Wang Lan's breakthrough to the Galaxy Stage felt like it was just yesterday, but even if it wasn't, it would have been no more than seven or eight days ago. Yet, at this moment, his body was once again emanating a surge of breakthrough Star Energy Fluctuation.

Right now, Wang Lan was lying beside Yu Ruoyun's legs. He wasn't leaning on them, but the distance was still very intimate. However, the look Yu Ruoyun gave Wang Lan was no longer filled with the tender affection of before; instead, a devilish thought unexpectedly bubbled up from within her.

Why not just strangle him right now? This is too damn infuriating!

Breaking through to the Galaxy Stage requires one million experience points, and progressing from Galaxy Stage One to Galaxy Stage Two needs two million. Hence, even though he had acquired seven million experience points, it could only elevate Wang Lan to Galaxy Stage Three, leaving him two million points short of Galaxy Stage Four.

So, even though the breakthrough was complete, Wang Lan's realm remained in the early Galaxy Stage, not yet reaching the mid-stage. Princess Aier couldn't help but wonder, What is the meaning of this breakthrough? I thought he was about to unleash some ultimate move, but did he just yawn instead?

Since there was no substantial breakthrough, Yu Ruoyun's composure returned. There shouldn't have been a breakthrough in the first place... How can someone who just advanced to the Galaxy Stage a few days ago break through again? Such a person shouldn't even exist!

"I never expected... that this ordeal would be countless times more severe than I imagined," Princess Aier said suddenly, leaning against the car window with a somber tone. "We originally just intended to scout the whereabouts of the Paradise Bird and, if possible, take down this terrorist organization."

"But who would have thought we actually saved the entire world? We averted a crisis of the Demon Clan's descent!"

"So, you see, life is unpredictable," Wang Lan commented. "Our near-death experience tonight, for many people around the world, was just a quiet and peaceful night. Now, if we think about it from their perspective, could it be that during every night we consider peaceful, there's another group of people experiencing a life-and-death struggle similar to ours? Could they also be facing terrifying crises like we did?"

"If one day someone suddenly tells me the world has ended, we shouldn't be surprised. The end of the world isn't sudden; it's just that we were unaware of it."

"Ruoyun, do you have to be so pessimistic?" Wang Lan felt goosebumps rise as he looked at Yu Ruoyun's misty eyes and her expression, which seemed to carry the weight of the world's sorrows.

"Do you know that the Demon Clan left behind twelve Time-Space Gemstones?" Yu Ruoyun countered. "Each one can open a portal to the Demon World and allow the Demon Clan's armies to descend. We were just lucky to stop it once."

"If I can stop it once, I can certainly stop it a second time," Wang Lan declared.

"Right," Wu Shaohua, who was driving, suddenly interjected, "Wang Lan, can you really absorb the energy of the Time-Space Gemstone? Is this Time-Space Gemstone now empty?"

"I can indeed absorb pure energy," Wang Lan replied, "but whether this Time-Space Gemstone is empty or not, I don't know."

"So, you're saying you're currently the only one in the world who can counter the Time-Space Gemstones? If the Demon Clan or human traitors activate a Time-Space Gemstone, we just need to throw you over there, and everything will be fine?" Wu Shaohua pressed.

"Theoretically, yes." Wang Lan looked at Wu Shaohua's smile with suspicion, feeling that something was off.

"Old Wu, your smile is giving me the chills."

"Not at all! I'm just thinking that you might become our ultimate trump card to save the world. The activation of a Time-Space Gemstone creates a huge disturbance; such powerful energy fluctuations would be detected immediately. When that happens, all we need to do is send you over."

"That's a pretty crude plan, isn't it? Let's not even discuss the fact that the Portal of the Demon World opened by a Time-Space Gemstone only lasts for a few minutes. Even if it lasted for dozens of minutes, what then? Am I supposed to traverse the globe in minutes?"

"You can't traverse the globe in minutes, but doesn't our Jade Country have the Divine Wind Express? Divine Wind Express, mission guaranteed!"

"Are you going to tie me to a rocket?"

"That's ridiculous! Could a speed of Mach eight even restrain you? We'll just pack you into a missile warhead. When I get back, I'll report this. From now on, you'll be our strategic nuclear weapon against the Time-Space Gemstones."

Having survived the ordeal, everyone, regardless of their usual personalities, abandoned their previous reserve and joked all the way. Before they knew it, the four of them had returned to Ice City and proceeded directly to the royal court.

The four-person squad's independent investigation of Different Dimensional Space No. 5 was known only to Longya and Jin Wenbing; not even King Cain was aware. So when Princess Aier suddenly returned, King Cain came rushing out in his pajamas.

"Aier, why have you returned so suddenly? Has something happened in the space? Why are there rumors that your advancement has halted? Did you encounter some difficulty?"

"Father, there was no trouble," Princess Aier began, but her voice trailed off as she looked at the car that had stopped nearby. Longya and Jin Wenbing were getting out.

Longya then said, "Your Majesty King Cain, let's discuss this in the conference room."

"Okay... okay..."

Inside the conference room, Wang Lan, carrying the Time-Space Gemstone wrapped in clothes, followed them in. After everyone sat down, Longya curiously glanced at the bundle in Wang Lan's hands.

"What's this?"

"A Time-Space Gemstone."

"A Time-Space Gemstone?" Jin Wenbing and Longya exchanged looks, confusion evident in their eyes.

"The Time-Space Gemstone," Wang Lan explained, "is a device the Demon Clan left behind to open a portal to the Demon World. You can think of it as a wormhole opening and closing device. From the intelligence we've gathered, the Demon Clan left a total of twelve Time-Space Gemstones, and this is the only one discovered so far."

As soon as this explanation was given, everyone unconsciously sprang to their feet. What was this? Something that could allow the Demon Clan's army to enter the Human World? This thing could bring devastating blows to human civilization! And they actually found it? How... how surreal!

"Daughter, you'd better explain to me properly... exactly... what happened," King Cain said, his voice trembling as he dabbed at the sweat on his forehead with a handkerchief.

"Father, the events began when we encountered a terrorist ambush in Different Dimensional Space No. 2. Just yesterday, a volunteer group in a Different Dimensional Space was ambushed, and a powerful Star Sea Stage warrior was killed by spacetime turbulence triggered by a Space Stone..."

Princess Aier then recounted the events in Different Dimensional Space No. 2, how Wang Lan had noticed the Paradise Bird's suspicious movements, and how they deduced their secret activities in Different Dimensional Space No. 5.

The four of them then entered Different Dimensional Space No. 5 and, after overcoming countless difficulties, found the Paradise Bird base, discovering their search for the Time-Space Gemstone. A battle ensued, and they narrowly prevented the Time-Space Gemstone's activation.

Especially at the end, Wang Lan had desperately blocked the Time-Space Gemstone's activation, preventing the Portal of the Demon World from opening and the Demon Clan's army from descending. Princess Aier tried to describe the events without exaggeration, but the inherent danger of the process still made everyone present break out in a cold sweat.

After Princess Aier finished her account, Wang Lan presented the Time-Space Gemstone to Longya. "This is the Demon Clan's Time-Space Gemstone. I've tried, but its material is incredibly hard, and I can't destroy it. It's best if I hand it over to you to deal with."

"Good... good..." Longya was also dumbfounded, his mind momentarily blank.

"In that case, since Princess Yu and Mr. Wang Lan have survived a great ordeal and must be very tired, let them go back and rest first," Kester said, standing up and addressing the two.

"Yes, you two go back and rest," King Cain agreed. "Mr. Kester, please summon Ambassador Heze. This intelligence is too significant; we need to report it to the Jade Country immediately."

"Understood."

「Back at the dormitory, Wang Lan took off his clothes and enjoyed a refreshing bath.」

After changing into clean clothes, Wang Lan didn't go directly to bed. Instead, he sat cross-legged on the bed and immersed himself in the system.

This time, he had not only gained a vast amount of experience and skill points but also acquired a tremendous amount of the Power of Space. Wang Lan had obtained the Power of Space once before, when he first arrived in Modu City and helped an expert from the Tianjian Bureau destroy a Different Dimensional Space.

But back then, the amount of Power of Space he received was so minimal that Wang Lan barely felt it. This time, however, it was completely different.

Within the system, the Phoenix Form skill was still on cooldown, but Wang Lan could already understand certain changes through its description.

"Phoenix Form, Dragon and Phoenix Auspicious Form, Time-Space Phoenix Form."

The initial Phoenix Form only had the primal sublimation mode, which was the one Wang Lan first used, providing an explosive increase in overall strength. But as Wang Lan's strength progressively increased, the augmentation from this Phoenix Form had become weaker and weaker.

Later, in the Nine-layer Pagoda, due to the intermingling of his Star Power with Yu Ruoyun's, the Phoenix Form advanced to its second stage: the Mimicry Form.

This stage of the Phoenix Form was the most versatile, allowing for the integration of various abilities. From the information his mother, the Flame Emperor, had provided, Wang Lan knew that Wang Ling had once used seven different mimicry transformations at this stage.

For example, the Ice Phoenix Form could leave everywhere it went frozen solid and blanketed in snow.

However, compared to Wang Ling's second-stage transformations, Wang Lan's second form had a much more high-end start. The first mimicry form he used was the Dragon Emperor Form, which alone could match the quality of all of Wang Ling's mimicry transformations combined.

And now, the second mimicry form had appeared: the Space Form. Time-Space Phoenix... Wang Lan mused. Never mind its actual power; the name alone sounds incredibly formidable.

The Time-Space Phoenix Form allowed him to leave a fixed coordinate at a specific location, enabling instantaneous spacetime jumps regardless of distance. Essentially, it was teleportation, making this ability a top-tier tool for immediate support and rapid escapes. With this, I'm practically invincible!

Of course, the energy source for the Time-Space Phoenix Form was the Power of Space rather than energy generated by Wang Lan himself. It was like a power bank; once the energy was exhausted, the form would become unusable.

But with such massive spatial energy from the Time-Space Gemstone, it should last a long time, right?

Reluctantly tearing his gaze away, he turned to the next few Star Martial Skills. With plenty of skill points in the system, Wang Lan hesitated. Should I change my current combat style?

These skill points offered Wang Lan two paths. The first was to raise the level of multiple skills, upgrading all his all-attribute Star Martial Skills to platinum level. This would enable Wang Lan to cope with any emergency.

The second option was to maintain his current style, focusing on reinforcing his Flame Sword, Holy Shield, and Dance of the Dark Butterfly, pushing these few skills to new heights. This combat style wasn't bad. Its only shortcoming, however, was insufficient offensive power.

While almost everyone else was worrying about how to painstakingly proceed down a single difficult path, Wang Lan was agonizing over which of two broad, easy roads to take.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.