Chapter 1398: 10 How Strong This Power Must Be [Please Subscribe to the Official Version]

Chapter 1398: Chapter 10 How Strong This Power Must Be [Please Subscribe to the Official Version]

Jia Yan hadn’t expected that the talent he displayed would actually become the benchmark by which the opposition judged the strength of ‘Ting Tian Pavilion.’

He was now analyzing the opposing side’s claims, evaluating whether the task was feasible.

“The raiding forces, or rather gangs, likely aren’t overly powerful. Even if they have intermediate talent semi-permanent star level members, they shouldn’t have anyone at high-level talent semi-permanent star level. With my current strength, this might be worth a try.”

Jia Yan analyzed several clues and ultimately made a decision.

“Alright, I can take this job, but you’ll need to pay a deposit—ten thousand Genius Yuan.” Jia Yan said to the secondary-level genius on the other end of the communicator.

“Ten thousand? Fine, I’ll pay!”

The monster seemed to lack understanding of the Dark Realm’s transactional norms and, gritting its teeth, half in desperation, immediately transferred ten thousand Genius Yuan.

Within seconds, Jia Yan received a notification from his Smart Brain: the payment had been received.

“Straightforward personality—clients like this are wonderful.” Jia Yan chuckled.

What he didn’t know was that the employer was truly at wit’s end. Their own capabilities couldn’t possibly handle the star thief gang, and attempting to enlist other agencies only resulted in rejection. They had already been conned out of funds several times before, but seeing that Jia Yan’s tone didn’t carry the usual air of deception, they resigned themselves to trusting him one last time.

Soon after, a faint glimmer quietly rose from the nameless celestial body on which Jia Yan was stationed, drifting into the Universe Starry Sky.

In the cosmos, this glimmer quickly dove into subspace, heading in a specific direction.

“Didn’t expect the destination to be this close.”

The glimmer was none other than Jia Yan, piloting his Conceptual Ship. As he flew through the Universe, he reviewed the documents provided by the employer.

Having accepted the deposit, Jia Yan wouldn’t breach protocol—after all, he wasn’t the type to act solely for monetary gain.

Principles mattered in one’s conduct, after all.

Jia Yan left his secondary-level Avatar on the celestial body. During the last escape battle, although the avatar hadn’t directly fought a semi-permanent star level opponent, its injuries were still severe. Without its natural talent for self-repair, it might have perished. Jia Yan left it there for healing.

The employer originally intended to meet with Jia Yan at Ting Tian Pavilion, only for Jia Yan to casually say, “No need to wait too long—I’ll act first, then we can meet afterward.”

Though the remark seemed responsible, it left the employer feeling utterly cold inside. Having been scammed several times before, they feared going through the same ordeal again. The notion of Jia Yan acting first raised concerns—wouldn’t others from Ting Tian Pavilion still handle the follow-up?

Ignoring the employer’s despair, Jia Yan entered subspace and continued onward, arriving at a commercial star belonging to a small faction.

At this star, Jia Yan made a brief stop.

He purchased some energy materials to replenish his Conceptual Ship’s depleted reserves.

As for space stones, there were none openly available for sale from any factions, and even if there were, Jia Yan’s borderline penniless status made the idea of purchasing them laughable.

Heading into this mission, his conditions could be described as utterly frugal.

In a remote Starfield void of any celestial bodies, a dark-colored monstrous figure clawed through the fabric of space and emerged from a subspace location.

“It should be around here. Better investigate first.”

Jia Yan surveyed his surroundings.

He’d arrived at the location where the employer had been raided. Without delay, Jia Yan began his inspection.

This region marked the border between the Dark Realm and the normal zones—a liminal space. One could categorize it as part of either domain.

Jia Yan gazed at the endless Universe Starry Sky, his Compound Eyes flashing with faint, peculiar colors.

He took a single step forward and, using subspace, appeared ten thousand kilometers away.

In this area, scattered remnants of battleships—destroyed to the point of being irreparable—floated silently.

“Seems this is the scene of the incident.”

Understanding the situation, Jia Yan’s expression darkened as he scrutinized the damage to the battleships.

The wreckage was extensively destroyed, and the force evident in the attacks indicated that the culprits were secondary-level powerhouses.

The only silver lining was the lack of any semi-permanent star level presence among the attacking forces.

“I’m unfamiliar with this area. Generally speaking, such operations are usually carried out by nearby minor factions or gangs. Let’s see if there are any small forces active here.”

Jia Yan extended his form and began scouring the surrounding Starry Sky.

Having no prior experience conducting similar tasks, Jia Yan’s search was painstaking and inefficient.

Longer than the time it had taken to travel here, his efforts yielded little—his random and aimless probing across a few billion kilometers discovered multiple uninhabited celestial bodies but returned no conclusive results, leaving him on the verge of giving up.

“Nearly half a month has passed. It only took me a few days to get here, yet searching has already consumed several times that amount—this job is not easy at all…”

Frustrated, Jia Yan considered quitting, but his pride wouldn’t allow it. Moreover, the Genius Yuan from his employer was already mostly spent; abandoning the task now would leave him with no credible way to report back.

“Huh?”

Just as he was about to call it quits, a flicker in his Compound Eyes caught his attention.

In the Starry Sky, he spotted a highly camouflaged Small Battleship quietly traversing the void.

Jia Yan’s demeanor shifted as he stealthily began tailing it.

“Fujii, do we really need to be this nervous? That guy we robbed claimed he hired some agency to help, but what’s this Ting Tian Pavilion? I’ve never even heard of them—probably just another scam. There’s no need to be on edge.”

“Juanren, you just don’t get it. In our line of work, caution is key. Sure, we might make a name for ourselves here in Mirror Land, but this is just us taking advantage of an unremarkable location. A true Strong One could wipe us out without breaking a sweat.”

Aboard the stealthy battleship, two monsters transporting daily goods conversed.

Little did they know that at the same moment, outside their ship, a gleaming metallic monster lurked, catching every word of their exchange.

“Heh, now this is just too convenient.” Confirming this was the raiding force, Jia Yan couldn’t help but smirk from his position outside the vessel.

The two secondary-level powerhouses onboard had talents rated as intermediate-level geniuses. This level of strength might draw attention in the Genius War Boundary Star Area, but here in the Central Star Area, they were mere small fry. Even Xiaoya, the Mermaid Monster who arrived at the Central Star Area with Jia Yan, was relegated to serving as his servant.

Jia Yan, equipped with the Conceptual Ship, possessed strength at a high-level talent sub-barrier level. Adding his Space Talent further boosted his power to a point surpassing high-level talent standards. These factors enabled him to lurk unnoticed outside the ship.

“Now’s not the time to strike. Best to follow them back to their headquarters before making a move.”

Eyes shining intensely, Jia Yan remained perfectly still, clinging to the exterior of the battleship.

His Brainwave Power subtly radiated outward. Though only at the venerable level, when combined with his cellular outer layer force, it was just sufficient to evade detection by the two secondary-level geniuses.

The battleship had no idea that an elite genius was already in its vicinity, remaining oblivious as it continued its cautious journey toward an unexplored direction.

After traveling nearly ten billion kilometers, a pitch-black small star appeared before Jia Yan.

“So this is their base, concealed quite effectively.”

Glimpsing the star, Jia Yan immediately understood it was occupied by a minor group—calling it a “faction” would be an overstatement.

On the star’s surface lay remnants of broken warships alongside newly looted freighters.

The star emitted seven or eight waves of secondary-level genius energy, with only one bearing the mark of intermediate pinnacle talent—the rest were ordinary intermediate talent sub-stage beings.

After all, encountering high-level talent powerhouses wasn’t terribly common.

“You’re back. Any trouble along the way?”

As the transport battleship approached the star, two secondary-level monsters welcomed the returning crew with cordial greetings.

“Hehe, they didn’t encounter any trouble earlier—though they’re about to now!”

Without waiting for the reply, Jia Yan, having thoroughly gauged the star’s capabilities, suddenly darted out from behind the battleship!

“Who’s there?”

The two greeting monsters outside the ship, as well as the pair aboard it, were utterly startled—they hadn’t anticipated that such a formidable enemy had been silently trailing their vessel.

“Intruder detected! Request backup immediately!”

As Jia Yan broke cover, one of the secondary-level members bellowed toward their comrades on the star below, charging straight at him.

“Are you with Ting Tian Pavilion?” A nearby secondary-level genius with intermediate talent, sensing Jia Yan’s Conceptual Ship radiating the aura of a high-level talent sub-barrier being, asked cautiously.

“That’s correct.”

Jia Yan nodded and, without giving the monster time for further words, launched his attack!

Having already spent enough time on this mission, his priority now was to eliminate the opposition and retrieve the stolen goods.

Slash!

The secondary-level intermediate genius hadn’t even finished his statement before his body inexplicably split in two!

“What just happened?”

The three remaining secondary-level monsters, readying themselves to strike, paused in shock at the bizarre sight.

Among their modest group, the individual Jia Yan had effortlessly killed was their second strongest, yet his attack hadn’t left any room for resistance.

How terrifying must this intruder’s strength be?

This horrifying display silenced the six or seven secondary-level members who had just launched from the star to join the fight.

They were speechless.