The Perseverance slowly landed on the Capital Space Station, and Lu Yin and the rest beamed down to the Zenyu Star. The planet was flourishing wherever one looked, the entire city linked with bridges and flying vehicles streaking across the skies. Their white trails were everywhere, an indication of the technology at play here.
Lu Yin stretched as he felt the gravity of this new planet that was about the same as Earth. The air was much fresher, and the surging star energy all around far surpassed anything he’d ever felt back home. The Zenyu Star was tens of thousands of times larger than Earth, and he couldn’t estimate its population or even the number of different races that lived here.
Xu San gazed in amazement at his surroundings, at this extraterrestrial civilization that had supervised Earth. There was nothing that Earth could compare to, be it in terms of science or cultivation. Zhang Dingtian, Bai Xue, and Seruzen remained calm, as they had seen introductions to the various technologies in the library. On the contrary, the Zenyu Star’s technology looked a little backward to what they’d read about.
The Perseverance returned to tranquility and the troops descended quickly, Sigmund, Shalosh, and Torry among them. Mira had already departed earlier. Seeing the capital’s guards suddenly surround them from the distance, Zhang Dingtian frowned as he felt something was wrong. These troops looked solemn, and some were even leaking bloodlust. As someone who had grown up in an army himself, he was very sensitive to this prelude to an attack. He warned the rest, “Careful.”
Lu Yin also felt something amiss in the wary gazes of the soldiers, and the area around the Perseverance was quickly sealed off. He noticed several invisible weapons locking onto them, especially Sigmund whose expression turned heavy at the sight of a man descending from the distance, ”Bronsen, what is the meaning of this?”
Everyone looked on at the man, feeling his powerful aura. This man was at least an Explorer, able to move around freely in space. While the Emperor was a Hunter, someone over 100,000 combat level, there were few like him across the Empire. Even Cruisers—50,000 or higher— were rare, so Explorers were quite powerful. Sigmund was an Explorer, as were Shalosh and Torry.
Bronsen retrieved an arrest warrant, “The Emperor has ordered your capture, Sigmund Mathers. Your crime is treason against the crown by collusion with outside powers.”
A commotion quickly broke out amongst Sigmund’s shocked soldiers, with Lu Yin sharing their sentiment. Treason? That was a capital offense!
Shalosh and Torry looked at each other in confusion. As vice-captains from the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, they hadn’t received any news about such a thing at all; this was obviously sealed off so Sigmund couldn’t escape. The only one who could do such a thing was The Undying Yushan himself; did Sigmund really betray the Empire?
Sigmund frowned and stared at the arrest warrant, color draining from his face as he recognized its authenticity, “Why? I didn’t commit any treason, why is His Majesty arresting me?”
Bronsen looked on coldly, waving for a squadron to capture the man. Sigmund didn’t resist, only staring at him for an answer until he eventually stepped forward and said, “27 corpse kings escaped during Earth’s evolution, and Barudar betrayed us and destroyed Genma Space Station.”
“What?!” Sigmund’s eyes shrank.
Bronsen activated his gadget and a screen lit up to show Sigmund conversing with Barudar, “You’re the last person that met Barudar, and also the one in charge of Earth’s trial. The Empire has reason to believe that you colluded external powers to steal those corpse kings. Bring him away!”
Sigmund’s face turned ashen. While he was an Explorer, he did not put up any resistance at all and allowed the troops to escort him away. Watching his arrest, everyone else remained silent. Even a general of the Empire, an actual Explorer, could suffer such an end. Lu Yin stared at that despondent figure, recalling the moment that the man had declared him the King Zishan and assured that he could help with any trouble. Who would have thought things would change so greatly?
Bronsen nodded towards Shalosh and Torry before walking directly to Lu Yin and bowing, “The Third Seat of the First Imperial Squadron pays his respects to King Zishan.”
Lu Yin returned his gaze to Bronsen, “At ease.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty. His Imperial Majesty has tasked this humble servant with escorting you to the palace. Please, follow me.”
“What about my friends?” Lu Yin asked.
“Please rest assured, the Empire has made arrangements,” Bronsen replied.
Lu Yin nodded and glanced at Zhang Dingtian’s trio before having Xu San follow him out with Bronsen. Xu San followed him like a mouse, frightened of letting him go too far.
Feeling like things were getting boring, Lulu ran off by herself. Xia Luo also strolled through the area at leisure, with no one caring about him. Looking at Lu Yin’s figure with envy, Raas followed Munoor and Eddy away to the first ring which contained Yu Academy. Huo Xiaoling, Jenny Auna, and the other nobles were welcomed by their families and left.
In the end, Zhang Dingtian’s trio was brought to follow Raas’s group to Yu Academy, where they would undergo formcast remodeling as a reward for their accomplishments during the trial. This normally wasn’t a reward given out easily, but these three had displayed great talent and would be absorbed into the Empire as fresh blood.
The Zenyu Star’s space station was enormous, and after a while of walking a flying vehicle stopped in front of Lu Yin, “Your Majesty.”
Lu Yin and Xu San boarded the vehicle while Bronsen flew up by their side. The machine started with a low boom and quickly shot into the distance. Xu San measured this machine curiously with his eyes, especially the screen which had already mapped out the route. It was on autopilot.
“General Bronsen, can I ask you a question?” Lu Yin asked.
Bronsen dispersed the airflow around them using star energy and replied, “Of course, Your Majesty.”
“You mentioned 27 corpse kings earlier, what does that mean?”
Bronsen’s gaze trembled, “The evolution of the planet Your Majesty was on birthed many strong cultivators, but it also gave rise to zombies. There is one type of zombie called the corpse king that can swallow natural energy crystals to achieve great power. They have formed their own faction called the Neohuman Alliance, posing as the future of humanity, but they are extremely dangerous.”
Lu Yin’s gaze flashed as he thought of the long-haired zombie king and the one that Zhang Dingtian killed. Innate gifts were rare among humanity, but those things could achieve a similar effect by swallowing energy crystals. This meant the entire Neohuman Alliance had innate gifts; it was no wonder that the Great Yu Empire was concerned. “The escape of 27 of them from Earth’s trial, is it a serious offense?”
Bronsen only muttered two words, “Death sentence.”