Hearing the little girl's words, Baiyu found himself at a loss.

This fellow.

Though there was no mockery in her words, she was perpetually mocking others. Had it been someone with a shorter fuse, they might have drawn their knife and attacked.

But the recent battle with her.

Made Baiyu realize that this little girl was not simple. The power within her body was definitely a hundred times stronger than the previous Destructors.

If they were to face off, Baiyu might not even be a match.

This was a monster painstakingly cultivated by the Mechanical Race. If it could be easily eliminated, it would only show how weak the Mechanical Race was.

The little girl sat on the steps, pondering for a moment.

She suddenly stood up.

Baiyu watched her warily, only for her to start walking away. "There are no answers here that I seek. I must leave. I feel that the outer world holds what I'm looking for."

She walked out of the ruins of the research facility.

Gradually vanishing into the Black Night.

Baiyu frowned, wondering how many more Mechanical Race test bases might exist on this planet, and how many similar emotional vessels.

This time, Baiyu had encountered 'contemplation'.

If 'fury' were to emerge from the lab and not return to the mechanical ship immediately, wouldn't it cause widespread carnage?

However.

In this grand empire spanning the entire Galaxy,

A single planet's population didn't matter to them. Baiyu couldn't deal with this.

Baiyu returned to the city.

Mu Feiyan was waiting at the spot they had agreed upon earlier.

A day later.

On the near orbit of Wood Iron Star, the Imperial reinforcements clashed with the ships of the Mechanical Race.

Though Wood Iron Star itself couldn't hear any sounds from space,

The sky was crisscrossed with red and purple lightning, nearly obscuring the Sunlight, indicating a fierce battle taking place in the planet's near orbit.

Five days later.

The human reinforcements officially landed on Wood Iron Star, with an airship hovering above each city, continuously broadcasting that refugees need no longer hide.

Baiyu also formally made contact with the Imperial troops in the city.

They were uniformly dressed in alloy mechanical armor, wielding large guns resembling laser guns, conducting a census of the refugees.

And soon.

Baiyu received his fourth challenge.

"Join the Imperial Heart Travel Association or speak with one of the leaders of the Tornado Star Realm Star Army Third Legion, and join the Star Army."

This fourth challenge was unfamiliar to Baiyu on both counts.

But clearly.

He knew nothing about the Heart Travel Association, but at least the reinforcements were right before him. Contacting one of the leaders of the reinforcements and joining the Star Army seemed more straightforward than joining the Heart Travel Association.

Baiyu quickly approached the Tornado Star Realm volunteers.

However, the army clearly had no interest in a mere refugee and was about to dismiss him when Baiyu revealed his identity as a cultivator. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Having learned from Arnold earlier,

In this galaxy-spanning Human Empire, being a cultivator was a highly sought-after occupation, honored wherever they went.

The two soldiers, upon learning Baiyu was a cultivator, quickly changed their attitude.

In no time, he was brought to see a minor leader.

"You want to join the Star Army? I can make that decision; there's no need to trouble the Warband Leader."

The officer evidently felt Baiyu wasn't yet qualified.

"Do you have a cultivation ability test here? What level of cultivator is required to meet your Warband Leader?"

Baiyu continued to inquire.

The officer gave Baiyu a surprised look, then signaled with his fingers: "At least Tier Three Meteor or above."

Meteor, huh.

Baiyu was familiar with this tier system, as it was already present before Blue Star was covered in Spiritual Qi.

This was precisely the ranking system of this vast Human Empire.

On Canglan Star,

There evolved an additional martial artist ranking system.

But, those powerful individuals still preferred the ancient ranking system.

"Then take me to the test chamber."

On the Tornado Star Realm ship,

said Baiyu with no hesitation.

The officer, harboring a skeptical attitude, led Baiyu to the test chamber.

Ten minutes later.

Baiyu emerged under the officer's radiant smile.

"I didn't expect you to be a cultivator above Tier Three Meteor. I'll arrange a meeting with the Warband Leader straight away.

But be mindful, the Warband Leader is in a foul mood lately; don't say anything to anger him."

The officer kindly warned.

From his mouth, Baiyu learned that the Warband Leader of the Tornado Star Realm Star Army Third Legion was a powerful figure in the Eclipse Moon Realm.

Most Warband Leaders were of this level.

However.

This further reminded Baiyu of the immense power of the Human Empire.

If even a Warband Leader was at the Eclipse Moon level, wouldn't the Legion Commander above them reach the Sun Realm?

With this thought,

Baiyu quickly arrived at the Warband Leader's quarters; this ship was massive, comparable in size to a Legendary Ship.

Yet lacked the magical-like functions of a Legendary Ship,

With a stronger sense of technological atmosphere.

"Come in."

At Baiyu's knock, a somewhat weary voice came through.

The door opened.

A woman in a black coat sat at the desk, appearing about thirty, her attire very simple.

Wearing thin-framed glasses,

A plain outfit, with a white shirt underneath emblazoned with a soaring eagle.

"Are you the Tier Two Meteor cultivator?"

She appraised Baiyu,

Seeming intrigued by his presence.

After all, finding a Tier Two Meteor cultivator on Wood Iron Star was quite irregular; producing a Tier Seven or Tier Eight Meteor there seemed outlandish.

The Spiritual Qi here was exceedingly turbid and required numerous refinement devices to absorb it.

Moreover,

Wood Iron Star had recently endured a brutal war; even cultivators found survival difficult in such conflicts.

Post-war.

Wood Iron Star had even been occupied by the Mechanical Race for a while.

In such conditions, even formidable cultivators might face unexpected dangers.

So in Ji Xue's view, the fact that Baiyu could cultivate to Tier Two Meteor in such an environment implied he was either a fate-favored indivisible blend of luck and talent or an outsider wandering from another planet.

Both scenarios seemed peculiar.

"You wish to join the Star Army? With your strength, you indeed qualify, and I can offer you a commander position."

Ji Xue tapped the tabletop, speaking in a deep voice.

Baiyu furrowed his brow, intuition telling him this matter was not simple at all.