Starforce Warriors-Chapter 880: Transforming Into A Dragon (2)

And so, another two months passed. A third dragon’s roar rang out from deep within Li Xiaofei’s body as the third refinement of the Five Dragons Realm was completed.

The process then continued to repeat. By the time the twelfth month came to an end, Li Xiaofei’s body finally resonated with five distinct dragon cries. The Five Dragons roared in unison. He had at last reached the peak of the Five Dragons Realm. He had achieved the fifth refinement of the Great Dragon.

“That’s enough. This round of cultivation ends here,” he murmured.

Li Xiaofei opened his eyes slowly and descended gently onto the stone platform of the Secret Time Pavilion. He exhaled a long breath of turbid air that glimmered with golden and silver flames. Radiant streams of light flickered and danced within his eyes.

He didn’t rush to leave. Instead, he remained in place and began to practice Tai Chi. This was true, traditional Tai Chi. Before he had been transported five hundred years into the future, Li Xiaofei had been deeply passionate about classical martial arts. Naturally, the renowned and foundational Tai Chi had been one of his must-learn disciplines.

His form, honed under the guidance of one of his one hundred and eight teachers, was imbued with the essence and spirit of the art. It served now as the perfect way to loosen and harmonize his energy. As he flowed through the graceful arcs of the routine, Li Xiaofei quickly gained a clear understanding of the strength now surging through his body.

An explosive increase. He was confident now that if he were to face Delta, the Death God’s Eye, in battle once more, then no beast-transformation from Delta’s fourth form could suppress him again.

The difference in strength was almost cheat-like. Should he trigger the Five Dragons Resonance and release the full might of this perfected realm, his body’s power would absolutely rival the beast form of Delta after its sixth rebirth.

Li Xiaofei was extremely satisfied. After all, Delta’s sixth rebirth had produced a beast god with strength comparable to the peak of the Seven Transformation Realm.

"I’m seriously a monster." Li Xiaofei couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear.

Though his current realm was only at the peak of the Five Dragons Realm, the depth of his Immortal Force and the resilience of his physical body already rivaled that of cultivators in the Seven Transformation Realm.

This most recent battle at Stargate Base had skyrocketed his strength to a level that could only be described as cheat-tier. Once he truly broke through into the Seven Transformation Realm, his combat power would soar to a terrifying new height. And this didn’t even take into account the use of an Emperor Weapon.

Fully satisfied, Li Xiaofei departed the Secret Time Pavilion. In the real world, only less than two months had passed. When Xiao Shi saw that he had already emerged from closed-door cultivation, her expression turned to one of utter shock.

“So fast!” she exclaimed.

For true martial arts cultivators, a proper secluded training session usually lasted years, or even decades. After life-and-death battles, some prodigies might even go into seclusion for an entire sixty-year cycle, returning with unbelievable breakthroughs in cultivation, ascending in a single leap.

All merit-based rewards had already been distributed for the battle at Stargate Base. Things like immortal crystals and jade treasures were a given. But more impressively, the headquarters of the Xiao Kuang Legion had granted Li Xiaofei three weapons as reward.

A saber named Flame Demon Saber. A sword called Frost Snow Sword. A spear known as Dark Star Spear. The precision of these gifts genuinely surprised Li Xiaofei. How could the Xiao Kuang military district be so accurately aware of what he needed? Their selections were deliberate and on point. Clearly, those at the top had gathered thorough intelligence on him, down to the finest detail.

Li Xiaofei didn’t stand on ceremony; he accepted all three weapons without hesitation.

The Flame Demon Saber, Frost Snow Sword, and Dark Star Spear were all of exceptionally high quality, and were each classified as Immortal Artifacts. In terms of rank, they were only two levels below his Blood-Drinking Sword, an Emperor Weapon, falling short only of Ancestral and Dao Artifacts.

Any one of these immortal-grade weapons was a priceless treasure within the human world. They were even more precious to the Reaper Faction. The Reapers referred to all human spirit weapons as Divine Arms. In their world, a single Divine Arm was a legendary treasure, too rare to be traded, even with limitless wealth.

“I don’t know why,” Xiao Shi said with visible frustration, “but your military appointment still hasn’t been finalized. I’ve filed eighteen separate applications trying to have you assigned as the Deputy Commander of the Xiao Shi Battle Division... but there’s been no reply at all.”

A trace of unease crept into her voice as she said, “I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Oh?” Li Xiaofei looked over at her.

The beautiful commander planted her hands on her hips, suddenly jumped up, and shouted indignantly, “It’s gotta be those old fogies at Central Command! They must’ve seen the battle footage, gotten greedy when they saw what you can do, and now want to transfer you back to Headquarters! Hmph! No way, I’ve got to think of something. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you here in the Xiao Shi Battle Division! You belong to me, alive or... ugh, mmph!”

Mi Youyin quickly covered her mouth before she could finish her dramatic declaration. Mi Youyin was on the verge of a meltdown. Xiao Shi was amazing in many ways, but she had one fatal flaw. She got too close to people, too fast... and had a bad habit of making decisions for others.

She hadn’t even asked whether Li Xiaofei wanted to stay in the Planet Nock Sector. She had just gone ahead and made up his mind for him. That might work with ordinary lower-ranking officers, but for someone like Li Xiaofei, whose combat capability had already reached strategic-level classification, it was borderline inappropriate. At the very least, he deserved the freedom to choose. Li Xiaofei simply smiled. He already had plans of his own.

First, he needed to return to Heaven. If things had gone according to plan, his aunt and Miss Tan should have already begun their alchemy preparations. There was a good chance they were seeing results by now.

Second, Li Xiaofei fully intended to travel to the world beyond the spatial anchor point, to see with his own eyes what existed on the other side. No matter what, he had to confirm his suspicions. If Si Kongxue and her daughter truly were in that world, then he would bring them back no matter the cost.

And finally, there was the matter of enlisting. He would fight for humanity. He would battle against the Reapers. He would follow in the footsteps of the Fifth Generation Immortal Emperors. This was a war that determined the very survival of their race; no one could escape it.

As a member of the human race, Li Xiaofei kept one principle etched in his heart, The rise and fall of the race is the duty of every citizen.

From this perspective, it was clear, Li Xiaofei wanted to head to the true frontlines, where the battle was fiercest, rather than waste away in minor skirmishes at the rear lines of the Xiao Kuang Star Region.

“I want to visit the world beyond the spatial anchor point,” he said, stating his intention plainly.

“What?”

“No way!”

Both Mi Youyin and Xiao Shi reacted at once in shock as they fiercely opposed his idea.

Li Xiaofei met their gaze calmly. Xiao Shi pleaded with him, “That’s enemy territory; it’s occupied by the Reaper Faction. It’s too dangerous. You’d be surrounded on all sides. If you run into someone from the Immortal Realm, humanity won’t be able to help you at all. One misstep, and it’s a death sentence.”

Mi Youyin nodded gravely. She explained patiently, “So far, the Reapers have managed to infiltrate our world through Eden and planted many spies. Some of them are even high-stage Royal Reapers. They’re capable of mimicking human bodies and can enter our world undetected. But for us to infiltrate their world? Nearly impossible. Humans can’t simulate Reaper essence. We can’t fool high-stage Reapers’ senses. All these years, there hasn’t been a single successful case of someone infiltrating the Reaper world.”

Li Xiaofei listened, deep in thought. Suddenly, something clicked in his mind. He finally understood why Wei Xiaotian had gone to such great lengths to obtain Delta’s Ninth-Rebirth Core, the source of the Death God’s Eye.

With that core, he could become the first human in history to infiltrate the Reaper Faction’s world. The possibilities that would open up were limitless. And if Wei Xiaotian could do it, why couldn’t he? He, too, could strip the source essence from other high-stage Reapers...

Wait a minute. How did Wei Xiaotian manage to analyze and replicate Delta’s source essence?

The question struck Li Xiaofei like lightning. He suddenly realized that the ancient, black force and mysterious techniques Wei Xiaotian wielded were anything but ordinary. They were rare... perhaps even unique.

That would explain why Mi Youyin had spoken with such caution. But regardless, he had reasons he couldn’t ignore. He had to go. If official channels wouldn’t open the path, then he would simply have to find his own way.

After briefly discussing it with Xiao Shi, Li Xiaofei quietly left the command center. As his silhouette disappeared down the hallway, Xiao Shi and Mi Youyin exchanged a long glance.

“This guy...” Xiao Shi murmured.

She bit her lip lightly, her slender white fingers pressing against her temple. With one arm crossed and the other raised, she said in a thoughtful tone, “He’s carrying a lot of secrets.”

“I’ve read his file over two hundred times,” Mi Youyin replied softly. “There are so many things that defy common logic. Honestly, his journey is a living miracle. There were so many moments where death was certain... but he always came out unscathed. Somehow, I just... have a feeling.”

Xiao Shi’s eyes widened. She grabbed Mi Youyin by the shoulders and began shaking her gently but urgently. She exclaimed, “Youyin! Quick! Tell me, what did you see? What did you feel? Tell me right now!”

“My head’s about to fly off from all this shaking!” Mi Youyin wriggled free and sighed. “I just have this sense that those above us know more than we do. It’s like they’ve been aware of him for a long time... watching him in secret. Maybe even his enlistment into the Planet Nock Stargate Base was orchestrated behind the scenes.”

“Above us?” Xiao Shi murmured, rubbing her lips. “Which ‘above’ do you mean?”

“At the very least, someone in Xiao Kuang Command Headquarters knew about him before we did. It’s highly possible that his posting here was the result of quiet coordination from the top.”

“Hmm... those old men again, huh?” said Xiao Shi. She crossed her arms and tilted her head, falling into deep thought.

Just then, a combat staff officer rushed into the room and saluted sharply. He reported, “Commander, Headquarters has issued an emergency assembly order.”