 434: Why Is My Career Panel in a 2D Art Style? Chapter 200

Cases like theirs, returning in rapid succession within such a short time, were extremely rare even over the past few centuries.

Yet all three had no choice but to do so.

The only female councilor gazed through the container into the boundless void, her eyes faintly swirling with dim light.

After a long while, she whispered: "The anchor has returned to the main universe, but I cannot locate him—something beyond the main universe is obscuring his presence."

"."

Upon hearing this, the other two showed faint traces of confusion on their faces.

After enduring an immeasurably long time together, the three had long understood each other's thoughts; no one in the main universe knew the woman's abilities better than they did.

You should know that even if placed near the Sea of Worlds adjacent to the main universe, that being's observational ability would still rank quite highly.

Before the two could speak, the woman shook her head slightly: "The interference in the main universe is too severe—I can only perceive faint ripples."

"That's.?"

As she spoke, her eyes reflected several drifting, ethereal clouds of milky-white vapor—vapor that, with the aid of the main universe, concealed the anchor's presence.

"Equipment? Career ability? Or racial trait?"

Unfortunately, until the vapor dissipated, the woman could not discern its true nature—she only knew it was something she had never seen before.

With a hint of regret, she exhaled softly, releasing several bubbles into the solution.

"It seems we can only let each star region conduct a slow, systematic search."

"No matter. We have plenty of time—just hope he isn't within the Empire's borders."

"Let's hope so."

None of the three councilors were indecisive by nature; since they judged the new anchor couldn't be found in the short term, they naturally wouldn't waste more time.

As the three closed their eyes, the space fell silent, save for the occasional flicker of pale green energy along the pipes connecting the containers, proving this place was not unchanging.

On the other side.

The Emperor's 【Star-Patrolling Imperial Palace】 drifted among the stars, spreading his majesty across every corner of the Empire.

Pao Ao hid in the shadows of the main hall, silently watching the supreme Emperor.

The Empress had learned of the events from recent days, yet said nothing—instead, she sent several noble ladies she was close to as attendants.

But this did not please the Emperor; those noble ladies had already been dealt with by Pao Ao before they even reached his presence.

As an elder who had witnessed the Empire's gradual rise to its current state, he understood this colossal machine inside and out—and had certainly noticed the sharply divided political atmosphere within the Empire over the past few centuries.

Emperor and Empress at odds

If one had to put it plainly, it was the Empress's overly rigid nature that gave her subordinates an opening.

If this continues…

Never mind—I'm merely the Imperial Grand Steward; why should I think so much?

Thinking this, Pao Ao shook his head slightly and buried the thought deep within his heart.

Knowing the Emperor as he did, the man must have already prepared for this.

Just then, Pao Ao noticed the Emperor, who had been enjoying the attentions of beautiful dancers, suddenly waved his hand to dismiss everyone, then frowned into deep thought.

As an eighth-tier careerist, Pao Ao knew precisely why the Emperor wore that expression.

'Could there really be something in this world the Emperor cannot perceive?'

A surprising thought rose in Pao Ao's mind.

Though deeply curious, he knew what to ask and what not to ask, so he merely lowered his eyelids and pretended to see nothing.

Unfortunately, he was not the only one watching the Emperor—surely the Empress would arrive here soon.

Thinking this, Pao Ao sighed silently and decided to dismiss some of the palace attendants.

Whatever—it's better to save some than none; after all, the Emperor wouldn't blame him for something like this.

…

As his strength increased, the discomfort caused by the 【Traveler】 talent had grown steadily smaller.

After a nearly imperceptible wave of dizziness, Li Ang appeared within the 【Alchemy Kingdom】.

The first thing he did upon returning to the main universe was use 【Great Luo Divine Observation】 to ensure his base had no issues.

Seeing the 【Alchemy Kingdom】 unchanged from when he left, Li Ang exhaled softly.

Just as he was about to dismiss 【Great Luo Divine Observation】, two chilling gazes swept over his position from unknown directions.

Li Ang instinctively tensed his body and kept 【Great Luo Divine Observation】 active.

'. What's going on?'

Fortunately, those two gazes did not linger long and soon vanished.

Even so, Li Ang kept 【Great Luo Divine Observation】 active.

'Tch—this feeling is even more terrifying than Afra's.'

If asked who the strongest being he'd encountered since becoming a careerist was, there was no doubt: the Black Obsidian Star Domain councilor, 【Deep Cold Loop】 Afra Haywood.

Yet compared to the oppressive pressure of those two gazes just now, this female brat of a councilor was no more than a child.

'Eighth tier? Or ninth tier?'

'Here for the right to this world?'

Li Ang frowned, thinking this was the most plausible explanation—he now realized he had been right to refuse Afra's invitation.

Fortunately, for reasons unknown, the owners of those two gazes seemed unaware of his presence.

'Is it because of 【Great Luo Divine Observation】 and 【High-Dimensional Life·Pseudo】?'

Li Ang was now glad he hadn't looked down on the Eight Marvelous Techniques just because he'd transmigrated into a 【Immortal】, and had instead learned one from Gu Zhi Tang.

After a long while, he gradually relaxed his body—but still kept 【Great Luo Divine Observation】 active.

Though Li Ang could no longer sense those two gazes, with eighth- or even ninth-tier careerists involved, no amount of caution was excessive.

For him, maintaining the Great Luo Insight for long periods only consumed a bit of mental energy, not much of a burden.

'But I was spotted right after returning—looks like the other side can sense the anomaly when the Traveler talent activates.'

'Would my traveling back and forth between the One-Person World draw attention?'

Thinking of this, Li Ang furrowed his brow slightly.

He wasn't quite sure about it; after all, this kind of situation likely had something to do with world ownership—before this, activating the Traveler talent had never drawn any attention.

The good news was that even if he didn't return to the One-Person World for a short while, it wouldn't matter much, since the Star Shepherd clan still needed a long time to develop.

But even without this issue, he wouldn't stay long in the One-Person World.

After gaining half ownership of the One-Person World, he could no longer trigger major events within it.

After all, for a world's owner, what exactly counts as a major event?

To continue his journey and strengthen himself, he could only return to the main world and stir up trouble.

Of course, if not for the Great Luo Insight and the Pseudo High-Dimensional Life, Li Ang would now just be hiding somewhere, slowly developing.

As for now—

Recalling that he had only experienced five worlds in total and already reached the Fifth Echelon, Li Ang couldn't help but stroke his chin.

If this pace continued, wouldn't he reach the Ninth Echelon after just four worlds?

Well, that might be overly optimistic; after all, the higher the Echelon, the stricter the transformation requirements—he'd likely need to spend considerable time to become an Upper Three-Echelon practitioner.

'Forget it, thinking about this now is useless—first, let me transform into a Star Shepherd.'

Thinking of this, Li Ang took a light breath to calm his emotions, then lifted the sealed state of the Alchemical Kingdom.

The first to sense the change in the Alchemical Kingdom was, naturally, Ottavio, whom Li Ang had turned into a Simulated Servant.

The armored knight appeared before his master in a single flash.

He knelt on one knee, bowing his head respectfully: "Master, you've emerged from seclusion."

"Hmm. Has anything happened on Morabiss Star recently?"

As he spoke, Li Ang casually tossed the Emperor's Choice—Star Piercer to him.

In the One-Person World, he had already analyzed this weapon and successfully imbued the Divine Proclamation with a new concept.

Facing the dark-gold spear hurtling toward him, Ottavio showed no sign of panic, merely catching it steadily.

Yet the moment he touched the weapon that had accompanied him for so long, he sensed something unusual.

Something had been added inside the spear.

Before he could react, Li Ang spoke: "I gave it a little upgrade on the side—hope you don't mind?"

"This…" Ottavio froze, then bowed his head: "Your generosity moves me. By this spear, I swear: before I fall, no being shall ever touch your noble body."

"."

Honestly, Li Ang—who was no knight—couldn't quite grasp such thoughts, but that didn't stop him from finding his subordinate exceptionally qualified.

Arthur was the same. Ottavio was the same.

Speaking of Arthur, since Ottavio's appearance, the two had often sparred.

But one couldn't unleash the Star Sacred Sword, and the other had lost his main weapon—they'd managed a roughly even match.

Unaware of his master's thoughts, Ottavio put away the Emperor's Choice—Star Piercer and began reporting on Morabiss Star's recent status.

During Li Ang's absence, nothing major had occurred on this plant planet.

Except for two new dragons.

". Aio Logistics?"

After hearing Ottavio's account, Li Ang's expression turned thoughtful—he hadn't expected these cosmic vagabonds to come to him voluntarily.

As for their purpose, he'd find out soon enough.

Just as Li Ang was about to set off to find the two dragons the black-armored knight mentioned, he suddenly remembered something and asked with mild confusion: "You said one of the dragons is a stupid dragon disturbing the peace—what does that mean?"

". I think you'd better see it for yourself."

Ottavio's face wore an expression of utter disbelief.

"."

Seeing this, Li Ang immediately felt a bad premonition and vanished from his spot.

When he reappeared, he was inside the Viceroy's mansion.

"Hahaha! Again! Again, please~ Sophia~"

Hearing this enormous voice, even the Viceroy's mansion couldn't block, Li Ang froze.

He had already seen who the voice belonged to—and what they were doing.

But was this really a dragon?

In Li Ang's view, an extremely exaggerated-sized black dragon was chasing a metal ball across the vast plain outside the Viceroy's mansion.

If the dragon were replaced by a dog, this scene might not seem odd.

But—

Even with all his experience, Li Ang couldn't help but struggle to keep his composure.

And he noticed the black dragon occasionally snatched mouthfuls of dirt while chasing the ball.

Had Aio Logistics' dragons become so poor they had to eat dirt? Logically, such a cosmic mega-corporation should be incredibly wealthy.

After a brief silence, Li Ang flashed beside a tall, mature woman with dazzling rainbow-colored hair.

She was the one throwing the ball to the dragon—and also a dragon herself.

"You're Sophia, right?"

The sudden voice made the mature woman shudder, her chest heaving violently.

But as a high-echelon dragon, Sophia quickly steadied herself and turned toward her side.