Chapter 296: Let the Star Sea Witness Bai Fu’s Strength!
The three universal-level civilizations of the explored universe each had their own unique traits.
The Rebirth Empire was the oldest among them, with the most tortuous history. From planets to star systems, to being suppressed by rebels and forced to retreat back to a single planet, only to surge forward once more into a universal-level civilization—a magnificent thirty-thousand-year history of ups and downs. The name Rebirth Empire originated from this very journey.
It was precisely because of this phoenix-like rebirth that the Rebirth Empire valued its traditions deeply.
The Supernova Legion was the youngest and most arrogant among them. It originated as a battle regiment during the era of great interstellar expansion. In the chaos-forged ladder, it relied on reckless combat to finally transform into a massive universal-level civilization.
Blood and fire were engraved into the Supernova Legion’s DNA. Even today, it remained a civilization that worshipped martial valor and military merit, possessing the most Dominators and Transcendents among the three universal-level civilizations.
Compared to the other two, Titan Industries appeared much more refined—at least, that was how the vast majority of civilizations in the Star Sea perceived it.
Born from interstellar trade, during the chaotic era of expansion, a group of ambitious individuals founded the Titan Industries Union to provide services to civilizations mired in war. In the end, those warring civilizations gained little, while Titan Industries, backed by solid technology and terrifying wealth, rose instead, successfully attracting more and more civilizations into its fold, until it became a civilization union in itself.
Because of its past, Titan Industries always placed emphasis on technology and rules. When expanding outward, it preferred economic control over military annexation.
Among the three universal-level civilizations, Titan Industries had the fewest peak-level fighters. But one must never underestimate them—for Titan Industries possessed the most money, the most cosmic treasures, the most advanced warships, the richest stockpile of weapons capable of annihilating even Dominators and Transcendents, and the largest web of connections. The wealthiest headquarters of Eternal Investments in the explored universe was located within Titan Industries’ domain.
Money wasn’t omnipotent, but money was truly powerful!
After secretly receiving news from the painter’s client, Titan Industries swiftly dispatched a highly specialized squad to capture Bai Fu—
Four Transcendents, seven Dominators, and two cosmic treasures!
Two of the Transcendents were only a step away from their third divinity transformation, excelling in illusions and explosive output. Another specialized in imprisonment, while the last was a unique support-type mechanic—all formidable in team battles.
Though the seven Dominators weren’t particularly strong in one-on-one combat, each had their own cunning tricks.
The two cosmic treasures they carried were the 【Home of the Lost】, which incorporated a host of confusing methods, and the 【Titan Holy Shield】, capable of forming a powerful barrier.
Titan Industries was fully confident that with this combo they could silently take out Demitri and capture Bai Fu.
Originally, they had wanted to deploy even more, but to avoid direct conflict with the Empire, they had to strike during the narrow window after Bai Fu left imperial territory but before she arrived at Origin Star.
This window wasn’t long, since the Empire had constructed a Star Gate on Ulysses Star, greatly shortening Bai Fu’s travel time between Origin Star and the Empire.
The urgency left Titan Industries no time to mobilize more forces. What they had now was already the strongest lineup they could assemble in such short notice.
But—it was enough!
The leading Mechanical Martial Saint, Thunderblade, pulled both hands forward from his waist, instantly drawing out two energy longswords wreathed in lightning.
ㄴZzzla——
Electric arcs split through the starry sky, piercing the integrated illusion woven by the Home of the Lost, shining into the ship where Bai Fu was seated.
"They’re here! That is… Thunderblade? From Titan Industries"
Demitri recognized the attackers immediately, and his already grim face darkened further.
For a universal-level civilization to personally strike—this was far more terrifying than any hidden organization.
The only good news was that despite being surrounded, Bai Fu could still contact the outside world.
The Empire would receive the message and immediately negotiate with Titan Industries.
If negotiations went smoothly, they might yet survive.
If negotiations failed, their survival would depend entirely on how many forces Titan Industries had deployed this time.
"One, two, three… four"
Damn it!
Demitri’s heart sank.
He spotted four all-too-familiar faces.
Though he had grown much stronger than before, he knew well that his improvement wasn’t enough to withstand the joint assault of those shameless old bastards who had come fully prepared.
And besides the four Transcendents, Titan Industries had also sent many Dominators.
Bai Fu was indeed powerful, even capable of clashing head-on with a Transcendent-level True Spirit summon. But Titan Industries’ seven Dominators were no pushovers either. If they all joined the fight…
It was over!
Demitri burned with fury, cursing the traitorous mole who had leaked the news.
Damn it all!
The Empire had been about to rise, yet because of one traitor they were now facing ruin. As a pure-blood imperial citizen, Demitri was livid.
But curses could not change the situation.
All he could do was quickly find Bai Fu and tell her what he had discovered.
By now, he no longer hoped to defeat the ambushers or break free. He only wished to survive long enough to see if the Empire would turn things around.
"I will do everything I can to protect your safety" Demitri looked at Bai Fu with grave seriousness.
Right now, he resembled a knight protecting a princess.
But he had miscalculated one thing—this “princess” before him had very large fists!
Bai Fu said, "You should think more about how to protect yourself first."
Demitri wanted to say more, but Thunderblade’s lightning blade strike had already landed on the ship’s shield.
Boom boom boom！
They were aboard the Empire’s most advanced small fortress-ship, its shields and armor strength second to none.
But against Thunderblade, famed for explosive burst, such defenses looked flimsy.
Pa!
The shield shattered like glass under a heavy hammer.
The light of the blade dimmed somewhat, but its momentum remained, carving into the ship’s side armor and leaving deep fissures, making the vessel rock violently like a pirate ship in a storm.
Damn it!
After shouting to Bai Fu, Demitri rushed out of the ship. His priority was to stall the four Transcendents as much as possible, to prevent them from blasting apart the ship. If the ship exploded, they would be even more trapped.
"Trying to block us alone? Foolish dream"
Thunderblade sneered. Facing Demitri’s annihilation power, he didn’t dodge at all, charging headlong while a blue shield sphere lit up around him mid-flight.
Pa!
Hit directly by annihilation energy, the shield quivered until it burst, but the next instant, a new shield reappeared around Thunderblade.
"Demitri, today you are dead"
Thunderblade, along with two other Transcendents and four Dominators, roared with laughter as they charged at him.
They clashed violently, making space boil, the stars tremble, and the battlefield resemble the end of the world.
While the fight outside raged, the other crew members aboard the ship also threw themselves into action.
Those repairing the ship rushed repairs.
Those manning the cannons fired away.
Despite the peril, they maintained composure.
They were, after all, members of the Empire’s elite forces.
After transmitting the message out, Bai Fu did not follow Demitri outside.
The enemy was clearly targeting her. To charge into the melee would not only fail to help Demitri, it would play right into their hands.
“Oh, here she comes delivering herself? Perfect, less effort to capture her!”
To Bai Fu, the best strategy now was to flee. Seeing her escape, Titan Industries would surely send people to chase her, which would relieve the pressure on Demitri and the crew.
And since Titan Industries didn’t know her true strength, she might even find an opportunity to counter-kill during the pursuit.
"If I can take down a single Transcendent, I’ll be able to complete that emergency mission"
Other rewards aside, Bai Fu was truly craving that Supreme Copycat Card.
With it, she could copy a Transcendent-level tank skill, boosting her survivability tremendously. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?
"You all hold the line here. I’ll go assist Lord Annihilation."
Bai Fu received the Sacrificial Staff from Little Hei Fu, who had just devoured all the resources.
The Sacrificial Staff now already counted as a Transcendent-level weapon, but compared to those complete cosmic treasures, its effects were still far inferior.
Cosmic treasures weren’t something so easy to forge!
The instant she gripped the Sacrificial Staff, Bai Fu directly activated her Void Shuttle ability and escaped from the ship.
Then, she discovered a problem.
Although, with the blessing of the 【Heart of Supreme Purity】, she could already see through the illusions before her, the interference she suffered was not limited to illusions alone.
Spatial interference, cognitive interference, spiritual—oh, not spiritual interference, for under the protection of the Paradise Ark, spiritual interference no longer worked on her. What troubled her most now was spatial interference.
"I can’t control the landing point of my flashes at all right now."
Bai Fu frowned tightly as she looked at the unfolding map before her.
Being unable to control her landing point after flashing meant she might, with bad luck, flash directly into the middle of Titan Industries’ forces. That move would be no different from an ADC flashing into a crowd to forcibly start a team fight.
Forget it.
If she couldn’t flash, she would fly instead. After all, she wasn’t simply trying to escape; as long as she widened the distance, it would be enough.
Bai Fu marked a point on the map, then flew toward it, making sure she wouldn’t lose her way.
Not long after she flew off, Titan Industries detected the anomaly.
"Bai Fu is preparing to escape"
Gagliani, who was in charge of the capture, sneered: "Hmph, want to run? That depends on whether I allow it"
He pointed beside him a few times, and those selected immediately stepped out, following him in pursuit of Bai Fu.
"What is Bai Fu doing?"
Seeing Gagliani and his men leave, Demitri’s face changed.
The support-type mechanic, Zero, of Titan Industries, raised his hand and summoned countless super-magnetic particles made of strong-interaction materials, sending them flying at Demitri from all directions.
"Still worrying about others? You’d better worry about yourself first"
Demitri’s heart burned with worry, but besieged by three Transcendents and the Home of the Lost, he could not break free at all. Not only could he not escape, he was suppressed into an extremely narrow space, forced to fight within it.
All this was because Titan Industries’ ambush was extremely targeted.
The Metal Lord Zero was a mechanical lifeform created by Titan Industries. As a mechanical lifeform, it could not wield psionics, nor did it have esper powers or mental force, but its attainments in mechanical materials science far surpassed even Chongxiao and Corona.
Relying on this expertise, Zero transformed into a support-type mechanic, using mechanical equipment crafted from advanced materials to strengthen allies and restrict enemies—truly a battlefield shit-stirrer.
Also worthy of that title was the illusionist Xuequan. In terms of output, Xuequan was inferior even to Zero, but when acting together with other Transcendents, her masterful illusions could disgust her enemies to the point of despair, creating the best environment for her teammates’ damage.
Right now, Demitri felt like vomiting from sheer frustration.
Damn it, how was he supposed to fight this?
It was over.
If Bai Fu fell into Titan Industries’ hands, the Empire would be in grave danger!
The longer Demitri fought, the more anxious he became, and without realizing it, several hard-to-heal wounds had already appeared on his body.
At this time, Thunderblade even had the leisure to ask Gagliani how things were going.
"Thanks to the Home of the Lost’s spatial coordinate disruption, Bai Fu has already been blocked. Once I clear her psionic legion, I’ll bring her back soon."
Gagliani ended the call with a laugh.
Then, he commanded the five Dominators who had followed him to charge the psionic legion ahead.
The combined might of five Dominators and one Transcendent was enough to shake the heavens. Although Bai Fu’s psionic legion was vast in number, after the fierce battle, it was forced back, a wide passage hacked open through sheer force.
"Bai Fu, you can’t escape"
Gagliani charged forward, and with a grasp of his right hand in the void, a golden circle inscribed with runes suddenly appeared beside Bai Fu. It shrank rapidly and bound her tight.
Success!
Gagliani was overjoyed.
Though Demitri had noticed the anomaly early, before absolute strength, vigilance was meaningless.
Flying before Bai Fu, confirming that it was truly her and not some substitute or True Spirit summon, he immediately contacted Thunderblade.
"She’s been caught. How are things on your side?"
"Caught? Excellent" Thunderblade rejoiced. "We’ll be done here soon as well. Take her away first, to avoid…"
Thunderblade never finished his words, for Demitri suddenly roared across the public channel, cutting him off: "Thunderblade"
Thunderblade arched a brow.
Demitri said, "Did you think you were acting so secretly that once you killed me, no one would know Bai Fu had been taken by you? I’ll tell you the truth—the Empire has long since received word."
"？"
Thunderblade froze for a moment, then suddenly laughed.
"And here I thought you were going to say something important."
Demitri sneered: "You don’t believe me?"
His body was covered in wounds, yet his eyes still burned with blazing flames.
Seeing that light in his eyes, Thunderblade’s brows twitched, and at last he decided to ask the Industrial Committee. It wouldn’t delay anything anyway.
"Demitri claims the Rebirth Empire already knows of our operation. Is that true?"
"The Rebirth Empire’s elder, Buvalo, just contacted the President. He is chatting with them now. You don’t need to worry. Secure Bai Fu as our bargaining chip first."
What, they really knew?!
The Committee’s feedback shocked Thunderblade.
He found it unbelievable.
Their blockade was airtight. How had the Rebirth Empire gotten the news? Could there really be a spy for the Rebirth Empire within Titan Industries’ core circle?
Thunderblade’s body shuddered slightly.
Fortunately, they had already captured Bai Fu, otherwise the situation would have been far more passive.
"Gagliani has already caught Bai Fu. Since the Rebirth Empire knows, should we proceed with the original plan and kill Annihilation?"
"Things have gone this far. Kill him"
"Good."
Just as Thunderblade was about to hang up, a strange static came from his communicator.
"It’s a network intrusion"
Zero’s electronic eyes flashed sharply.
At once, an unexpected mocking voice came through the communicator.
"Did you really think you had already captured me?"
It was Bai Fu!
Everyone from Titan Industries present felt a surge of dread. They wanted to warn Gagliani, but it was already too late.
Bai Fu had allowed herself to be bound deliberately, just to lure Gagliani close.
The moment he flew before her was the very moment she would let the Star Sea witness her true strength!
砰！
Gagliani’s face twisted in horror as he saw the runes binding Bai Fu shatter beneath a surge of psionic energy. Then, a colossal black eye rose behind her, while a tidal wave of psionic fury surged forth, drowning him completely.
He tried to dodge, tried to counterattack, but in that instant, he was plunged into endless darkness. Strange whispers, like scripture, drifted from all sides, making his head split with pain as he gradually lost control over his body.
What the hell was this?!
Wait.
The focus wasn’t Bai Fu’s sudden strange power, but… her aura. Yes, that aura—an aura that seemed to rip apart space, to reopen the cosmos itself.
"Transcendent—Bai Fu has advanced to Transcendent!!"
A terrified cry came from the communicator.
It was the last thing Gagliani ever said. After his shout, the transmission cut off, leaving behind only deathlike silence in the starry sky.
One second, two seconds… more than ten seconds later.
Thunderblade, Zero, Xuequan, Demitri, and even the one from Titan Industries headquarters speaking to Thunderblade, all came to their senses, realizing what Gagliani’s last words had been.
But precisely because they realized it, they fell into an even greater, longer silence. Beneath that silence lay a shock as vast as a supernova explosion.
Bai Fu? Transcendent? Impossible!