Chapter 185: First Stop of Revenge

Chapter 185: First Stop of Revenge

When Tianlan Star made its official announcement, it specifically chose a Lion Demon to deliver the message using the Lion’s Roar. The commotion was so loud that not only did Akoer Star hear it, but even neighboring planets picked up the disturbance, curiously peering out to find out what was going on.

Once they understood the content, the citizens of Akoer Star—who had previously been unaware of the outside commotion—immediately realized what was happening.

Can Qian and Xing Yi were no exception. At first, they didn’t think the individuals mentioned in the message referred to them—but the coincidences were too striking.

Coincidentally, one was named Can Qian, the other Xing Yi. Coincidentally, they had co-founded a gaming studio together. And coincidentally, this studio was named Qian Xing Studio.

“It… might not necessarily be us,” Xing Yi said, holding onto hope.

Can Qian wasn’t that naïve, but by this point, the Federation, under pressure from public opinion, had begun livestreaming the scene. After assessing the situation, he felt confident in Akoer Star’s strength.

If the enemy had been powerful, that would have been one thing—but they looked so weak, just a ragtag force. Even if the Federation didn’t care about the lives of two ordinary citizens, for the sake of its dignity, it wouldn’t hand them over.

Otherwise, how would the people view the Federation in the future?

A government that pushes its own citizens forward to take the blame at the first sign of trouble would suffer a devastating loss of credibility.

“As long as the current leadership doesn’t want to step down, they’ll have to dig in and shield us.”

“So we’re still safe. Though we’ll probably stand trial postwar.”

But compared to losing their lives, even if they ended up serving a few years in prison or being dragged through the court of public opinion—so what?

After some time, no one would mention it anymore. Once they served their sentences, they’d be back in action.

Hearing this, Xing Yi was completely reassured. The two remained calm and composed. Can Qian even had the nerve to order the smart robot to whip up a meal.

Let's enjoy a good meal while we still can. Once we're in prison, it won't be easy to get fresh, delicious food like this anymore.

"What the hell is with these Azure Starians? They can turn into meteorites?!" Just when they thought they were safe, Xing Yi suddenly realized something was wrong.

This thing was the size of a small moon.

"So what if they can turn into meteorites? We're from Acol Star—an intermediate-level civilization. Not some backwater planet."

"Only those backward worlds would panic over a meteorite, helpless to stop it, left to watch as it wreaks devastation and even destroys their entire civilization."

Still, even though he felt nothing serious should happen, Can Qian quickly activated all the defenses in their workspace.

"Meteorites have hit our planet before, right? But they've always been blocked by the protective barrier." Can Qian said, half trying to reassure his companion—and himself.

"With the defense barrier up, what's there to worry about?"

"Yeah, true."

Just as the two began to calm down again, they realized in horror: "Is the barrier shaking?"

That can't be real!

They desperately wanted to believe it wasn’t. But the next moment, they saw: "Is the barrier cracking?!"

When they realized their nightmare scenario was unfolding—watching the brutal force of the rock’s impacts smashing against the shield—if it broke through…

Can Qian, who had always remained composed, finally let out a blood-curdling shriek after witnessing the impossible sight of the stone transforming into a human figure and brutally wrenching open the fissure with bare hands.

Oh god… How could this happen?

How could this be?

"What the hell is the military even for? Why didn’t they stop her? We pay so much in taxes—*is this how they repay taxpayers?*"

"Where’s all that military funding disappearing to every year?"

"Did they pocket the shield maintenance funds? Was the energy supply insufficient? Otherwise, how could the shield be so fragile, so easily broken? She didn’t even need a mech!"

Can Qian was falling apart. When Xing Yi saw her flying straight at their workshop, he couldn’t help but tremble uncontrollably. His legs buckled, and he crashed into Can Qian.

Can Qian wasn’t faring any better—in fact, worse. Unable to steady Xing Yi, both tumbled to the ground in a heap.

Like a puddle of sludge on the floor, they couldn’t even get up.

When the roof was torn open and they saw the demonically beautiful woman standing above them, their last flicker of hope was snuffed out.

Her smile might’ve been beautiful, but all they could see was cruelty.

It was pure menace.

She wasn’t just ripping the roof off—she might as well have been peeling their skulls open.

When she *sweetly* asked them something, Can Qian desperately wanted to defend himself, to plead innocence.

But he couldn’t speak. His throat was clogged with sawdust.

Xing Yi just tucked his head down, as if hiding his face would make him invisible—as if she might overlook him and spare his life.

Shi Buju shrugged off their silence.

This address only had these two people. Sheng Qingquan couldn’t have made a mistake.

"But are they really this cowardly?" Shi Buju muttered, surprised. With spines this weak, they had the guts to pull this crap?

With one hand, she lifted both men up. Her senses scanned the workshop, quickly locating the game server mentioned in the plot.

The server took up nearly the whole basement. Shi Buju raised her storage ring and stowed it inside.

Her godson’s soul had gotten trapped in this game. He’d mistaken the virtual world for reality, joined the military, fought battles, and formed deep bonds with NPC comrades—only for these bastards to delete their data right in his face.

If these Acol Star scum could do this, who knew what the Acol Federation might do to Sky Blue Star later?

Even if her godson didn’t know those NPCs yet, she couldn’t leave this game in Acol’s hands.

Her storage ring had plenty of space, so aside from the server, Shi Buju grabbed quite a few other things.

"This, this, and this—take them all back as compensation for my godson! The kid deserved some payback." Poor kid, he shouldn’t suffer for nothing.

As she shamelessly looted the place, Can Qian and Xing Yi didn’t dare make a sound.

They’d pay anything to live.

They just prayed she’d leave them for dead after.

But things didn’t go as they hoped. Shi Buju wasn’t about to let them go.

Gritting their teeth, they readied a desperate ambush—a last-ditch attack to survive.

"Stay put!"

The moment they moved, they were slammed into the ground.

It wasn't like the throw had been particularly forceful, nor had the drop been from a great height. Given the physical resilience of Akorians, they shouldn’t have been hurt at all.

Yet both felt as though their entire bodies had been crushed repeatedly by a massive boulder—agonizing pain shooting through them, accompanied by a chorus of sickening cracks from within.

The sound of bones shattering.

The sound of organs being crushed.

Now they didn’t dare so much as twitch, terrified that jagged bone fragments might pierce their internal organs and kill them outright.

Shi Buju cleared out the studio before picking up the two figures from the floor again.

After such a delay, enforcement squads were already closing in from all directions. But if even the official military hadn’t been able to touch her, these under-equipped enforcers couldn’t even get near her.

All they saw was a blur—an impossibly fast figure carrying two people like sacks of paper trash, bolting for the gap in the shield.

"Hey kiddo, check out what I got ya!" Shi Buju shouted the moment she cleared the barrier, spotting Yin Xingyi outside and immediately holding up her "gifts" with pride.

"Huh? Dead?"

"My biggest gift for my godson—poof, just like that?"

The smile on Shi Buju’s face vanished completely as she glared at the Akorian military still attacking her relentlessly.

They hadn’t managed to hurt her—but they'd turned these two fragile pieces of trash into literal garbage.

Okay, maybe she’d screwed up by forgetting to protect them, but the real problem was these soldiers.

Dusting off the gunk from her hands, Shi Buju blurred into motion, charging toward the enemy ranks.

"Dead?" Yin Xingyi, the one who’d suffered most, had come out too. But his cultivation paled in comparison to his godmother’s, and by the time he caught up, she’d already taken care of everything.

Seeing Shi Buju drag two people out, he knew exactly who they were. Before he could think about how to deal with them, he watched them die—stone-cold dead.

Turns out they weren’t so special after all.

They could die just as easily, just as carelessly.

For a split second, Yin Xingyi went numb, as if a heavy chain had finally snapped free from his body.

The next instant, the world turned upside down. They were in space—there shouldn’t have been any clouds—but above Yin Xingyi, a storm of black clouds rolled in, stretching for kilometers, a sight to behold.

Shi Buju’s face went rigid. Ignoring the Akorian forces, she shot backward, putting distance between them and herself.

During a heavenly trial, if another cultivator got too close, it could trigger their own tribulation early—or worse, the heavens might interpret it as cheating, ramping up the trial’s brutality.

Neither the one facing the trial nor the "helper" would survive. In the worst case, both could bite the dust together.

Shi Buju kept her distance, watching, while Tianlan Star’s fleet also pulled back swiftly.

Just as the Akorians were about to mock this apparent retreat, Yin Xingyi, standing beneath the gathering storm, plowed ahead—right into the thick of the enemy army, heading straight for the densest clusters of soldiers.

These weren’t cultivators. Being there wouldn’t affect them—they’d be fine.

For ordinary people, when divine lightning strikes, it won't harm them—as long as they haven't done anything wrong.

Divine lightning targets the wicked. If there are evildoers below, it won't hesitate to act.

Boom! Kaboom! Bolts of divine lightning rained down.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Why is there suddenly lightning?"

"What the—why is it targeting me?!"

"I've been hit by lightning before—this is way worse!"

"Not even mechs can stop it. How is that possible? No matter where I run, the lightning follows!"

The Acol Star troops went berserk. Many panicked soldiers fled in all directions, yet none could escape being struck.

A few bolts later, they were vaporized.

Nearby, unharmed soldiers watched in horror as their comrades, struck by lightning, disappeared as if erased.

What had once been a crowded battlefield became eerily empty in just a few minutes.

Yin Xingyi was no stranger to this—he'd seen many others go through it too. He was an expert at handling it.

Though battered and injured by the strikes, he was managing well.

Seeing this, the people of Azure Star felt relieved.

They had initially worried whether leaving Azure Star would cause issues during the tribulation.

There was spiritual energy out here too—but since space-folk didn't know how to use it, it remained abundant. Still, it couldn't compare to what they had back home.

And could the Cosmic Will even reach this far?

Fortunately, everything seemed normal.

Watching the storm ahead, a half-demon couldn't help but marvel, "Now that's a spectacle."

"Major scene. Anyone who knows what they're looking at can tell it's a Nascent Soul tribulation. Someone clueless might think he's ascending to godhood."

"Even when the old master underwent tribulation for the Mahayana stage, it wasn't this intense."

As the final bolt struck and the storm began to fade, Yin Xingyi skipped healing entirely and dashed straight back to the Azure Star fleet at full speed. "Move out! Get out here and soak up the magic rain! Don't waste it—we're not letting those aliens get any of it!"

Oh shit!

Right!

The crowd, delighted by the aliens' suffering, immediately poured out of their warships.

Hell, they were all moving faster than ever.

What could be better than letting them take the hits while you reap the rewards?

Soaking up the magic rain, they watched the distant Acol Star soldiers with satisfaction. The best part? The enemy weren't just failing to gain any benefits—they were still too stunned to move.

The rain stopped and the clouds cleared. The Azure Starians felt their power stabilizing and skills improving as they looked upon the chaos on Arkol Star.

It hit them late—

"Wait, so… we’re done fighting?"

"Look at them now—do they even have an army left?"

Some were dead, and those who survived had completely lost their will to fight. Their faces were pure terror.

Forget fighting—they couldn’t even hold a weapon now.

Did we just win without trying?!

Not only the military, but the entire Arkol Star was in complete disarray.

The whole thing was live-streamed, and the situation unfolded so suddenly that no one even cut the feed.

From high-ranking officials and social elites to ordinary citizens, everyone on Arkol Star witnessed what had just happened.

The harder they’d laughed at the Azure Starians before, the harder they shook now.

If Shi Buju breaking through the shield had let them cop out with excuses like "low energy" or "shield not maxed," now, no lie could sugarcoat it.

"They only sent one person!"

"One person took out our ‘unbeatable’ army!"

And the other side still had so many more. If they all attacked, Arkol Star would only meet one fate—wiped off the map.

"The strength gap is just too huge."

Only now, the strong and weak had totally flipped.

At this moment, every Arkolian cursed the names of the two instigators—Can Qian and Xing Yi.

What hell had they dragged onto Arkol?!

If those two weren’t already dead, the people of Arkol Star would’ve ripped them apart limb by limb.

Before, many Arkolians had been pissed about the military ignoring hostages—attacking even when captives were visible, only to kill their own people while the enemy walked away untouched.

They’d been full of complaints, some even sending angry messages to the Federation on the spot.

Now? Nobody gave a damn.

Now they just wished the military hadn’t acted so fast. If the instigators were still alive, handing them over might have given the enemy someone to vent on—and maybe spared the rest.

Things wouldn’t have gone this far.

Even though many soldiers survived, these so-called elites showed zero discipline. Not only did they fail to organize resistance, some were a sobbing, snotty mess on the ground.

These clowns were elite warriors?

In normal times, people would’ve torn into them with tongues dipped in venom.

But now, the Arkolians looked like ghosts—too shell-shocked to even trash-talk the military’s incompetence or the useless higher-ups in the Federation.

The Azure Starian authorities never expected Yin Xingyi’s wild card move to work so well—a flawless power flex that stunned everyone.

But since it's come to this, we can't let such a favorable situation go to waste.

The Lion Demon let out another roar.

"The Azure Starians are peaceful. If the Acol Federation had kept its citizens in check and not allowed them to commit heinous crimes against our people—or tried to seize Azure Star for themselves—we wouldn't have been forced to fight back to defend our honor. This war never needed to happen."

"This war was justified. Azure Star has reclaimed and defended its honor."

"But it could’ve been avoided—if not for the Acol Federation’s atrocities."

"So now, as the victors, Azure Star demands the following reparations from the Acol Federation."

"A lump sum of 10 trillion credits or an equivalent amount in other universally accepted interstellar currencies. If they opt for installments, the total will increase by 10% to 60%, depending on the number and length of payments."

"Hand over twenty resource planets. At least five of them gotta be high-grade, ten mid-grade, and the rest can be low-grade."

"For the next three centuries, all high-level technological advancements must be shared with Azure Star."

"Azure Star gets most-favored-nation status..."

Acol is only a mid-tier civilization. The credit payment, while massive, wouldn’t cripple them as a nation.

The real kicker was the twenty resource planets—completely gutting their reserves. Acol didn’t have many to begin with—nowhere near triple digits—and most were low-grade. Mid-grade ones were rare, and high-grade even rarer.

Losing five high-grade planets was like taking all their best stuff. If they could’ve swapped in low-grade ones, even ten extra wouldn’t have stung as bad.

Then there was the three-century tech-sharing clause. They’d have to hand over everything—past research and any future breakthroughs.

How was Acol supposed to grow like this?

Keep researching, and they’d just be helping their enemy—basically handing them free upgrades.

But if they quit, Acol would be stuck with no way back up.

They couldn’t just freeze their tech for three hundred years. Do that, and by the time three centuries passed, they’d have dropped out of mid-tier status—maybe even faded away completely.

The other terms were harsh too, but nothing compared to this.

They wanted to scream at Azure Star’s insane demands, to tell them to shove it—but survival made the price almost worth paying.

The worst part? Azure Star wasn’t even in the Interstellar Alliance.

Before, they’d laughed at them, calling them backwater hicks from who-knows-where. Who doesn’t join the Interstellar Alliance unless they’re some backwards rock?

Now, though, the Acol Starians weren’t laughing.

Azure Star wasn’t part of the Alliance, so it wasn’t protected by its laws—but it also wasn’t bound by them.

No one to complain to.

They had no choice but to give in.

Both sides started formal talks.

After a week of back-and-forth, Azure Star left with their loot.

Nearby worlds, already stunned by the fight, were downright horrified when they heard just how much Acol had to cough up.

"This Sky Blue Star—never even heard of it before! Who knew it would be this terrifying!"

The spies from various planets huddled together, whispering anxiously.

"This is definitely another civilization we should never provoke. We must be extremely cautious not to anger them from now on. Let's not end up like Acol!"

"When we return, we must ensure our superiors impose strict discipline on their people. The propaganda department should emphasize Acol’s fate as a warning to everyone."

"I used to think only individuals pretended to be foolish to deceive others—acting weak, letting someone bully them, then suddenly retaliating and shocking everyone. I never imagined an entire planet could be so cunning."

"Did you know? Sky Blue Star hasn't even joined the Interstellar Alliance yet. What underhanded tactics—those people are nothing but snakes!"

"Shh, don’t speak ill of them. If you can't keep quiet, at least avoid saying such things in front of me and dragging me into trouble. 'Cunning' and 'scheming'? Absolutely not—that’s just intelligence!"

"Besides, they didn’t completely destroy Acol either. They still have some boundaries—some restraint."

"It's the difference between being killed with one strike and dying from a thousand wounds. But you're right—we really shouldn't badmouth Sky Blue Star."

After all, they clearly hold grudges. No need to give them any reason to remember us.

Quickly shifting his tone, the person continued, "At least Acol still exists. As long as they remain, there's always hope for a comeback. Sky Blue Star truly showed grace by turning the other cheek."

"They were lenient. Hopefully Acol understands the gesture and doesn't continue holding a grudge."

"Just two individuals dragged an entire planet into chaos. And Acol's government mishandled everything from the start. If they had simply brought those two out earlier and resolved matters fairly, maybe none of this would have occurred. We should all learn a serious lesson from this!"

"And…"

Every one of these planets etched the name “Sky Blue Star” into their memories.

However, since few planets were located near Acol, even if some chatter appeared on the Starnet, Sky Blue Star barely caused a ripple. Only a handful had even heard of it.

Qixiu (the Artificers) had already developed high-capacity storage rings long ago, so Sky Blue Star didn’t need to divide its fleet or dispatch warships to transport the spoils home.

After departing from Acol, Sky Blue Star’s fleet set course for its next destination.

A storm named Sky Blue Star was beginning to sweep across the universe.