Lu Sheng followed the three out of the room and into the observation deck at the front of the Star Spirit Flower spaceship. The virtual imaging system here was fully activated, making the thick hull of the spaceship seem completely transparent and offering a panoramic view in all directions. Standing here, one could enjoy an unobstructed view of the entire starry sky.
Sheng spread his mental energy, expanding his field of vision countless times. Unlike the "barren" scenery he had seen along the way, what appeared before his "eyes" was an incomparably dazzling starry sky.
There were now countless planets around them; the Star Spirit Flower seemed to have entered a vast and boundless planetary forest. Various celestial wonders unfolded before his eyes, and he could occasionally observe spaceships flying by. He also saw several immortal-class spaceships like the Star Spirit Flower.
Amidst countless shifts of light and color, the Star Spirit Flower traversed this vast expanse of starry forest.
When Sheng first emerged from the Azure planet and saw the center of the Yamu Star Region, he was already deeply impressed by the ring of stars within it. It gave him a sense of stepping from a lower-level civilization to a higher one. Now, that feeling returned, even more awe-inspiring than before.
The dazzling sea of stars and planets before him delivered an unparalleled visual and sensory impact. At that moment, someone silently approached him, making two grasping motions in front of him, conjuring a virtual holographic star map.
"We've now entered the Hunting Bow. But it will still take a little while to reach our true destination." The one speaking to Lu Sheng was Haiji Dao. "The Hunting Bow, as the center of the entire Celestial Snake galaxy, is ten times the size of an ordinary Star Region, and its stellar density is more than twenty times greater. Look..."
Haiji Dao rapidly zoomed out the holographic star map in his hand. Lu Sheng saw countless densely packed celestial bodies quickly shrink before his eyes, finally forming a roughly shaped form. Upon closer inspection, it really did resemble a drawn bow. This was the origin of the Hunting Bow.
"Once we enter the Hunting Bow's range, the Star Spirit Flower spaceship no longer performs Space Jumps. We plan to transfer to a smaller spaceship. The Star Spirit Flower Merchant Guild will provide us with one. What do you think?" Haiji Dao sought Lu Sheng's opinion.
Lu Sheng nodded, saying nothing. However, he caught a word Haiji Dao used, and his expression subtly changed. "Us?" Lu Sheng looked at Haiji Dao, his eyes questioning.
Haiji Dao leaned closer and explained softly, "Pablo and his daughter have the same destination as us, so they want to travel with us and asked me to ask for your opinion. If you mind, I can refuse."
Lu Sheng seemed thoughtful, glancing in one direction with a knowing look. He saw Pablo standing on the other side of the observation deck, looking at him with a slight nod and smile. His daughter, Zoe, the genius girl with short blue hair, was also staring intently at him. Her clear, deep blue eyes, like the starry sky, were filled with intense curiosity, as if she might pry open Lu Sheng's eyes at any moment to get a better look.
Zoe was a super martial arts genius no less than Anon Turing. It would be strange if she wouldn't go to the Hunting Bow to join the Celestial Throne Academy. Traveling with them? Lu Sheng wasn't opposed to it.
"Alright." Sheng nodded, and Haiji Dao replied, "Then I'll make the arrangements," and walked towards Pablo and Zoe. After Haiji Dao left, Sheng turned his gaze to Zi Yanxin beside him. The latter seemed to have been waiting for this opportunity to speak with him for a long time, and quickly stepped forward.
"Lord Sheng."
Zi Yanxin and Lu Sheng were both level twelve, but she still used the respectful title "Lord". Sheng thought of the ten Third-Tier Star Cores he had devoured and absorbed, and gave her a fairly kind smile.
"Thank you for the Star Cores, Captain Zi Yanxin."
"It should be me thanking Lord Sheng on behalf of the Star Spirit Flower."
Zi Yanxin bowed slightly and replied respectfully, "If it weren't for Lord Sheng's help, the Star Spirit Flower starship might no longer exist."
"It was also for my own sake, so there's no need for thanks." Lu Sheng waved his hand casually.
Seeing this, Zi Yanxin pondered for a moment, seemingly making a decision in her heart. With a determined bite, she took out something and respectfully presented it to Sheng, saying, "This is just a small token of my appreciation; I hope you will accept it, Lord Sheng."
Zi Yanxin took out a small black box, about half a meter square, bearing the deep purple emblem of the Star Spirit Flower family. She pressed a button somewhere, and the box opened. Presented to Lu Sheng were twenty neatly stacked small silver boxes. Lu Sheng recognized these boxes immediately; they were the boxes for holding Third-Tier Blue-Cosmos Star Cores. That meant there were a full twenty Star Cores here!
"Such generosity." Lu Sheng was slightly surprised.
The immense energy contained within a Third-Tier Blue-Cosmos Star Core was enough to prove its considerable value. Adding the ten already given to him, it was a total of thirty Star Cores. Even though Lu Sheng wasn't familiar with the market price of this item, he could sense the weight of this gift.
"So kind of you?" As Lu Sheng was thinking this, he noticed two more items in the box.
One was dozens of purple stars of varying sizes. The purple stars were connected by faint flowing light, looking like some kind of exquisitely crafted work of art. Zi Yanxin noticed Lu Sheng's gaze and quickly explained, "This is our Star Spirit Flower Merchant's latest-generation overclocking communicator, capable of real-time communication throughout the entire Celestial Serpent galaxy."
"Oh?!"
A hint of surprise rose in Sheng's heart. He had been planning to buy a better communicator after arriving at the Hunting Bow to contact his family and friends hundreds of star sectors away. He hadn't expected Zi Yanxin to have already prepared one for him.
Sheng wasn't surprised how she knew his needs, after all, he had been on her spaceship the entire time during their interstellar journey. He didn't mind his small gestures being noticed [trying to call his family, briefly succeeding after a few months]; in fact, he found it quite nice. It would be nice if someone always did these kinds of trivial things for him.
He proactively picked up the star. The moment it touched his fingers, it immediately crawled onto his palm as if it were alive. During this process, Sheng sensed waves of mental energy rapidly spreading out from it. He thought for a moment, then slightly released his divine sense, connecting with these mental energy waves. Instantly, a semi-illusory, futuristic-looking interface appeared in his mind.
"Amazing!" Lu Sheng couldn't help but murmur inwardly.
As Zi Yanxin had said, it represented the most advanced technology in the entire Celestial Serpent galaxy. It even used mental energy binding, appearing directly in his mind, it could be controlled with mental energy at any time. Moreover, after a cursory examination, he discovered that this device wasn't just for communication; it was almost omnipotent, even possessing combat assistance capabilities.
"It must be incredibly valuable." Given as a gift alongside a Third-Tier Blue-Cosmos Star Core, Lu Sheng figured it must be an astonishingly expensive item.
The completed communicator adhered perfectly to his skin. The dozens of purple stars that made it up resembled tattoos, emitting a hazy, beautiful purple light, extremely mysterious and magnificent. Even disregarding its inherent function, it was excellent as a simple decoration. And if one didn't like it, these patterns could automatically hide and disappear.
"Not bad."
Sheng experimented with it briefly, showing a rare fondness for it, and offered a rare compliment. Zi Yanxin smiled upon hearing his praise.
"I'm glad you like it, Lord Sheng."
Sheng's initiative in binding the communicator gave Zi Yanxin more confidence in what she was about to say. She made a decision, then picked up the last item from the box. Holding it with both hands, she respectfully presented it to Sheng, saying sincerely, "On behalf of the Star Spirit Flower, I humbly request that Your Excellency accept this last item."
"Oh?"
Lu Sheng sensed Zi Yan's earnestness, and his gaze finally fell on the third item, the most inconspicuous one in the box. It seemed... this third gift... was more than just a gift.
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Translation notes by dhoo
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Captain Zi Yanxin
I'm not sure yet why the author wrote things like Yanxin is the "head of the guild". Here I chose "captain" rather than "president". She is an important member of the guild, but definitely not the head and not a president or leading elder.