Dongyu Star is a powerful life-bearing planet ranked among the top hundred most prosperous in the entire Eternal Star Domain.
This is where the slave market of Dongyu Star is located.
Qi Yuan, Lao Wu, and six other elite bodyguards—ranging from Stellar Rank 7 to 8—followed behind Hugo, browsing the encampments of various slave trading caravans.
Currently, among Hugo's subordinates, only Lao Wu's strength had reached Stellar Rank 9.
The other six bodyguards included two at Stellar Rank 8 and four at Stellar Rank 7.
As for Qi Yuan, with a sufficient supply of Dragon Vein Fruits, he had just broken through again the day before their departure, successfully advancing his cultivation to Stellar Rank 7!
In just one year, he soared from Stellar Rank 4 to Stellar Rank 7!
When Hugo learned this, he nearly thought their identities were reversed.
Hugo, a direct descendant of the Ortega family, commanded the vast wealth generated annually by Thunderstorm Star.
Over the past year, he had used countless expensive treasures, such as B9-grade nutrient liquids, barely improving from Stellar Rank 1 to nearly breaking into Stellar Rank 3.
Meanwhile, Qi Yuan, a native slave casually bought, survived on only modest resources like Muya Crystals and Earth Soul Liquids each month, yet he broke through Stellar Rank 3 and surged all the way to Stellar Rank 7!
With Stellar Rank 7 and the aid of his domain mastery, Qi Yuan could now easily be regarded as equivalent to a top-tier Stellar Rank 9 warrior.
Given such an outrageous comparison, one might say Qi Yuan was the real master, and Hugo the native slave—something that might actually be more reasonable!
The team consisted of one Stellar Rank 9, two Stellar Rank 8s, and five Stellar Rank 7s—including Qi Yuan, who had mastered the Lightning Domain.
Such a lineup would be enough to sweep through an average star system.
However, this time they were headed into the extremely dangerous "Overlord World."
In the Overlord World, countless contenders for the apprentice mercenary trial were Stellar Rank 9 or above—not to mention the inherent dangers of the world itself.
A single slip could mean they'd be trapped there forever.
For safety, Hugo decided to buy several powerful Stellar Rank 9 slaves before entering the test world.
He even sold a third-tier psychic weapon he had won from the Eternal Empire's Seventh Prince to help fund the purchase.
Moreover, he mortgaged a 100-year mining right on Thunderstorm Star to secure a massive loan of 30 billion Eternal Coins!
Now flush with cash, Hugo confidently asked if there were any Stellar Rank 9 slaves who had mastered a domain.
But when he heard the prices from the slave dealers, his bold enthusiasm instantly deflated.
"What? That expensive? Are you joking? Do I look like I'm worth that much?"
"Can't afford it, let's bail."
Soon, Hugo lowered his expectations and targeted ordinary Stellar Rank 9 slaves.
"Four Stellar Rank 9 warriors of the Zalin Tribe, two Stellar Rank 9 psychic masters of the Wuyan Tribe."
After lowering the target, Hugo quickly selected the slaves he wanted.
The Zalin Tribe were a fierce group covered in black scales, their faces resembling humanoid pangolins. Their strength and defense were extremely high, making them ideal close-quarters bodyguards.
The two Wuyan Tribe members, with humanoid bodies but strange birdlike heads, were born psychic masters.
After the transaction, Qi Yuan secretly checked their "aptitude" using the system.
To his surprise, one Wuyan slave's base return multiplier reached 29 times!
Qi Yuan had accompanied Hugo on a trip to Lanka Star and quietly observed many others through the system.
Except for Hugo and the Eternal Empire's Seventh Prince—both with base return multipliers over 30—no one else had reached that level.
Most Stellar Rank 9 warriors hovered around 18 or 19 times, occasionally surpassing 20.
But this Wuyan slave's 29x multiplier was far above the average for ordinary Stellar Rank cultivators.
"Not sure if Hugo's just lucky or really has a knack for picking people—if that luck isn't used for buying lottery tickets, it's a shame."
After completing the slave transfer procedures, Hugo and his group went to the "Galactic Mercenary Union" base on Dongyu Star to register as adventurers and submit their application for the apprentice mercenary test.
Only then did they board a ship to the task world, the "Tai Shi Star."
Onboard, Hugo and the others quickly reviewed the test details.
The test was much like the original story's, where Luo Feng and others took part.
"Enter the Light-Eroding World of Tai Shi Star, obtain one poison sting from a Ghost-Faced Scorpion and three Aurora Stones, then deliver them to the examiners at the exit to complete the mission."
The Light-Eroding World was a small world created billions of years ago by a famous "Light-Eroding Overlord."
After the overlord's demise, the Galactic Mercenary Union transformed it into the site for apprentice mercenary trials.
Their test involved completing two tasks in this world: "killing" and "exploring."
"The poison sting of the Ghost-Faced Scorpion can be obtained by hunting them in the Glowing Stone Wasteland."
"The Aurora Stone is a strange crystal infused with unique energy from the Light-Eroding World and must be gathered in the Aurora Corridor region."
"The Aurora Corridor environment is complicated, and we don't know how long it will take. Let's first hunt Ghost-Faced Scorpions in the Glowing Stone Wasteland, then head to the Aurora Corridor after completing that task."
Using gathered information, Hugo and company quickly laid out their plan.
Meanwhile, near the entrance of the test world on Tai Shi Star, a group anxiously waited in a tavern room.
"Three-Eyes, is that info reliable? We've been staking out here for ages and haven't seen the target yet!"
A burly figure clad in black standard battle armor, with four arms, spoke quietly to a companion.
"This place is expensive—just this room cost me over a million Eternal Coins. Not sure if we'll get reimbursed."
His companion, called Three-Eyes, barely lifted his eyelids and replied coldly, "The boss assigned this mission. If you have complaints, take them up with him."
"Hell no, I don't want to bring bad luck going to the boss."
The four-armed man forced a smile and lowered his voice, "Hey, this target's no ordinary mark—they must have some good stuff on them. When we get our hands on it…"
Before he could finish, Three-Eyes suddenly stiffened and stood up sharply.
"Get ready. The target's arrived!"
(End of Chapter)
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