Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest

In the hotel room, Wang Chen was sitting cross-legged.

He remained motionless with his eyes closed, like a petrified statue, with his breathing and heartbeat reduced to the bare minimum.

An invisible aura filled the entire room.

Suddenly, Wang Chen's brow twitched, and a nearly translucent shadow instantly "floated" out of his body.

This shadow, in terms of form and appearance, was identical to Wang Chen's true self in the Haotian Realm.

It silently passed through the thick curtain wall glass and flew into the sky outside the hotel, reaching above the clouds.

In the next moment, a pair of pale golden eyes opened, coldly and indifferently overlooking the earth.

At the same time, Wang Chen in the hotel also suddenly opened his eyes, a gleam of divine light flashing through his pitch-black pupils.

The phantom instantly returned to his body!

Wang Chen let out a long breath.

With the Spiritual Power replenished by the Heaven-Ensnaring Punisher Net, he spent ten entire days successfully manifesting the soul he had previously condensed.

This equated to having an external incarnation.

Although this incarnation could not compare at all to the real avatar of a Divinity Transformation stage, it could inherit most of his powers once Wang Chen returned to the Haotian Realm.

Furthermore, serving as a waypoint in the Starry Seas World, he could establish a closer connection with it upon returning to the Haotian Realm.

Significantly reducing the price required for descending again in the future!

In short, having completed this step, Wang Chen's preliminary exploration of the Starry Seas Vast World could be considered perfect.

Achieving all the goals.

It was truly not easy to reach this step because the laws of the Starry Seas Vast World were too stringent. If it were any other Nascent Soul or even Divinity Transformation Cultivator, it would be absolutely impossible to achieve such accomplishments.

Wang Chen planned to return to the Haotian Realm after completing this mission back on the Holy Light Star.

Five days later, the state of emergency in Lionheart City was lifted.

Wang Chen also received the latest instructions from the Seventh Rapid Response Fleet.

In response to the recent Nether Tribe's sneak attack on the Iron Lion Star Cluster, the Empire's high command decided to launch the fiercest retaliation.

Now near the first Star Gate of Iron Lion Star, the Empire's Tempest Fleet, Royal Third Space Fleet, and the Fourth and Seventh Rapid Response Fleets have gathered, along with Iron Lion Star's garrison fleet, totaling five fleets.

Both the Tempest Fleet and the Royal Third Space Fleet are major Imperial fleets, with the former possessing two Titan-class Battleships, and the latter three, plus two giant space carriers.

The Fourth Rapid Response Fleet recently arrived for reinforcement, while the Seventh Rapid Response Fleet had just completed resupplying its warships and personnel.

These five fleets combined are an immensely powerful force.

The Empire's retaliatory target is the Flame Star Cluster.

The distance between the Flame Star Cluster and the Iron Lion Star Cluster is 175 light-years. The former was briefly occupied by the Empire but never belonged to the Empire's territory. Later it became an important stronghold for alien Heterogenous following the Nether Tribe's invasion.

According to intelligence reports, there is a Nether Tribe's mother nest on the Flame Star Cluster, along with an unspecified number of sub-nests.

The Nether Tribe's mother nest is a breeding base for Nether Tribe species, occupying the entire Flame Star, while its derived sub-nests are scattered across different planets in the cluster, primarily producing various types of warships.

The Nether Legion that recently raided the Iron Lion Star Cluster originated from the Flame Star Cluster!

The saying "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" stands true; the Empire cannot tolerate alien Heterogenous' provocations, thus deciding to embark on an expedition to the Flame Star Cluster to destroy or heavily damage the Nether Tribe's mother nest.

The time for this expedition was set for three days later.

Since the star domain where the Flame Star Cluster is located is not covered by the star network, the joint fleet will inevitably lose contact with the Empire during the journey, so Wang Chen made a "will" in a hurry, transferring all his savings to Ming Mei and Tang Mo's accounts.

This is necessary because Wang Chen does not know if he will return alive from this expedition to the Flame Star Cluster.

If he falls in battle, he will surely return to the Haotian Realm and descend once more with a different identity.

Unlike before, as a Glory Nobility, Wang Chen has no kin or offspring, so it is essential to make a will.

Three days later, Wang Chen boarded the Radiance Cruiser once more, setting out with the Seventh Rapid Response Fleet.

Before setting off, he was invited to the flagship of the joint fleet—the Royal Glory Battleship, where Marshal Kannis personally awarded him the Empire's Hero Medal.

He was commended for his outstanding performance and glorious achievements in the Star Gate Battle of the Iron Lion Star Cluster.

The Empire's Hero Medal is one of the highest decorations of the Holy Light Empire, and most who receive this medal are in coffins, making an award to someone young like Wang Chen extremely rare.

Wearing this medal, Wang Chen was finally a true hero of the Empire.

Meanwhile, Wang Chen was also exceptionally promoted to Imperial Colonel.

Among millions of service members in the whole Empire, he is the youngest colonel officer!

Thus, Wang Chen's reputation reached its peak in the Imperial Army.

After the grand award ceremony ended, the massive joint fleet successively passed through the Star Gate, heading to the Flame Star Cluster.

Due to the long distance, the fleet must pass through three Star Gates, with a journey exceeding two months in between, so most soldiers entered deep hibernation to conserve energy and resources.

As a senior officer, Wang Chen was stationed on the Radiance Cruiser as a defensive force.

Given his current status, he could have requested to serve on the Royal Glory Battleship.

This gigantic ship is the latest model in the Titan Series Battleship, reaching the pinnacle level in tonnage, firepower, and defense, and is one of the Empire's prides.

Moreover, the Royal Glory Battleship also gathered a large number of the Empire's outstanding elites, including over a hundred ace pilots.

Each ace pilot is battle-hardened, with undeniable strength.

Thus, as the flagship of the joint fleet, the Royal Glory is undoubtedly the safest.

In fact, Marshal Kannis intended to have Wang Chen join the ace pilot squadron, but Wang Chen politely declined.

He felt freer on the Radiance.

During the fleet's long voyage, Wang Chen focused on cultivating his dual soul, exhausting almost all the Spiritual Power in the Heaven-Ensnaring Punisher Net.

In reality, if his main body were to be lost in this campaign, this dual soul would also vanish with it.

There seemed to be no need to devote such great effort.

But Wang Chen has confidence in returning safely.

Unless the joint fleet is entirely wiped out, with not a single warship returning to the Empire's territory.

That possibility is very slim.

Two months later, the joint fleet entered the star domain where the Flame Star Cluster is located.

And encountered a Nether Tribe fleet head-on.

A fierce skirmish broke out, marking the beginning of the Flame Star Cluster campaign!

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First update delivered.