「The next day,」

Wang Lan returned to the Tianjian Bureau discreetly once again. A prominent figure from the Ministry of Defense expressed immense approval for Wang Lan's previous visit to the Kingdom of Ice and Snow. Furthermore, because Wang Lan had almost single-handedly prevented Paradise Bird from opening the Portal of the Demon World, he was awarded the rank of Colonel and the Individual First-Class Honor Medal.

Within the military, the First-Class Honor Medal was known as the highest level of honor, often awarded posthumously. Since the military reforms in Jade Country, only five individuals had ever received this medal while still alive.

"Congratulations, Host, on your promotion to Colonel. Reward: 5,000 skill points."

"Congratulations, Host, for receiving the Individual First-Class Honor Medal. Reward: 50,000 skill points."

Once the medal and rank were recorded in the system, the reward notifications sounded. As expected, the skill points for the military rank promotion hadn't increased significantly, but the reward for the Individual First-Class Honor Medal was a substantial 50,000 points. Fifty thousand points could raise a platinum-level Star Martial Skill by two levels.

The high-ranking official from the Ministry of Defense arrived discreetly and left just as quietly. In his words, "Don't misunderstand; the national government highly recognizes your merits and contributions. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come to Modu City so discreetly just to present this award to you. It's just that now isn't your time to shoot straight up nine thousand miles. So, for now, please generally maintain a low profile. I hope you understand."

「On the third day,」

Wang Lan was still groggy from sleep when he was abruptly awakened by his phone ringing. Picking it up, he saw it was a call from Yu Ruoyun.

"Hello? Ruoyun?"

"You're not still sleeping, are you?" Yu Ruoyun's voice sounded surprised over the phone.

"Yeah, it's only seven o'clock."

"Oh, right, I forgot. You never wake up early for morning exercise. What time will you be at the academy?"

"I'll get up now. What's up? Is something wrong?"

"Let's talk when you get to the academy."

Curious about Yu Ruoyun's secretive tone, Wang Lan's interest was piqued. He got up, washed, changed into his school uniform, hopped on his 'little donkey,' and headed to the academy. Upon entering the campus, he saw Yu Ruoyun waiting for him.

"What's up?"

"Let's walk and talk," Yu Ruoyun said, turning towards the teaching building. "I just received intel that the East Sea Pioneer Space has been unstable recently. There have been three Exotic Beast riots in the past two months."

"Exotic Beast riots? What kind of riots?"

"I'm not too sure myself. It seems a mysterious force has recently emerged from a Different Dimensional Space. Exotic Beasts chosen by this force experience a surge in strength and become terrifyingly aggressive. In the past month alone, casualties in the East Sea Pioneer Space have exceeded the total from the entire previous year. Moreover, the Exotic Beasts have reclaimed approximately 50 kilometers of the developed territory."

"How could this happen? Do the higher-ups have any plans?"

"There are 600 seniors and 1,000 juniors currently interning and stationed in the East Sea Pioneer Space. The academy has decided to send another group of top seniors as reinforcements. I was thinking of inviting you to join this mission."

"How come I haven't seen any recruitment posters at the academy?"

"This time, students aren't applying voluntarily; the academy is selecting and directly assigning them. This operation isn't just an internship, it's a battle, with military orders issued. A few seniors I know have already received their deployment orders and will head to the East Sea Pioneer Space in three days."

"I haven't received any. Have you?"

"Nope!" Yu Ruoyun said, shaking her head.

"Well, that settles it then. It means the academy doesn't need us to participate, or we have other arrangements."

"There are no other arrangements. If there were, the dean would have informed me in advance. It's because of the incident in the Kingdom of Ice and Snow that we've become like protected species. Before graduation, we might not even be considered for dangerous tasks. Wang Lan, becoming a nationally protected species… does that even make sense?"

Yu Ruoyun said this with a look of aggrievement, and her plaintive tone instantly made Wang Lan's heart flutter, igniting a deep urge to comfort her.

Illusion Technique! It must be an Illusion Technique! This girl actually has designs on me.

Snapping back to his senses, Wang Lan stopped. Yu Ruoyun, who had walked a few paces ahead, also stopped and turned around, puzzled. "What's wrong? You feel indignant too, right?"

"Actually, I think being a protected species is pretty good," Wang Lan said, choosing his words with feigned sincerity. "Think about it. Isn't it great to be a panda? Eat, sleep, sleep, eat. The only job requirement is to be cute. They're lazy and do nothing, yet so many people adore them. That's the life I've always dreamed of."

"A panda?"

"As in Glutton."

"Are you serious?" Yu Ruoyun's incredulous expression made it clear she didn't believe him. Wang Lan, are you the type to just coast through life, waiting for death? No way. When it counts, you push yourself harder than anyone. If this were before the trip to the Kingdom of Ice and Snow, I might have believed you. But I saw everything you did there. Do you really think I'd fall for your act?

"I know you're the kind of person who would stop at nothing for the sake of national interests, for the protection of human civilization. We can't stand idly by during this crisis in the East Sea, just as my uncle said.

"No one is born a hero, nor is anyone inherently obligated to shoulder more responsibility than others. It's just that when some people's abilities far surpass those around them, they inevitably bear the hopes and expectations of others.

"In the Kingdom of Ice and Snow, we subtly became central figures in the eyes of the seniors. That's why, when they received the deployment order from the academy, their first thought was to call me and ask."

"How come I didn't know?"

"They don't have your number, okay? Mine is in the student council officer directory; they could find it."

"No, I mean, since when did I become a central figure for the seniors? I'm only a freshman."

"What's the point of playing dumb?"

"Wait, the direction we're heading… is that the Dean's office?"

"Yeah. Why shouldn't we be allowed to participate in this deployment? Is our strength insufficient? Are our abilities lacking? Of course, we have to argue our case forcefully."

"Is it too late for me to turn back?"

"You don't want to go?" Yu Ruoyun looked seriously into Wang Lan's eyes, sensing he truly wasn't joking.

For Wang Lan, going or not made little difference. Supporting the Pioneer Space merely meant experience points and skill points. Besides, it had been a month since he last compiled a Star Martial Toxin Vaccine. Moreover, as research and promotion of the Star Martial Toxin Vaccine spread, more and more people were mastering the compilation method.

In less than half a year, fifteen people in the academy had barely grasped the compilation of the Star Martial Toxin Vaccine. What were these fifteen people to him? Damn competitors! Initially, there were hundreds of thousands of Star Martial Toxins in stock worldwide, and he could have leveled up to the Star Sea Stage just by farming them. But now, with so many people helping out, there were fewer 'toxins' for him to farm, and the number would only decrease over time. Almost 100 people worldwide might have mastered the compilation of the Star Martial Toxin Vaccine by now, right? If things continued like this, all the Star Martial Toxins would be cleared within a year. Pioneer Space disturbances? What year *didn't* have them? Farming Star Martial Toxins was still more appealing.

"It's alright if you don't go. I'll find a few reliable female seniors to team up with," Yu Ruoyun said, slightly disappointed. She understood Wang Lan's situation wasn't as straightforward as hers. She knew her own identity was simply that of a student, but for Wang Lan, being a student was just one facet of his identity.

"I heard that during this Exotic Beast riot, many gigantic Exotic Beasts from deep within the space have emerged. A Star Traveller killed a giant beast just two days ago and obtained a high-quality attributeless Soul Bead. I plan to get a few high-quality Soul Beads myself this time; those things are incredibly hard to come by…"

As Yu Ruoyun spoke, she slowly turned and continued towards the office building. Wang Lan, however, after a brief pause, hurriedly called out to her and stepped in front of her. "Please, you must team up with me. Let's go together."

"Huh? Your tone was quite different just now."

"You misunderstood. Just as you said, with great power comes great responsibility. Am I the kind of person who would hide in the rear and turn a deaf ear when the nation is in peril?"

If it weren't for the mention of high-quality Soul Beads, Wang Lan might have feigned indifference to the end.

The three grades of Soul Beads could be considered three tiers. Primary Soul Beads were divided into three levels: inferior, normal, and fine. Middle and high-grade Soul Beads followed the same distinction. Only the finest of the high-grade Soul Beads were termed "high-quality Soul Beads."

A regular Soul Bead sold for 80,000, while mid-grade Soul Beads were five to ten times more expensive. High-grade Soul Beads cost five to ten times as much as mid-grade ones.

The price of a high-quality Soul Bead was never less than 10,000,000.

Why was a high-quality Soul Bead so expensive? While money isn't the sole measure of an item's value, it's a fairly accurate one. High-quality Soul Beads were only produced by Star Sea Stage Exotic Beasts—often peak Star Sea Stage Exotic Beasts—and that fact alone set them apart.

A single high-quality Soul Bead could allow a Star Cloud Stage practitioner to break through to the Galaxy Stage, or cause a Star Shine Stage individual to explode from the overload. From this, one could imagine the terrifying amount of Star Power contained within a high-quality Soul Bead.

Yu Ruoyun had consumed over 1,000 primary Soul Beads to break through from the peak of Star Shine to Star Cloud. If she had used a high-quality Soul Bead then, she would have exploded on the spot. Additionally, high-quality Soul Beads possessed a characteristic other Soul Beads lacked.

As long as the Star Power within the Soul Bead wasn't drained all at once, it could actually replenish itself. For some Star Martial Art families, having 100 high-quality Soul Beads in their inventory could ensure the family's continued prosperity.

A high-quality Soul Bead took one year to replenish its Star Power after being depleted. One hundred such Soul Beads were enough to provide the family's direct descendants with a continuous supply of Star Power to absorb.

Due to these two points, high-quality Soul Beads were priceless treasures.

And for him, weren't high-quality Soul Beads just like reusable super forbidden-spell Soul Bead grenades? At first, he'd been disdainful of Soul Bead grenades—not of the items themselves, but of the idea of *him* using them. The Star Martial Skills usable with Soul Bead grenades were all skills he already possessed. Why use grenades? Couldn't he just cast them himself?

But now that most of Wang Lan's Star Martial Skills had been upgraded to platinum, his Star Power reserves, despite their recent increase, were once again proving insufficient. For example, he could cast Earth Fire Roar five or six times consecutively, but if he used Flame Method Earth Fire Roar, he could only manage it once.

And the power of the Flame Method Earth Fire Roar... Half Moon Lake in the academy's backyard still hadn't been repaired.

But only high-quality Soul Beads could contain such powerful Star Martial Skills. And given their preciousness, the entire academy's inventory only held a few dozen.

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