181: The truth of war

He Ming put his arm around Wan Xingying and walked towards Deco, a faint smile appearing on his face as he calmly said, "I'll let you live a little longer. Once you enter the secret realm, I will definitely kill you."

Upon hearing this, Deco's chest heaved violently, feeling incredibly suffocated.

Because what He Ming had just said was exactly what he wanted to say.

He Ming: "What, are you not convinced?"

Deco forcefully suppressed the urge to kill. His rationality was still intact; if he were to cause trouble here, he would violate the laws of the Human Alliance, and even a hundred lives wouldn't be enough to atone for it.

He Ming: "You just wait."

Deco's face turned even redder. He Ming had once again spoken his intended words before him.

Chris frowned tightly and quickly stepped forward to pull Deco back.

"Calm down. We'll talk when we get to the secret realm."

Deco snorted coldly and turned to leave.

Wan Xingying: "How long are you going to keep holding me?"

He Ming released his hand and chuckled, "Ah, sorry, I almost forgot."

Inner City.

In the Milky Way Galaxy, the Stellar Level participants of this Star Tower trial arrived one after another. Their numbers were not large, only a little over three hundred.

In the central plaza, a Star Realm Gate stood, serving as the teleportation channel to the trial grounds.

Small teams gathered in twos and threes, and discussions arose everywhere.

"I wonder how many people from the previous Star Tower trial survived."

"Hard to say. Two trials ago, a total of 305 people from our Milky Way Galaxy participated in the Star Tower trial, and only one person came out alive."

"I remember that person died less than two years later, supposedly due to severe injuries."

"Sigh, if I weren't forced by the higher-ups, I wouldn't participate in such a deadly trial."

"Don't be too pessimistic. If you can complete the trial alive, you'll at least receive a Star System's worth of rewards."

He Ming's gaze swept across the central plaza, and a large amount of information surfaced in his mind.

The Radiant Empire had only 15 Stellar Level individuals.

The rest were all governors who had defected during the interstellar war between The Stellar Faction and the Radiant Empire.

He Ming communicated with his omniscient notebook in his mind... before long, he knew all the answers.

It turned out that the interstellar war between the Radiant Empire and the Star Empire was a prelude to the Star Tower trial.

If The Stellar Faction had won, most of the Stellar Level individuals present here would have become governors of the Radiant Empire.

And the territories these governors had spent hundreds of years developing would ultimately be taken for free by the newcomers.

It was euphemistically called 'new and old succession,' encouraging newcomers to pledge loyalty to the empire.

When the next war began, a new round of new and old succession would start again, in a continuous cycle.

Even the defeated nation would gain significant benefits from it.

The Radiant Empire had started the war decades in advance, which allowed it to gain a slight advantage.

"What a clever scheme."

Wan Xingying turned her head and sneered, "Did you figure it out?"

He Ming nodded slightly.

Wan Xingying sighed and continued, "The truth is far more than that. The warships consumed in the war urgently need replenishment, and this will bring huge profits to the arms dealers of the two empires."

He Ming added, "And the two empires will also receive ample fiscal revenue."

Wan Xingying's eyes narrowed, and she said solemnly, "Therefore, I want to change all of this."

He Ming turned sideways. He felt that Wan Xingying's entire aura had changed with her words.

"What do you plan to do?"

Wan Xingying: "I want the people in my territory to live good lives."

He Ming said solemnly, "You've already achieved that."

Wan Xingying: "If I die, all these efforts will be in vain."

"This world is too cruel. The common people at the bottom are just fuel that can be consumed at any time by those in power."

"Therefore, only by becoming one of the powerful can I change all of this."

At the beginning of his encounter with Wan Xingying, He Ming had already learned about her past information through the omniscient notebook.

Born in the slums, she relied on her own efforts to climb her way up, fighting through a bloody path to break out and become the governor of the Wan Star System.

The reason she treated the people in her territory so kindly was because Wan Xingying herself came from the slums, so she deeply understood the suffering of the common people and knew what they truly needed.

In He Ming's plan, Wan Xingying was an indispensable management talent, a helper who could assist him in gathering a vast amount of destiny.

He Ming casually replied, "So, you don't need to go through so much trouble."

Wan Xingying: "Oh?"

He Ming grinned, "Didn't I tell you? As long as you're willing to marry me, when I unify the Milky Way Galaxy, I'll let you be the administrator. That way, won't your wish come true?"

Wan Xingying rolled her eyes at He Ming, taking his words as mere boasting.

After an unknown amount of time, the Star Realm Gate began to glow with flowing light.

"It's here!"

"The secret realm has reopened!"

30 minutes passed.

No reaction.

An hour passed.

Still no reaction.

The guard responsible for guarding the Star Realm Gate stepped forward a few paces and spoke indifferently, "Last trial, the number of survivors from the Milky Way Galaxy: 0."

As soon as these words were uttered, the discussions in the central plaza ceased abruptly, and the atmosphere became unusually oppressive.

He Ming leaned closer to Wan Xingying and whispered, "Is this secret realm that dangerous?"

Wan Xingying's expression gradually became serious as she replied, "Yes, there are billions of stars in the Star Tower. As long as you can defeat your opponents, it means you can absorb more star power."

"Moreover, to advance to a higher level, the number of participants must be reduced by more than half."

"The rules for entering the third level are the same."

He Ming: "By that calculation, more than half of the people will die on the first level."

Wan Xingying: "Are you scared?"

"Scared of what? If the sky falls, you'll be there to hold it up."

Wan Xingying: "..."

Guard: "Everyone, enter the secret realm immediately! Three minutes limit!"

The loud voice echoed throughout the central plaza, and the Stellar Level participants in the front row swarmed into the Star Realm Gate.

Wan Xingying grabbed He Ming's shoulder and reminded him, "Hold on tight."

He Ming unhesitatingly pressed close to Wan Xingying, wrapping an arm around her slender waist. The two transformed into a streak of light and entered the Star Realm Gate.

Before their eyes appeared a spatial tunnel shimmering with colorful light, but there was no one else around.

Wan Xingying: "It seems the rules of this Star Tower trial have changed."

He Ming nodded slightly: "I can see that. Without physical contact, everyone entering the Star Realm Gate will go into a completely different spatial tunnel."

Wan Xingying added, "That means powerful Star Systems will no longer have any advantage in the early stages of the trial. It will purely depend on individual strength."

The light gradually faded, and with a spatial fluctuation, He Ming and Wan Xingying successfully entered the secret realm.

Wan Xingying exclaimed, "What rich star power!"

He Ming's eyes lit up. Within his field of vision alone, he saw a full nineteen Stellar bodies!

His mental consciousness quickly communicated with the omniscient notebook.

[Mark the locations and specific strength levels of everyone within a ten-thousand-mile radius in the 24-point direction]

[12 o'clock direction, 1789 km, Stellar Level Rank Seven; 1 o'clock direction, 7654 km, Stellar Level Rank Nine; 9815 km, Stellar Level Rank Five; 2 o'clock direction, 3201 km, Stellar Level Rank Three...]

He Ming quickly scanned through, committing the locations of all enemies to memory.