525: Chapter 525 Arrival at Cloud Ruins

"Whew~~"

Only Xiao Weiqing's heavy breathing echoed within the Training Room.

"Too strong."

Xiao Weiqing could feel his own progress, but Hendrick was so powerful that his true depth remained completely unfathomable.

"One day, I will also possess such strength," Xiao Weiqing thought to himself.

Then, he sat cross-legged and began to adjust his state, recalling the recent battle in his mind and reflecting on whether there were areas where he could improve.

The Eighteen Basic Forms of Saber Technique were even more formidable than he had imagined.

"I wonder what kind of Genius my Second Senior Brother is."

Being in the Dominator Realm yet able to refine Starry Sky Martial Arts created by an expert of the Undying Realm, Xiao Weiqing subconsciously compared Hendrick to his own Second Senior Brother.

However, his Second Senior Brother was in the Dominator Realm, while Hendrick was only in the Star Lord Realm; there was no way to compare them.

No one knew if Hendrick would be able to refine or even create Starry Sky Martial Arts once he reached the Dominator Realm.

But it probably wouldn't be possible; after all, the Eighteen Basic Forms of Saber Technique were created by an Undying Realm powerhouse. Even just refining them was incredibly difficult.

"What about Senior Brother Yake then?"

One had to remember that Senior Brother Yake had created a Starry Sky Ultimate Technique of his own while in the Dominator Realm.

The power of the Star-Slaying Fall was beyond doubt.

Xiao Weiqing had only just reached the introductory level, yet barely managing to unleash the Star-Slaying Fall had heavily injured and nearly killed the Blood Moon Star Lord. If it hadn't been for the battlefield factors at the time, Blood Moon could have recovered his strength indefinitely.

Xiao Weiqing believed that with this Starry Sky Ultimate Technique, he could definitely slay the Blood Moon Star Lord, leaving them no chance to surround and attack him.

...

...

Seven days later.

"Ding~ Ding~~~"

"Clang!~~"

Two figures, one blue and one gold, darted back and forth within the Training Room.

Constant collisions rang out.

Inside the Training Room, shockwaves surged continuously, and the surrounding walls were riddled with holes from the sharp, fierce Qi.

However, the walls were made of special Materials, similar to memory metal, and they quickly returned to normal.

Bang~

With a powerful strike, Xiao Weiqing was knocked back, and he shook his numbed arm.

"Let's stop here."

Hendrick said softly. The lightning surrounding him vanished, and his aura shifted, becoming refined and elegant.

Xiao Weiqing nodded, his Starfire dissipating as he returned to his normal state.

"Your progress is very fast—fast enough to surprise me."

Compared to a week ago, Xiao Weiqing's saber technique had advanced another step, possessing the demeanor of a powerhouse. If his saber technique had only been at the introductory level before, it was now at least at the stage of Minor Achievement and very proficient.

"Did you only recently learn your Starry Sky Martial Arts?"

Hendrick asked.

Before Xiao Weiqing could answer, Hendrick continued, "That's right, you Blue Star people only start cultivating at eighteen. At most, you've only been in the Star Lord Realm for a little over six years, so how long could you have possibly known Starry Sky Martial Arts?"

Xiao Weiqing nodded slightly.

"Keep working hard. With your strength and saber technique, entering the Fifth Heaven will certainly be no problem. As for the Sixth Heaven, as I said before, it depends on luck."

Hendrick turned and left.

San Bai stayed behind.

"Not bad. Your strength changes every day; you can even trade a few moves with Master now."

"Hendrick is just taking it easy on me; he's completely playing the role of a sparring partner."

Xiao Weiqing knew very well that Hendrick was acting more as a sparring partner, even a teacher, guiding his combat and helping him discover his own shortcomings.

This was how he was able to make such significant progress in such a short time.

Sometimes, it isn't necessarily a powerhouse who must teach you.

Someone who is just the right amount stronger than you can better point out your problems and even guide you on how to refine yourself, because they have also just passed through that stage.

"It seems you're not stupid. It's also the first time I've seen Master treat a newcomer who hasn't even entered the Holy Land like this."

"Get some good rest. There's still one day before we arrive at the Reception Star. Don't exhaust yourself too much."

"Mhm."

San Bai left.

Xiao Weiqing also left the Training Room. Just as he stepped out, he covered several meters in a single stride and nearly jumped.

"I'm still a bit unaccustomed to this."

Xiao Weiqing laughed in spite of himself; it seemed he still couldn't fully control his body.

According to San Bai, true geniuses in the Holy Land can control their bodies at will regardless of which level of heaven they are in. For example, when Hendrick stepped out of the Training Room, his footsteps and aura didn't change in the slightest.

The moment his foot left the Training Room, his body instinctively adjusted to the external environment.

Over the past week, Xiao Weiqing had occasionally stepped out of the Training Room during his free time, and one day he even practiced going back and forth.

He remembered the first time he walked out the door; he had crashed directly into a structure in the hall, making a fool of himself and giving San Bai something to tease him about for quite a while.

Although he still felt some discomfort now, it was much better than a few days ago.

After a few steps, he adjusted.

Seeing San Bai, Xiao Weiqing walked over to his side, and they looked at the scenery outside the spaceship together.

Occasionally, galaxies would flash past both sides of their field of vision.

"Eh?"

Xiao Weiqing suddenly noticed a strange phenomenon.

"What's wrong?"

San Bai asked.

"Those galaxies within our field of vision don't look very large, which means we're quite far from them, right?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"Then why can't we see a single galaxy ahead of us?"

San Bai laughed heartily. "Do you think the spaceship we're on right now is fast?"

"It should be very fast."

"Then guess how fast it is?"

Xiao Weiqing thought for a moment and asked tentatively, "Several times the speed of light?"

San Bai smiled and shook his head.

"Could it be a dozen times the speed of light?"

San Bai said, "Converted to your Blue Star's speed measurements, it's 0.2 astronomical units per second."

"What?!"

Xiao Weiqing's eyes widened, looking as if he thought San Bai was joking.

In the Old Era, the great Xiao Ai had once said that the speed of light is the fastest speed a cosmic object can reach and is constant.

Xiao Weiqing's guess of several times the speed of light was already considered quite disrespectful to those theories.

But then San Bai told him it was 0.2 astronomical units per second—what kind of concept was that?

San Bai sighed. "I told you not to look so surprised."

"The Incubation Ground where your Blue Star is located is over a hundred million light-years away from the Holy Land. If we only traveled at a dozen times the speed of light, we wouldn't make it back even by the time we died."

"Our ship is constantly performing space-time leaps, so the time spent flying in open space isn't that long. The speed of 0.2 astronomical units per second is just our speed while traveling between space-time nodes."

"I am currently heading toward the final space-time node. Once we pass through it, we will be able to return to the Star Domain where the Holy Land is located."

Xiao Weiqing was incredibly shocked. He had only been away from Blue Star for a dozen or so days—not a long time—but the spatial distance covered was already beyond words.

Time passed.

The spaceship shuttled through the nebulae.

"Here it comes."

San Bai stared ahead and spoke softly.

Xiao Weiqing looked closely and saw what seemed to be an unknown distortion somewhere in the starry sky ahead.

From the outside,

this Grade A3 spaceship, over two thousand meters long, suddenly vanished from the starry sky.

Inside the ship.

All around was distorted space-time, with countless galaxies flying backward like dots of light, leaving Xiao Weiqing in absolute awe.

"Is this space-time travel?"

"Indeed."

This state lasted for a full two and a half hours.

Suddenly.

An invisible force acted upon the ship, and everything returned to normal. The view ahead solidified, revealing a different scene.

"We're back."

San Bai said excitedly.

Xiao Weiqing stared blankly ahead. Through the glass, he could clearly see a colossal object shaped like a mountain standing in the starry sky, eternal and unchanging.

The mountain peak was shrouded in nebulae, making it impossible to see clearly.

This was the Yunxu Holy Land!