?Location: The Star Road – Sector 994 to Sector 33 (The Middle Realm)
Time: Day 14 of the Voyage
?The void between worlds was not empty. It was a graveyard of silence, scattered with the debris of failed ascensions and the frozen corpses of beasts that had tried to fly too high.
?For two weeks, the Naglfar had drifted through the slipstream, its engines humming with a suppressed, stealthy vibration. To the naked eye, the ship looked like a piece of drifting junk—a rusted, patchwork vessel held together by luck and prayer.
?Inside the cockpit, however, the atmosphere was clinical and tense.
?Aris sat in the pilot's chair, his feet propped up on the console. He wasn't sleeping. His violet eyes were scanning streams of data scrolling across the HUD, analyzing the political landscape of the world they were about to invade.
?"You're twitching," Aris said without turning around.
?In the copilot seat, Lin Chen sat rigid as a statue. The former High Priest was trying to meditate, but the dark, oppressive energy of his new Shadow-Knight nature was conflicting with his muscle memory of the Light.
?"I am not twitching," Lin Chen gritted out, his voice hollow behind his iron mask. "I am... adjusting. The void feels heavy."
?"It's not the void," Aris corrected. "It's the acting. You're trying too hard to be 'Mo'. Mo is a mute bodyguard who doesn't care. You still radiate 'Righteous Indignation' every time we pass a slave ship."
?Aris spun his chair around. "We are entering the Myriad Beasts Sector in four days. If you glare at a Young Master the way you're glaring at the stars, we'll be dead in an hour."
?He pulled up a hologram of their new identities.
?[Identity 1: Han Xiao]
?Role: Itinerant Alchemist (Level 25 - Foundation Establishment). ?Background: Survivor of a destroyed minor world. Specializes in low-grade beast pills. ?Personality: Cowardly, greedy, eager to please.
?[Identity 2: Mo]
?Role: Bodyguard / Servant. ?Background: Unknown. Mute due to throat injury. ?Personality: Obedient. Lethal only when ordered.
?"Look at me," Aris said.
?He stood up. In an instant, his posture changed. His shoulders slumped. His spine curved slightly, making him look smaller, weaker. The cold, predatory glint in his eyes vanished, replaced by a shifty, nervous gaze. He rubbed his hands together like a merchant hoping for a copper coin.
?"This is Han Xiao," Aris said, his voice pitching up an octave, cracking slightly. "He is trash. He is invisible. No one looks at him twice."
?Aris straightened up, snapping back to his Sovereign persona instantly.
?"That is your lesson, Lin Chen. True power isn't about glowing gold and shouting about justice. True power is being the one holding the knife while everyone else is looking at the puppet."
?Lin Chen looked down at his own hands—hands that were now pale and cold, capable of phasing through solid steel.
?"I understand, Master," Lin Chen whispered. "I will be... the shadow."
?Location: The Outer Ring of the Myriad Beasts Mountain
Time: Arrival Day
?The Myriad Beasts Mountain was not a mountain.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
?It was a megastructure.
?As the Naglfar dropped out of warp speed, the view through the cockpit window stole the breath from their lungs. Floating in the center of the sector was a brown dwarf star, burning with a dull, angry crimson light.
?Orbiting the star was a massive, artificial ring—a continent made of metal and rock that circled the entire sun. It was wide enough to hold oceans, mountain ranges, and cities the size of empires.
?Thousands of ships swarmed around the docking ports like flies on a carcass. There were golden pagodas floating on anti-gravity clouds, sleek silver needles driven by Sword Cultivators, and massive, organic bio-ships that looked like whales swimming through the vacuum.
?[System Warning: High-Level Zone Entered.]
[Average Qi Density: 50x Sector 994.]
[Gravity: 3x Standard.]
?"Engage Mimic Veil," Aris commanded, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Target Profile: 'Grain Hauler Class-4'. Energy output to 5%."
?The Naglfar shuddered. The terrifying aura of the Samsara Drive—the engine powered by a black hole fragment—was suffocated. The sleek, matte-black armor seemed to dull visually, taking on the appearance of rusted, weathered iron.
?To any external scanner, they were no longer a stealth warship capable of killing a planet. They were a flying dump truck carrying wheat.
?[Incoming Transmission]
[Source: Port Authority - Gate 7]
?"Unidentified Vessel. You are entering the airspace of the Myriad Beasts Sect. Transmit identification and cargo manifest immediately, or be vaporized."
?The voice on the comms was bored, arrogant, and dripping with the casual threat of violence typical of the Middle Realm.
?Aris cleared his throat. He slumped his shoulders. He channeled his inner "Han Xiao."
?He opened the channel.
?"Ah! Yes! Honored Immortals!" Aris's voice was a nervous squeak. "Please, don't shoot! This is... uh... the Lucky Mule. Just a humble grain hauler from the Outer Belt. We have... uh... Spirit Rice? Very fresh! Picked it myself!"
?There was a pause on the line. Aris could hear the traffic controller scoffing to someone in the background.
?"Grain," the voice laughed derisively. "Another mud-farmer trying to make a fortune in the Big City. Proceed to Docking Bay 42 in the Lower District. And don't block the lane, trash. A True Dragon Chariot is coming through."
?"Understood! Thank you, Exalted One! May your cultivation soar!"
?Aris cut the feed.
?He looked back at Lin Chen. The Shadow-Knight was sitting perfectly still, his iron mask reflecting the lights of the Ringworld. Nox, disguised as a small, mangy black dog, was curled up on the dashboard, yawning.
?"We're in," Aris whispered.
?A cold, predatory grin spread across his face—a grin that belonged to the Villain, not Han Xiao.
?"Welcome to the Big Leagues, Mo. Let's go see what we can steal."
?Location: The Lower District – Docking Bay 42
Time: 1 Hour Later
?The Naglfar touched down with a heavy, metallic thud. The landing clamps engaged, locking the ship onto the rusted platform.
?The airlock hissed open.
?The air of the Middle Realm rushed in. It didn't smell fresh. It smelled of ozone, exotic spices, beast dung, and blood. It was a thick, rich scent that made Aris's Abyssal Sovereign Body hum with hunger.
?The Lower District was a sprawling slum built into the scaffolding of the Ringworld. Neon lights powered by trapped spirits flickered overhead. The streets were packed with cultivators of every race—humans, beast-men, demons, and things that defied classification.
?Aris stepped onto the ramp, clutching a ragged bag to his chest. Lin Chen followed, his heavy cloak concealing his armor and sword, walking with a limp.
?Immediately, a dozen eyes locked onto them.
?Scavengers. Thugs. Information brokers. They looked at the rusty ship and the two "weak" cultivators, assessing their value.
?[Abyssal Eye: Passive Scan]
?Thug A: Level 35 (Core Formation). ?Thug B: Level 38. ?Hidden Sniper: Level 45 (In the rafters).
?"Keep your head down, Mo," Aris muttered, stepping into the mud of the dock. "We look like prey. That's exactly what we want."
?A large, green-skinned Orc cultivator with tusks made of jade blocked their path. He held a massive iron club.
?"Docking fee," the Orc grunted, holding out a hand the size of a shovel. "50 Spirit Stones. Or I eat the dog."
?Nox, in his disguise, let out a pathetic whimper and hid behind Aris's leg.
?Aris trembled visibly. He dug into his robes, pulling out a small pouch with shaking hands.
?"P-please, Great Lord," Aris stammered. "This is all I have... I just want to sell my rice..."
?He handed over the pouch. It contained 50 Low-Grade stones—trash currency for Aris, but a fortune for "Han Xiao."
?The Orc weighed the pouch, sneered, and spat on the ground near Aris's boot.
?"Get moving, trash. Before I change my mind."
?Aris bowed frantically and hurried past, dragging Lin Chen with him.
?As they disappeared into the crowded alleyways of the city, the "fear" melted off Aris's face like wax near a flame.
?"Did you mark him?" Lin Chen asked quietly via telepathy.
?"Of course," Aris replied calmly. "He touched the pouch. The Abyssal Tracer is on him. Tonight, we find out where he sleeps. I need a local guide, and he just volunteered."
?Aris looked up at the towering spires of the Upper District, floating miles above them in the golden clouds. That was where the Elders lived. That was where the Vaults were.
?"Phase 2 has begun," Aris thought. "Hide in the mud. Aim for the sky."
