Could something given by an emperor renowned for his generosity possibly be worthless?

  Yun Yi’s hands trembled as he took the ancient book. Suppressing the urge to flip through it immediately, he ran his fingers over the cover and asked, "Xiyue, why are you giving this to me?"

  Xiyue tilted her head, smiling sweetly at him. "Meow, Mother gave it to me when we left. She said you should teach me."

  The queen gave it to him?

  Yun Yi understood now. He recalled how, when he was learning the "Po Lang Jue," a relatively simple and widely accessible martial arts technique, it had taken him three days under his teacher’s guidance just to grasp the basics. The "Hao Qi Zheng Tian Jue," being far more powerful, must be even more difficult to master. Sure enough, after a quick glance through the book, he found a note stating that to guide someone else in learning it, one needed at least an eighth-level martial arts cultivation and a thorough understanding of the technique’s methods for unblocking meridians.

  The queen, from what he could tell, didn’t seem to be at the eighth level. As for Solon, though he was loyal, he wasn’t a direct descendant of the Zhao Song imperial family and thus couldn’t practice the "Hao Qi Zheng Tian Jue."

  Now, the queen wanted Yun Yi to teach Xiyue the technique, but Yun Yi didn’t know it himself. To teach her, he would have to learn it first. However, the queen hadn’t explicitly allowed him to study the "Hao Qi Zheng Tian Jue." While she had handed the manual to Yun Yi through Xiyue, she hadn’t given him permission to learn it.

  In this way, the queen hadn’t violated the ancestral rules—she had merely passed the manual to Yun Yi. Yun Yi, not being a member of the royal family, had only obtained the technique by chance. This way, no one had technically broken the Zhao family’s ancestral laws. It was a clever workaround, but given the circumstances, it was the only option.

  During the days of waiting for the interstellar train, Yun Yi memorized the entire book and carefully stored it away. He resolved to start learning it as soon as their lives stabilized, hoping to quickly unblock Xiyue’s meridians and enable her to practice the technique.

  Thinking of the queen, Yun Yi recalled something odd. It had been ten days since they left the base. Even he felt a pang of sadness whenever he thought of the queen, Zhao Xuanxin, and his comrades. But Xiyue, the little girl, never seemed to dwell on it. She hadn’t cried or asked for her mother.

  Though Yun Yi wanted to tell the girl about her mother, he decided against it. Perhaps Xiyue just hadn’t thought of it yet, and he didn’t want to stir up trouble in their confined space.

  "Beep… beep beep…"

  "Meow, Yun Yi, what’s that awful noise?"

  The shrill alarm, mixed with Xiyue’s sweet, childish voice, jolted Yun Yi out of his thoughts.

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  "It’s here!"

  Yun Yi exclaimed in excitement, his heart pounding. Despite having gone without food for three days, he was suddenly full of energy. He turned off the alarm and focused intently on the massive ship slowly approaching on the screen.

  11111

  The interstellar train was a colossal spacecraft designed to transport passengers and some cargo across the stars.

  The ship’s head was small, roughly one-twentieth the size of a single cabin, and mainly served for control and communication. The tail, however, was much larger, two to three times the size of a cabin, housing a powerful triple-engine system. Between the head and tail were the modular cabins. These detachable cabins were highly convenient—when passengers or cargo were few, excess cabins could be removed to increase speed and reduce fuel consumption. When demand was high, more cabins could be added to maximize profits.

  But no interstellar train Yun Yi had ever seen online was as long as the one before him.

  Theoretically, a train with twenty cabins was the most economical and practical, and that was what he usually saw. But the train in front of him had over fifty cabins. The old engines seemed overwhelmed, struggling to push the ship forward. The entire vessel’s speed had dropped to a crawl.

  "No wonder it’s so slow. With so many cabins, it’s a miracle it’s moving at all. Since when did Star Express’s business get so good?" Yun Yi muttered to himself, a smile playing on his lips. He stroked Xiyue’s hair and said, "Alright, Xiyue, get ready for a feast."

  Cabin B2582 was located toward the rear of the interstellar train, just three cabins away from the engines. It housed passengers who had purchased the cheapest tickets. Compared to the latest F-series cabins, the B2582, an outdated model nearing retirement, was only used when transporting large numbers of impoverished travelers.

  However, as part of an interstellar train, even the oldest A-series cabins were equipped with escape pods on the exterior. This tradition dated back to the Galactic Empire era, and no transport company dared to omit them. If a lack of escape pods led to mass casualties, the company would be finished. Even if only for show, there were enough escape pods for a thousand people.

  At that moment, near the cabin’s connecting point, a fiery red mecha clung tightly to Cabin B2582. It quietly used a broad alloy blade to cut into an escape pod. Soon, a sizable hole was made in the cheap metal shell. These escape pods could hold hundreds of people, so fitting a mecha inside was no problem.

  After slipping into the escape pod, Yun Yi immediately controlled the mecha to release adhesive pellets from the wall. These green pellets expanded rapidly upon release, becoming highly sticky and quickly sealing the breach in the ship’s hull, preventing oxygen loss and damage from airflow.

  With the hole sealed, the mecha extended its blade and gently poked a small opening at the connection between the escape pod and the cabin, just large enough for a person to pass through.

  Everything was ready. They were now completely safe.

  Yun Yi peered out through the hole. Outside was a narrow escape corridor. According to the information Xiao He had provided, the other end of the corridor should lead to a door into the ship’s interior. Since it was for emergency use, the door wouldn’t be tightly locked, and Yun Yi could easily get through.

  He caressed the red mecha, his eyes filled with reluctance. This mecha was one he had assembled himself from parts on that mysterious planet, equipped with a metal blade he considered a comrade-in-arms. At the base, he had piloted this mecha to eliminate countless enemies. Now, this trusted companion would also have to be left behind.

  "Sorry…" Yun Yi murmured, unable to find the right words. He simply uttered those two syllables.

  After setting the necessary commands, Yun Yi hoisted the items Zhao Xuanxin had entrusted to him, cradled the large jar of monster brain fluid, and led the delighted Xiyue toward the ship’s interior.

  Two hours later, an escape pod near the connecting point of Cabin B2582 suddenly exploded. The cabin’s manager quickly reported the incident to the interstellar train’s captain. To prevent the damaged escape pod from affecting the cabin, the captain ordered it to be disconnected and ejected into the vastness of space…