Devour: Transcending time to become Hong, I am invincible in the starry sky.

Chapter 78: Slaves from the Sword-Loving Star

Hong hovered high in the sky outside the slave trading square, his gaze fixed on a martial artist bound by energy chains in a corner.

He huddled in the shadows, head bowed, his disheveled hair obscuring most of his face, making his features unclear. But the aura emanating from him, different from the surrounding slaves, caught Hong's attention.

"Qiu Jian," Hong asked calmly in his mind, "I seem to sense the fluctuations of the Blood Blossom secret technique on that slave. Although it's very faint, the unique rhythm of its power is unmistakable. What exactly happened on Sword-Loving Star tens of thousands of years ago?"

The auxiliary optical computer on Hong's wrist lit up faintly, and Qiu Jian's black-clad virtual figure took shape in his mind.

"Data comparison in progress... Searching core databases..."

Data streamed rapidly through Qiu Jian's electronic eyes, and two seconds later, his voice rang out in Hong's mind.

"My core database lost all contact with my home planet, Sword Devourer, tens of thousands of years ago for unknown reasons. But I can be 100% certain that Sword Devourer's 'Blood Blossom' secret technique was created by the Star Lord with a lifetime of effort. Its inheritance rules are extremely strict; only those in the core ranks who have passed through layers of selection are qualified to cultivate it. There is absolutely no way anyone from another star system in the universe could possess such a secret technique!"

Qiu Jian's analysis stirred something within Hong, but he remained outwardly calm.

How could a core member of the Sword-Loving Star have fallen to the point of being sold into slavery on the Dragon Star?

Luo Feng and Lei Shen, who were following behind him, noticed Hong's unusual behavior.

Luo Feng followed Hong's gaze and saw only rows of alloy iron cages and alien slaves inside with numb eyes.

He asked, somewhat puzzled, "Brother, what's wrong? Is there a problem with that slave?"

Hong snapped out of his thoughts, turned to look at Luo Feng and Thor, and spoke calmly.

"I just feel that the slave seems to have some connection with the Sword-Loving Star. Let's go, let's take care of business first, obtaining citizenship from the Black Dragon Mountain Empire is our top priority right now."

After saying that, Hong decisively turned around, adjusted his direction, and continued flying towards the administrative building.

But in the instant he turned and flew away, the index finger of his right hand, which was behind his back, curled up slightly at an extremely subtle angle.

A wisp of primal energy imprint passed through the plaza and silently entered the area below the slave's collarbone.

The three of them walked along the wide street, proceeding along the high-altitude flight path.

The deeper they ventured into the city, the more the sights ahead challenged the three brothers' understanding of what it meant to be on their first journey into space.

One after another, magnificent and luxurious cities rose from the ground. The outer walls of these cities were entirely constructed from unknown and precious minerals, and an energy protective layer flowed across their surfaces.

Babata immediately sprang from Luo Feng's personal computer, its virtual demonic finger pointing to one of the largest cities in the distance, and shouted in an exaggerated tone, "See that castle?! That's a place only the truly super-rich on Qiulong Star can afford to live in! Each unit starts at tens of billions of Black Dragon Coins!"

Luo Feng and Lei Shen shook their heads repeatedly, shocked by the astronomical prices.

Before long, the outline of a colossal city appeared at the edge of their vision. The city walls were entirely black, stretching as far as the eye could see. On the towering walls were carved lifelike one-horned dragons, exuding an aura of vastness, antiquity, and desolation.

"That's Dragon City. According to my database, this city has a history of over three million years," Babata explained from the side.

Just then, Hong's wrist-mounted personal terminal vibrated slightly. Qiu Jian's cold voice rang directly in his mind: "Hong, message received. Your Qiulong City communication number is 19287342589. On this planet, you can use this number to communicate at any time."

At the same time, Babata also reported a long string of newly acquired communication numbers to Luo Feng.

Thor rubbed his bald head, looking at his two brothers, each with advanced AI assistants by their side, and couldn't help but grin, half-jokingly complaining, "It's true what they say, comparisons are odious. Big brother, you have that cold, expressionless face; third brother, you have that little devil Babata. So, out here we three brothers, I, Thor, am just a country bumpkin without even an AI assistant!"

After flying over several bustling city blocks, the view ahead opened up.

A massive black dragon sculpture, perched atop a high mountain, came into view.

This is the administrative building of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire, located on Qiulong Star.

Hong landed smoothly at the edge of the plaza in front of the building. He looked up at the building and, with a thought, a humanoid guard with a metallic sheen flowing like mercury appeared silently behind him.

Seeing this, Luo Feng asked with some confusion, "Brother, we're just here to complete some formalities, do we really need to release the Silver Guards?"

Hong turned around, looked at his two brothers, and calmly explained, "In this hierarchical universe society, things are often handled on a case-by-case basis. The three of us have no personal information and have never held any nationality. If we just go in like this, we'll inevitably be questioned. That would be a waste of time."

"In many situations, these high-level guards are our best pass."

Luo Feng and Lei Shen immediately understood after hearing these words.

The two exchanged a glance and then waved to each other.

In an instant, two more silver-clad guards appeared behind them.

Hong walked at the front, followed by Luo Feng and Lei Shen. The three martial artists were followed by three silver-clad guards, forming a triangular formation, as they entered the reception hall of the administration building.

As soon as they entered, they attracted the attention of many people in the hall. Some knowledgeable people, seeing the Silver Guards, made way for them.

Ignoring the stares of those around them, the three went straight to the special window for processing imperial citizenship.

They were greeted by a blue-haired woman whose attitude became noticeably more respectful when she saw the silver-haired guards. She dared not be negligent and immediately led the three to a separate office for processing citizenship.

Inside the office stood a tall, thin man with blood-red eyes.

As he operated the instrument, scanning the three men's wrists with a red beam of light, a clear look of surprise appeared on his face. The data panel showed that none of the three men had ever held any nationality.

But out of the corner of his eye, he quickly caught sight of the silver guards standing silently like statues behind the three. As a senior employee of the administration building, he recognized at a glance that these high-end intelligent metal guards, which were rare on the market, were all very valuable.

Those who can afford such guards must be core members of some powerful family!

He put on a fawning smile and said respectfully, "It's good that you three haven't acquired citizenship, as it saves you a lot of troublesome cancellation procedures. According to Imperial regulations, each person only needs to pay a processing fee of fifty Black Dragon Coins, and I can process it for you immediately."

Seeing this, Luo Feng casually tossed out a Qianwu coin.

"Keep the change, please."

The blood-eyed man's smile widened even further when he saw the Qianwu Coin. One Qianwu Coin could be exchanged for a thousand Black Dragon Coins!

He immediately completed all the citizenship procedures for the three brothers as quickly as possible.

About twenty minutes later, the three of them successfully obtained their respective Imperial citizenship cards.

Keep the card safe. Having a legal identity makes many things much easier.

The three, accompanied by the Silver-Eyed Guards, left the Black Dragon Mountain Administrative Building, bowing and scraping as the blood-eyed man saw them off.

"Next target: the branch of the Dragon City Virtual Universe Company!"