“Emperor, if these three incidents were all the doing of one human, then he’s clearly aiming for the capital! He’s coming straight for you!” Duabi exclaimed in alarm.
The insectoids were a rather insular race. They had no other communication with the other races living in the universe and refused communication from others. Even the conservative Pan-human Alliance had once opened trade relations with the neighboring Na’vi, but the insectoids had never done such a thing.
They inconspicuously and secretively occupied their corner of the universe and had only tried to open trade relations with the humans as a pretext for war.
From this, one could see that the insectoids were a race that lacked trust. They trusted no one except themselves. If they went to the territory of others, it would undoubtedly be on warships so that they could conquer it. Besides that, the insectoids had no reason to pay attention to any other race.
For so many bizarre incidents to happen in such an insular society was not at all normal. Uti was able to connect these incidents to Xia Fei easily, and connecting the dots had the arrow pointing straight at the imperial capital.
Uti nodded. “Though it’s only one human, he has a very high cultivation and is very careful with his actions. None of our patrol fleets have managed to discover him. Perhaps his mode of transportation has a special way of avoiding our sentries.
“I’ve analyzed the surveillance reports from the radar stations along this route. At the time of the incident, the radar stations detected a very well-concealed energy signal. This energy pulse didn’t seem to have come from someone who jumped through a temporary wormhole, so the radar stations treated it as ordinary cosmic noise. Hence, they didn’t report it.
“However, this matter now seems highly suspicious. The weak energy signature appeared exactly around the time of Mengen’s death, Shaye’s death, and the border post’s destruction. I’m ninety percent sure that the same human was behind all three incidents.”
Duabi was filled with admiration for Uti’s analysis. Intelligence was a gift, but practically using this gift depended on one’s understanding and diligence.
He had received the report at the same time as Uti, but he had only performed a simple analysis on the video files and local reports before hastily coming to report. Meanwhile, Uti had used the same amount of time to perform several times—no, several dozen times—the amount of work he had performed. This efficiency and sharp intuition were truly difficult to match.
Uti paused a moment, then continued speaking. “No matter who he is or what level of cultivation he has, his target is very likely the capital. The best defense is not to sit around and wait for death but rather to nip it in the bud. This is why I’m sending Kikiger, Laresh, and Goxan with you, so that you may intercept him before he gets to the capital.
“Still, you must do your best to capture him alive as that Blood Demon Claw is very important to this emperor. If you can’t get back that plant, there’s no need for you to come back and see me,” Uti nonchalantly said.
Duabi mentally cursed his fate. This job was truly not simple. He thought he had come out ahead in his stalemate with Shoshao, but he actually had been assigned with this difficult job. He had to both get back the Blood Demon Claw and apprehend the extremely powerful human. How difficult was completing both tasks perfectly? If he knew that this was going to happen, he would have had Shoshao weather this storm and let his Public Security Forces deal with it, instead.
Duabi somewhat helplessly nodded; upon which, Uti smiled. “I already analyzed the route for you, and I also gave you three of my Seven Champions. I even told you how to identify him before he appears. If you still can’t complete this mission, then don’t blame me for being merciless.”
Duabi puffed out his chest and declared, “I, Duabi, will definitely complete this mission. Sacred Emperor, please be at ease!”
Uti nodded and said no more. Duabi softly asked, “Emperor, you are giving me half of the Seven Champions, but you still need some high-level guards to be at your side. What if I sent the Twelve Wings to the Golden Tent?”
Uti smiled. “Your Twelve Wings have some skill, but on this matter, I already requested High Priest Ryun to return to the Golden Tent, and he agreed, so there’s no need to worry about my safety.”
Duabi pursed his lips and mentally grumbled, ‘I heard the Sacred Emperor feared death the most, yet he readily gave me half of the remaining Seven Champions. High Priest Ryun? I didn’t think that old monster is still alive.”
…
The Golden Tent was erected in the middle of a wasteland. Besides scorched golden soil and endless sea of tents, there was nothing else to see. This was done out of respect for the traditions of their ancestors since the insectoids were born among the desolate stars. They had come from nothing, from rags to riches.
Uti had once more taken up the imperial trappings of the past to win the hearts of the insectoids.
Qingyan, who had been pampered and spoiled since she was a child, could not endure the cold and arid winds. Her residence was next to Goldshard Lake, far away from the Golden Tent. Uti spoiled Qingyan, so even though this was against the laws he had set down, out of consideration for Qingyan’s delicate figure, he had complied.
After leaving the Golden Tent, Qingyan boarded a small warship, and in just a few minutes, she arrived at Goldshard Lake, eight hundred kilometers away.
Goldshard Lake was so named because there was gold in these waters. On Earth, there had been a long period of time when gold served as a valuable currency, but in the intergalactic era, people suddenly discovered that gold was simply an extremely common metal in the universe. There were even planets entirely made of gold, so this once venerated metal gradually became mere decoration. Even ordinary families would have a few golden decorations on display.
Goldshard Lake’s name came from the fact that many loose chunks of gold could be found at the bottom of the lake. If one looked down from the sky, one could see that the blue-green waters and the flashing gold lake bottom contrasted each other nicely, creating a unique scene.
Next to the lake was a seemingly endless forest of white birches. A rather large garden occupied a large chunk of land between the lakeshore and the forest. If one looked carefully, one would find that it was actually built in a rather similar style to human buildings, though unlike human buildings, it used many of the Red Heart of Spirits that insectoids liked.
The insectoid territory was one of the primary production regions of Hearts of Spirit, which the insectoids were also incredibly fond of due to them being packed with energy. Thus, the nobles used this ore to build their residences, to pave the floors, or embed their walls with.
However, a building made in this fashion, paired with this lake was far too flashy, but Qingyan did not care. She was born a dazzling existence, so how could gold or jewelry possibly compete with her?
The small warship slowly descended. Qingyan disembarked, and several of her personal maids escorted her in through the rear gate and straight to her bedroom.
In the back garden was a cyan tent only a bit smaller than the Golden Tent. Uti had set up this tent as a smokescreen. In truth, Qingyan had not spent even one minute inside this tent. She preferred her own bedroom, which was built in retro motif.
In her chambers, many of the details incredibly resembled human dwellings. Qingyan enjoyed the luxurious life that humans were said to live. She enjoyed music, poems, movies—anything that humans produced, she adored.
As for the barbaric activities the insectoids used to amuse themselves, like wrestling or hunting, Qingyan could not even be bothered to watch. She felt that living like a human was the true way to live. Spending every day and every night socializing at cocktail parties, dancing and singing, that was what truly interested her.
Alas, she was an insectoid, and she was an insectoid married to Uti. The world she had dreamed of was only getting farther and farther away from her.
After marrying Uti, she bought a large number of human slaves and had them build this courtyard for her. At the very least, she could live out her dream here. Uti turned a blind eye to it and treated it as if it had never happened. Qingyan was already fully obedient to him, so he rarely asked about trivial matters like this.
Once she was in her room, Qingyan threw her red fox shawl to an antique clothes rack made of sandalwood. Almost all the furniture in the room came from the Pan-human Alliance. Be it the wardrobe or the bookshelf, everything found in this abode was exquisitely handcrafted. Even in the Alliance, they cost a considerable sum, and transporting them through the dangerous Wild Star Region and into insectoid territory was even more absurdly expensive.
“Consort, Master Qingryu is waiting in the study.”
Qingyan raised a slender eyebrow. “I’ll go once I change my clothes. Have my father wait a moment.”
Several minutes later, Qingyan finished changing into clothes of white gauze. Walking into the study, she saw a goateed elder seated, sipping on tea.
“Father, how come you’re here?” Qingyan smiled and asked.
Qingryu smiled at his daughter. “I had some free time on my hands, so I came to visit my precious daughter.
Qingyan brewed her father a fresh cup of tea, not allowing her servants to do so. Although she had a different status now, her reverence for her father remained unchanged.
“You’re all dismissed. I wish to speak with my father. No one is allowed inside unless you need something from me.”
“Yes.
Right after all the maids had withdrawn, Qingyan looked around to make sure that no one else was around. She suddenly lowered her voice and said to her father, “Father, as I’m sure you know, that Blood Demon Claw has been lost.”
Qingryu nodded. “I know. That’s exactly why I came. As long as that miraculous plant is out of Uti’s hands, it’s a good thing.”
Such ferocity in Qingryu’s voice! It had to be understood that Uti was his son-in-law, yet Qingryu seemed to be incredibly hostile toward him!
Qingyan nodded. “The plant is gone; alas, father, you must continue to feign your illness.”
Qingryu smiled and shook his head. “It’s nothing. I just have to change hearts every two years. As long as I can bring Uti down, even my death will be worth it.”
Qingyan hastily stopped her father from saying anymore, sorrowfully saying, “This is too much of a burden on your old self. I heard that performing a heart transplant too many times can shorten your lifespan.”
Qingryu laughed. “My girl, you’re overthinking. I’m not even afraid of death, so why would I be afraid of something like that? I heard that it’s a human warrior who killed Mengen and stole the Blood Demon Claw?”
“Yes, that’s right. Uti stirred up a storm in the Golden Tent today. That human doesn’t seem to be simple. I heard that Mengen, one of the Sacred Champions, was killed after only a few rounds with him, and now that human has taken Uti’s cherished Blood Demon Claw. Uti isn’t the type of insectoid to let that warrior go. When I was leaving, Uti talked to the guildmaster of the Sacred Guild, Duabi. It’s probably about how to deal with that human warrior.”
After some thought, Qingryu asked, “Daughter, why didn’t you listen a little on what they were talking about?”
“I wanted to listen in, but while Uti has always treated me well, he has always avoided discussing certain critical issues around me,” Qingyan grumbled.
Qingryu stroked his goatee as he pondered. “We can’t let Uti eliminate that human warrior. In fact, we should think of a way to rescue him. He has no idea what Uti is capable of.”
Qingyan creased her eyebrows. “Father, he’s a human. What does his life have to do with us?”
Qingryu craftily smiled. “You can’t say that. Anyone who opposes Uti is our friend. To remove Uti, we have to recruit anyone useful, even a human.”
