105: At the Pinnacle of Power

Five years have passed since Yun Xi's captivating grip... In the early morning, the daily routine at Chen Jun Manor had already begun... Chen Jun shuffled in his slippers, which were spun from the silk of the “Stardream Silkworm King,” woven by Su Yuan using the Law of Life, and embedded with a micro-gravitational balance matrix by Liu Qing.

He leisurely ambled over to his exclusive “Myriad Delights Eternal lounge chair.”

This chair was no longer the version from back then... Instead, it had evolved into the ultimate Divine Artifact, integrating constant temperature, massage, spirit gathering, calming, Soul nourishment... and automatically adjusting environmental light, sound, and visual effects according to Chen Jun's mood!

He had only just intended to sit, his gluteal muscles not yet fully engaged.

The chair's internal “Bio-Intent Sensing Gel,” newly developed by Mo Heng, instantly molded itself, perfectly conforming to his body's curves, distributing the most comfortable support to every cell.

“Ancestor Chen, your life magnetic field activity today has increased by 0.000001% compared to yesterday, and your Qi and blood flow as smoothly as a galaxy. This truly is a blessing for the Federation and a fortune for the Star Sea!”

Shi Yue's voice was like a precisely tuned subwoofer, full of power yet without a hint of disturbance.

He knelt on one knee, his massive hands, which had once crushed stars and suppressed Star Domain unrest, now held a jade bowl.

The contents of the bowl were no ordinary substance; it was a “Morning Glow Purple Qi Soup,” refined countless times by Li Qingshan with Supreme Sword Intent, purified of all impurities, and finally forged by Shi Yue's Natal Star Core Flame.

Chen Jun didn't even bother to lift his eyelids; he merely twitched his nose, as if savoring the imperceptible difference in the air.

“This soup today...” He mused for half a second, “The heat was off by 0.001 seconds, and one-millionth of the 'Nascent' Dao charm contained within the purple Qi dissipated.”

Shi Yue's sturdy body trembled, his face not showing the slightest displeasure, but rather an expression of profound gratitude, as if he had found a priceless treasure:

“Ancestor Chen's perception is keen! It is my fault, old Shi! It must be that yesterday, while observing Her Highness Xuan Sha's combat technique demonstration, my heart surged, causing my Star Core Flame to become agitated by a fraction! I will adjust immediately! Tomorrow, no, I will re-forge a bowl for you at noon!”

Chen Jun waved his hand casually.

The next moment, a stream of Sword Qi, condensed as if substantial yet gentle as a spring breeze, silently floated a cup of clear tea to his lips.

The tea crystal was not liquid, but rather carved into shape by Li Qingshan's Sword Intent from the core Origin of “Ten-Thousand-Year Star Tea,” with miniature stars appearing and disappearing within it.

“Ancestor Chen, please sample the 'Star Vortex Sword Soul,'” Li Qingshan's voice resonated like a sword's hum, clear and respectful.

Chen Jun took a sip, feeling the tea's essence explode in his mouth, as if he had instantly traveled through thousands of exotic planets.

He smacked his lips: “Old Li, is the 'Nirvana' Sword Intent in this tea a nano-unit fainter than yesterday? It's not invigorating enough.”

Li Qingshan's surrounding Sword Qi instantly retracted, like a student who had made a mistake: “Ancestor Chen, please forgive me! It is my flawed understanding of the Dao of 'Creation and Destruction,' rushing for success, that caused me to lose the true meaning of Nirvana. I will go to the 'Sword Tomb Star Belt' to meditate for three days and re-temper it!”

Chen Jun was noncommittal, his gaze lazily drifting towards the window... Almost at the instant his line of sight landed, within the “Four Seasons Star Vortex Garden” outside the manor, personally tended by Chu Yueyao, dozens of rare flowers from different Star Domains.

Their blooming rhythm, the mixed ratio of their fragrances, and even the angle of their swaying petals began to subtly adjust according to an algorithm so complex it would dizzy a Planetary Level scientist.

All just to ensure that the single frame Ancestor Chen glimpsed reached the absolute peak of visual enjoyment!

He wanted to listen to music.

Without needing to speak, the “Star Sky Phantasm Whale” pod, personally captured and tamed by Limitless Dragon, began to sing from the manor's dome.

Their ethereal and distant song could directly soothe the Soul.

Their melodic combinations were calculated and generated by Mo Heng at a speed of hundreds of millions of times per second based on Chen Jun's real-time brainwave activity, ensuring that every note precisely hit the right spot... He merely unconsciously tapped a forgotten fragment of a melody he had heard on Blue Star onto the armrest with his fingertips.

Three minutes later.

Dean Mo Heng appeared before him, holding a thick, ten-thousand-page analytical report exuding the scent of ink and Law fluctuations, his face filled with excitement.

“Ancestor Chen! Divine skill! Truly divine skill!” Mo Heng's exaggerated voice rang out.

“Your impromptu tapping just now, its frequency combination secretly aligns with the 1086th unsolved conjecture of the 'Cosmic Microwave Background Fluctuation Model'! Its rhythmic changes precisely correspond to the key parameters of gravitational wave harmonics in the 'Grand Unified Force Field Theory'!”

Chen Jun: “...”

He looked at the report, titled “Analysis of Ancestor Chen's Unconscious Behavior,” and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

These people's flattery!

...He couldn't help but recall what a famous entrepreneur had said in an interview before his Transmigration: “I've never touched money; I have no interest in money.”

Back then, he was young and thought those words were pretentious, even a bit showy.

Now, he completely understood!

And he understood it even more deeply, touching his very Soul... It wasn't that he had no interest in money; it was that he had absolutely no concept of the “acquisition” process anymore.

Resources? Status?

These words had lost their original meaning for him.

Just as ordinary people don't think about “how should I breathe air,” he no longer needed to think about how to acquire anything.

Everything he desired, and even things he hadn't yet thought of, would automatically appear before him in the most perfect, most extreme way.

Four Sun Body daughters, Star Arm Level elementary, were the ultimate military force that swept across the Federation.

One Radiant Body daughter, Star Arm Level advanced, was the Supreme existence presiding over the center, stabilizing the Star Sea.

Leader Yun Xi, the mother of his children, also Star Arm Level, was the absolute core of the Federation's operation.

The Federation, which he once regarded as a colossal entity to be looked up to, now felt like his own backyard.

And the Tristan Empire, which once made the entire Federation nervous and boasted a heritage of over nine hundred thousand years... in front of the mother of his children and his daughters, it wasn't even an ant; at most, it was... a speck of dust accidentally tracked into the door crack by a shoe sole, easily flicked away.

Security and a sense of accomplishment, inflated to an extreme, instead brought a strange... emptiness?

A kind of... boredom, standing at the pinnacle of the Federation but finding no higher peak to climb... He slumped in the lounge chair, his mind blank, his gaze fixed on the manor's dome, and he couldn't help but recall the distant past... In his mind, he involuntarily saw the shantytown in District Seven of Zhiyuan Star over two hundred years ago—dirty, crowded, perpetually permeated with the smell of inferior energy liquid and rusting metal... working four jobs a day, exhausted like a dead dog, returning to that cramped, damp shantytown where it was hard to even turn around.

His body was pushed to its limit, his Soul groaned in despair, and the future was an endless darkness.

But strangely, recalling it now, those bitter years had a... peculiar “sense of fulfillment”?

Every day, he struggled for survival; every credit point was forged with blood and sweat!

Every time he dragged his nearly broken body home, seeing Lin Wei's gentle yet tired smile, hearing his daughters' childish calls, feeling the rough yet incredibly real warmth brought by Li Goudan... That feeling was so... real?

Compared to now, these days, living as if in a flawless dream woven by an entire civilization, seemed somewhat... unreal... “Li Goudan...”

Chen Jun's lips moved silently, uttering the name that had been buried deep in his memory for a hundred years.

The brother who had climbed out of the “Hope” orphanage with him, who had supported him like a rock during his most desperate and darkest days... who had pulled him back from the brink of collapse time and again with his rough optimism and loyalty!

He lived to be 150, which was the limit of an ordinary person's Lifespan.

Chen Jun had considered forcibly Awakening Li Goudan's Acquired Martial Body, but Li Goudan was too old at the time, the probability was too low, and the risk too great... 100 years ago, Chen Jun personally attended his funeral.

It would soon be the hundredth anniversary of Li Goudan's death.

Chen Jun was now 250 years old.

At that time, standing before the grave, watching his brother, who had never left Zhiyuan Star but always stood tall, turn into a handful of yellow earth, his heart was filled with complex emotions.

Now, a hundred years have passed in a blink... I, Chen Jun, stand at the pinnacle of the Federation's power, theoretically enjoying endless Lifespan and Supreme honor.

And Li Goudan... what became of his descendants?

What about the descendants of those neighbors who, more or less, offered a shred of kindness to his family during those hard years in the shantytown?

I, Chen Jun, am not a Saint who helps all under heaven.

But, repaying kindness is ingrained in my bones!

Before, I couldn't even protect myself; later, I was not in control of my own destiny.

Now... it's time.

This is the Fundamental way of being human!

Thinking of this, the boredom that arose from extreme comfort in Chen Jun's heart was instantly replaced by a more real, warmer emotion.

He wanted to go see!

To see Li Goudan's descendants, to see the descendants of those old acquaintances.

Not to show off, not to bestow charity.

Merely to... see if they were doing well.

Merely to... tell his brother in another world... Brother Jun... hasn't forgotten you!

He slowly sat up from the lounge chair.

This simple action immediately triggered a chain reaction.

Shi Yue and Li Qingshan instantly entered a state of highest alert; their auras were restrained, but their spirits were like unsheathed sharp swords.

The virtual light screen data in front of Mo Heng refreshed wildly, beginning to deduce the profound implications that Ancestor Chen's “standing up” might contain.

Chu Yueyao's figure silently appeared at the doorway, her face showing inquiry and readiness to act at any moment.

Even Yue Xi, Xuan Sha, Su Yuan, and Liu Qing, who were comprehending Laws in their respective Secret Realms, and Yun Qinglan, who was discussing the mysteries beyond Star Arm Level with Yun Xi in Jingsi Hall, felt something, their Divine Thoughts subtly sweeping over the manor.

Chen Jun felt this instantly taut “network of concern” and smiled helplessly.

He knew it would be impossible for him to go “quietly.”

Chen Jun, with reminiscence and emotion, said, “I want to go to Zhiyuan Star to visit old acquaintances.”

His voice was not loud, yet it was like a conceptual singularity bomb dropped into the calm Star Sea.

“Boom—!”

An invisible shockwave, centered on the manor, instantly swept through the core layer of the Pillar of Leaders!

The Federation's power center, which was orderly a second ago, entered a silent, highest-level state of effervescence the next second!

“Ancestor Chen is going to travel?!”

“The destination is Zhiyuan Star?! That... that fringe colony star?”

“Quick! Immediately activate the highest contingency plan for 'Imperial Father's Sky Patrol'! No, it's the special contingency plan for 'guardian of civilization's Return Home'!”

“Ancestor Chen's will is the Federation's highest guide for action!”

...Ten minutes later, in the “guardian of civilization Affairs Special Coordination Center” at the Pillar of Leaders, internally referred to as “Ancestor Chen's Office,” established specifically to handle matters related to Chen Jun.

A high-level video conference was proceeding with superluminal efficiency.

All available Stellar-level Experts of the Federation were in attendance, not one missing.

In the holographic projections, faces that were usually awe-inspiring and held the destiny of billions of lives now bore a mixture of excitement, nervousness, and a touch of... eagerness to be first?

The meeting's host, Chu Yueyao, who was temporarily acting as the Acting Leader, didn't even have time for an opening speech, cutting straight to the core:

"Everyone, Ancestor Chen's desire to go to Zhiyuan Star is of great significance! The primary agenda: the selection of the escort team! Ancestor Chen's safety concerns the survival of civilization and cannot be compromised! My Xuntian Pavilion is duty-bound; I will personally lead the team and deploy the most elite 'Shadow Guards' for full escort!"

The moment her voice fell, Shi Yue's booming voice, like a great bell, exploded, shaking even the holographic projection:

"Nonsense! Chu Yueyao! Your guys who hide in the shadows are good for gathering intelligence, but what good are they against a real tough opponent?! Escort? Of course, it must be our military's true tough guys! I will personally serve as Ancestor Chen's personal bodyguard! And deploy three fully-staffed Stellar Level close-combat regiments to clear the area! I guarantee not even a single ill-intentioned interstellar dust particle will get close to Ancestor Chen!"

"Crude!" Li Qingshan's cold voice rang out, sharp as a sword's edge. "True escort lies in anticipating the enemy and preventing trouble before it arises. My Sword Intent can cover an entire Star Domain; with a single thought, all evil is repelled! When Ancestor Chen travels, my sword shall be the vanguard."

Limitless Dragon's fiery projection burned brightly around him, his voice carrying a Dragon's roar: "Hmph! Space travel is fraught with danger! I am most sensitive to cosmic undercurrents and dimensional folds! Only with my Suppressing Prison Fleet escorting can the route be absolutely foolproof!"

Dean Mo Heng pushed up his glasses, a sharp glint in his eyes, attempting to persuade everyone with reason: "Everyone, calm down! Ancestor Chen's trip focuses on 'nostalgia' and 'peace of mind'; a grand display would only disturb Ancestor Chen's tranquility. In my opinion, it's best for my Academy of Sciences to dispatch an elite team to accompany him! We possess the most advanced environmental adaptation, life support, and crisis early warning Systems, ensuring Ancestor Chen enjoys the journey in absolute comfort and safety."

Qin Pojun's shrewd voice slowly sounded: "Heh heh, your eagerness to compete for the escort duty is commendable. However, Ancestor Chen's trip, though seemingly private, actually carries the intention of inspecting the Federation's grassroots and understanding public sentiment. My Star Rail Group has deep roots in Zhiyuan Star and its surrounding Star Domain, so it would be most appropriate for my Qin Family to handle ground reception and itinerary guidance."

...For a time, the meeting channel became a chaotic mess. The normally dignified and imposing Stellar-level Experts were now red-faced, almost rolling up their sleeves to fight in the holographic projection, all for a single 'accompaniment' spot... Everyone knew that being able to accompany Ancestor Chen was an excellent opportunity to get closer to this guardian of civilization!

The political capital and future benefits behind this were immeasurable!

Just as the argument escalated, a slightly lazy and helpless voice, connected to the meeting through the manor's internal special channel, chimed in:

"Um... I mean... I'm just going back to see an old friend; there's no need for such a big fuss, is there?"

It was Chen Jun!

He was clearly getting a headache from this instantly ignited 'enthusiasm'.

Hearing Ancestor Chen speak personally, the channel instantly fell silent.

All the great figures held their breath, awaiting Ancestor Chen's 'holy judgment'.

Chen Jun scratched his head, looked at the expectant faces on the light screen, thought for a moment, and said:

"How about this, Dean Mo Heng is familiar with scientific equipment, so he can help me debug the game pod on the way. Shi Yue and Old Li, one of you is strong and the other has good eyesight, so you can lend a hand. Master of the Xuntian Pavilion Yue Yao has strong coordination skills, so I'll trouble you with logistics. As for the others... go do what you need to do; the Federation has so many matters."

Mo Heng, Shi Yue, Li Qingshan, and Chu Yueyao, the four who were named, instantly felt as if they had won the interstellar lottery, their faces bursting with uncontrollable ecstasy and excitement!

Mo Heng was so excited that he gesticulated wildly, almost knocking over the virtual instrument in front of him, feeling immensely smug inside.

"Years of flattery... no, years of meticulous service have finally earned Ancestor Chen's approval! This is a victory for science! A victory for service!"

Shi Yue thumped his chest, making a thunderous sound: "Ancestor Chen, rest assured! I, Old Shi, will definitely serve you comfortably! Anyone who dares to disturb your enjoyment, I will smash them into fundamental particles!"

Li Qingshan's Sword Qi hummed with joy around him, stating concisely: "Sword, accompanying!"

Chu Yueyao bowed gracefully: "I will not fail Ancestor Chen's trust."

Meanwhile, the other unselected great figures, such as Limitless Dragon and Qin Pojun, immediately had faces full of disappointment, envy, and jealousy, their gazes at the four of Mo Heng as green as a nebula's core.

This was the difference in status!

A casual remark from Chen Jun could now make these beings, who had stood at the pinnacle of the Federation for tens of thousands of years, ecstatic or deeply saddened.

His matters, at the Federation level, were never minor!

Especially his faint spark of life, which was highly deceptive... the various Federation bigwigs always had the illusion that if they didn't perform now, they might not get a chance later... With the personnel decided, the efficiency of the "Ancestor Chen's Office" was maximized.

Chu Yueyao immediately took over, her voice regaining the capable tone of the Master of the Xuntian Pavilion:

"Good! The escort team is set. Next item, mode of transportation!"

Dozens of options instantly popped up on the light screen in front of her, from the latest 'Star Shuttle-class' private luxury yachts to modified frigates, and even several 'Abyssal-class' battleships with ferocious styles, clearly bearing Imperial technology, captured and refitted... "Considering comfort, speed, and stealth," Chu Yueyao quickly analyzed, "I recommend using the Academy of Sciences' latest 'Leisure Dwelling' Life Ark. Its interior space has been treated with spatial folding technology, comparable to a mobile Planetary Manor, with all living facilities. After incorporating Imperial technology, it uses the latest generation of ultra-silent warp engines, estimated to reach Zhiyuan Star in... 30 standard days."

"That's the one, it's much faster than the three months it used to take," Chen Jun couldn't help but praise.

Just as the team was about to confirm the use of the 'Leisure Dwelling'...

"Going to Zhiyuan Star? Why so much trouble."

An ethereal, clear, yet authoritative voice, like a cosmic decree, suddenly echoed in the coordination center and in the minds of everyone present.

The next moment, in the open space of the meeting center, space rippled slightly like water.

A figure, as if condensed from nothingness, quietly appeared.

The newcomer was dressed in a simple, moon-white star-gauze dress, with an exquisite beauty that blended Yun Xi's coolness and peerlessness. It was Yun Qinglan!

She appeared to be a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl, but her eyes, which seemed to contain galaxies, were even more profound, as if they could pierce through space and time.

She merely stood there, without any energy fluctuations around her, yet she naturally became the absolute core of the entire space; even light seemed to bend and submit to her.

"Your Highness Qinglan!" Everyone, including Chu Yueyao, Shi Yue, and the other selected companions, immediately bowed in utmost respect.

This was a Radiant Body Supreme, a high-level Star Arm Level existence, whose strength already surpassed her mother Yun Xi, and she was the true stabilizing force of the Federation!

Yun Qinglan nodded slightly to everyone as a gesture of return, then her gaze fell directly on Chen Jun. The ice and snow in her starry eyes instantly melted, leaving only a daughter's affection and dependence on her father.

She walked a few steps to Chen Jun's side, naturally linked her arm through his, looked up with her small face, and said with a hint of smugness:

"Daddy, you want to go to Zhiyuan Star? I'll take you there! It's so boring to ride those slow spaceships."

Chen Jun looked at his suddenly appearing daughter, smiled, and stroked her hair: "Qinglan has a way?"

"Thirty days?" Yun Qinglan pouted slightly, held up three fair, slender fingers, and wiggled them in front of Chen Jun, her tone as casual as if she were talking about visiting a neighbor, "Why would it take so long? Not even three seconds!"

"Three seconds?!"

At these words, the entire assembly was astonished!

Even Chen Jun was stunned.

Three seconds?!

From the capital planet Kunlun Star to the distant Zhiyuan Star?!

This was no longer warping; this was simply... wish fulfillment?!

Dean Mo Heng even exclaimed in shock: "Three seconds?! Spanning dozens of light-years?! This... this has completely exceeded the theoretical limits of existing space technology! Unless it's... directly manipulating space itself, performing... performing fixed-point folded teleportation?! To what profound extent must one comprehend the Law of Space for that?!"

Yun Qinglan tilted her head, seemingly amused by Mo Heng's overreaction: "Yes, it's just 'folding' the space here and the space over at Zhiyuan Star, then walking over, it's very simple."

Very simple... Everyone's mouths twitched as they listened, their hearts already churning like a stormy sea.

This was the Radiant Body!

This was high-level Star Arm Level!

Making interstellar travel spanning dozens of light-years sound as simple as stepping over one's own doorstep!

"Daddy, you just tell me the exact place you want to go on Zhiyuan Star, and I'll take you directly there, guaranteeing the error won't exceed one millimeter!" Yun Qinglan shook Chen Jun's arm, full of confidence.

However, at this moment, several other eager voices also came from outside.

"Dad! Going to Zhiyuan Star? We want to go too!"

The three sisters, Chen Xi, Chen Yao, and Chen Lu, almost simultaneously walked in quickly from outside.

These three sisters, as Chen Jun's earliest daughters, although their Aptitude was 'only' Innate Martial Body, unlike their younger sisters like Yue Xi and Xuan Sha who were born with dazzling brilliance.

The growth of the Chen Xi sisters was more down-to-earth, relying on accumulated resources to advance step by step.

They had the deepest and most complex feelings for Zhiyuan Star, the place that held their most difficult and precious childhood memories.

There were the hardships of their family squeezed into a small shantytown, the sight of their father overdrawing his Lifespan working, their mother's gentle yet resilient protection, and especially the help of Uncle Li Goudan.

Hearing that their father was returning to Zhiyuan Star, specifically to see his old friend Uncle Li, they rushed over immediately.

Looking at these three daughters who had accompanied him through thick and thin in their youth, Chen Jun's face revealed a heartfelt warm smile, "Our family, let's go back and see together."

He looked at Yun Qinglan: "Qinglan, then I'll trouble you. Take your sisters, and... Dean Mo Heng and the others."

Yun Qinglan smiled sweetly: "No problem, Daddy!"

Her gaze swept over Mo Heng, Shi Yue, Li Qingshan, Chu Yueyao, and her three older sisters, then she nodded.

Then, she gently raised a hand, not even making any complex movements, just a slight shift of her will.

Buzz—!

An invisible, formless, yet profoundly mysterious spatial Law fluctuation, with her at the center, spread out like mercury flowing across the ground.

The next moment, everyone designated to travel, including Chen Jun, the Chen Xi sisters, Mo Heng, Shi Yue, Li Qingshan, and Chu Yueyao, felt the surrounding scenery instantly blur and distort, like a scattered paint palette.

A strange sensation of weightlessness and temporal dislocation came over them, but it lasted for less than an instant.

As if they had just blinked.

The surrounding scenery became clear again.

They were no longer in the luxurious and solemn "Ancestor Chen's Office" at the Pillar of Leaders...