Air Is Not Free Anymore

“Don’t rush. Life is a marathon, not a sprint from the starting line.”

“I want to grow stronger as soon as possible—just like Uncle Chen! I’ll wipe out every last one of those alien races!”

Seeing the determination surge in the boy’s eyes, you patted his head without saying anything more.

If you looked within your body at your Essence Core, you would find that the surface of this concentration of elemental energy was covered in numerous imprints.

The imprints were not random. They were arranged in blocks, resembling some kind of written script.

Or, more precisely, they looked very much like divine runes.

In fact, this was where divine runes originated.

Shen Yifeng had told you that after entering the Absolute Ground Realm and comprehending a divine ability, repeatedly using that ability would leave increasingly distinct traces on the Essence Core.

A single divine ability could leave behind many traces, depending mainly on how many different divine arts the cultivator had derived from it.

These imprints on the Essence Core were the embryonic forms of divine runes.

However, simply copying the imprints of a divine ability from the Essence Core and drawing them in the real world would not allow just anyone to reproduce the ability’s power.

Divine runes were processed and corrected versions of those imprints. Exactly how this was done remained completely closed-off knowledge among the human race.

After all, if divine runes could circulate freely among humans, even a Qi Transformation Realm cultivator could use them to put up a fight against someone in the Absolute Ground Realm.

That said, divine runes could only be considered low-grade versions of divine arts. They were still worlds apart from genuine divine arts.

“A-Dou, take these two divine arts. If you can also cultivate to the Absolute Ground Realm someday, try comprehending the divine abilities corresponding to them. Then you’ll be able to use Uncle Chen’s divine arts.”

You wrote “Lightspeed Fist” and “Quantum Ghost Step” down as cultivation manuals and passed them on to A-Dou.

After receiving the manuals, A-Dou looked somewhat melancholy.

“Uncle Chen, are we almost there?”

You turned toward the porthole and looked at the enormous purplish-red planet outside.

“We’re here.”

Although you had long heard about the immense size of Vermilion Purple Star, you were still stunned when you finally saw it up close.

It was simply too enormous!

Even though you were constantly drawing nearer, it felt as if you were falling toward the planet’s surface, because the planet filled your entire field of vision.

On Fortune Star and Blazelight Star, the multicolored beams fired from the spaceports stood out in space like antennae.

But on Vermilion Purple Star, the spaceport beams were like insignificant hairs sprouting from the ground when compared to the planet itself.

And there were an astonishing number of these “hairs.”

Having a spaceport on Vermilion Purple Star was nothing remarkable. Any faction of even modest standing that had established a foothold on the planet possessed a “private spaceport.”

It was much like wealthy people on Earth owning private airports.

Private spaceports did not permit unauthorized use by outsiders.

If you wanted to land, you could only use one of the public spaceports.

Racial discrimination still existed on Vermilion Purple Star—directed mainly at humans.

However, it was more subtle here. It was not as blatant as on Blazelight Star or Fortune Star.

The treatment humans received here depended largely on their background.

Those with good backgrounds could live normal lives, cultivate normally, and even enjoy fairly high status.

After all, the alien races feared strength, not virtue. As long as you had enough power, they would address a human as “senior” just as readily.

Those from poor backgrounds could end up as slaves to the alien races.

Compared with Fortune Star and Blazelight Star, the situation of humans on Vermilion Purple Star was like heaven and earth.

So you did not need to impersonate anyone. You could simply pass through the public spaceport and land openly.

You even saw that the identity verification officer at the exit was a human.

Of course, that did not mean you could get carried away and start shouting, “I was sent here by the Sparkfire Society!”

Shen Yifeng had told you that the Sparkfire Society was also classified as a subversive organization on Vermilion Purple Star.

Even the humans living on Vermilion Purple Star publicly opposed the Sparkfire Society.

There was no helping it. The alien races still held the upper hand, and any human faction that openly opposed them on important issues would be targeted. The outcome was obvious.

So they either offered their support—or paid lip service while doing the opposite in private.

“You don’t have a residence permit?”

“I want to settle here. How do I get one?”

“Unless you were born on Vermilion Purple Star, you have two options: join a faction and have its leader sponsor your application, or get married here.”

“Get married? Me?”

“Oh, you’re a man. In that case, you can marry someone who already has a residence permit. That will get you a short-term residence permit. If the marriage lasts for more than ten years, you can obtain a permanent residence permit.”

“Thank you.”

The officials on this planet were much easier to deal with, and their attitudes were much better too.

What a beacon of civilization!

The inspector issued you a temporary residence permit valid for one year.

“Why is this residence permit so strange?”

The residence permit in your hand was neither a card nor a booklet. It was a compass.

At a glance, you could see that it was packed with countless formations, so complex that even as a third-grade formation master, you felt your scalp prickle.

The compass itself was also a magical artifact with a bewildering variety of functions.

The inspector immediately realized that you had come from some poor backwater and had never seen such a “high-end gadget.”

“You haven’t tried cultivating with it yet, have you?”

“I haven’t had the chance.”

“Give it a try.”

You tried circulating your energy and cultivating.

Something was very strange.

The immortal energy around you was clearly extremely dense, yet it did not flow into your body from all directions. Instead, it entered you entirely through the “residence permit” in your hand.

“This…”

Not only that, but you soon noticed a line of text appear above the compass:

“Free quota exhausted. Please visit the nearest Immortal Energy Station to purchase additional quota.”

“Good grief…”

The immortal energy on Vermilion Purple Star was actually metered and charged for!

That was no less absurd than having to pay for the air on Earth!

The inspector smiled.

“That’s why, if you want to settle down on Vermilion Purple Star, you can’t try to game the system. If you hide away in some remote mountain forest, the most you’ll be able to do is live like a wild man. Cultivating will be impossible.”

The human inspector’s smile made it seem as though he had seen right through your thoughts.

And indeed, you had just been considering exactly that.

After all, that was how you had managed things on Blazelight Star.

“Where can I find an Immortal Energy Station?”

“There’s one in every town.”

The inspector glanced at A-Dou. He did not conduct a detailed inspection or ask any questions. He simply waved his hand and told you that you could leave.

You sensed that something was off, but you departed without showing it.

“Uncle Chen, what’s wrong?”

A-Dou noticed the subtle change in your expression.

“That person may also be a member of the Sparkfire Society.”

“Really? Then let’s ask him where the others are meeting!”

“He’s been undercover without a problem. Don’t approach him on your own. You might cause him trouble.”