"I hope you can keep your word!"
With that, the system girl vanished without a trace.
In the time that followed, humanity began to desperately research the technology of the demon slaves.
Human technology could not yet travel between stars, but with the demon slaves' technology, everything changed.
Under the guidance of the system girl, human technology advanced at a breakneck pace.
In just one year, humanity's technological level had improved by at least a century, and they had only deciphered less than 10% of the demon slaves' warships.
If they could fully comprehend it, humanity's technology would directly propel them into the universe.
Currently, humanity had initially mastered dark matter energy.
Compared to known energies, dark matter energy had endless potential. With initial mastery, replicating dark matter energy onto armor could already achieve immunity to physical attacks. Laser weapons were the only exception; firearms and ammunition posed no threat to dark matter.
This was dubbed the first generation of dark matter armor.
It was soon equipped on all combat personnel. The higher a warrior's rank, the higher the level of dark matter armor they received.
Humanity had entered a new era.
During this year, Zhang Pingfan also reached the most significant moment of his life: he married Dou Youyou.
That day, Dou Youyou, adorned in a breathtaking wedding gown, became Zhang Pingfan's wife in the truest sense, under the gaze of the entire world.
As Zhang Pingfan's elder, the director of the orphanage cried tears of joy.
However, there was also some bad news: the demon slaves who had scattered had not been completely eradicated. The demon slaves' response speed was too fast.
This led to the proliferation of numerous King-level demon slaves in the wild.
These King-level demon slaves had their own territories and would not easily attack human cities. However, the unintelligent, common demon slaves were the primary concern for humanity.
Although King-level demon slaves would not easily attack humans, they would still launch assaults if humans encroached upon their territories.
The ruined cities had become habitats for the demon slaves.
The remaining human warriors needed demon slaves to hone their skills.
Under the decisions of Zhang Pingfan and other prominent figures, they did not annihilate all the demon slaves. They knew their crisis was not over; from the distant depths of space, the demon slaves' home planet would surely send more forces.
Humanity needed to strengthen itself, and thus, the demon slaves became the best sparring partners.
However, using demon slaves as sparring partners came at a price.
Newcomers who ventured into demon slave territories risked being utterly annihilated.
Therefore, humanity's strength continued to progress. Only by continuously improving their abilities could they better protect their homeland.
At this moment, Zhang Pingfan was cultivating in the depths of the ocean.
"Beep beep beep!"
Zhang Pingfan tapped his visual wristband.
"What is it, Changsheng?"
"Master, a King-level demon slave has been discovered in the deep sea off Armenia. It may soon advance to the Emperor-level. Should we proceed with its elimination?"
"Hmm, an Emperor-level demon slave's deterrent is too great; humanity cannot withstand it yet. Go and kill it, but this excellent combat scenario could be a good opportunity to bring some students for observation."
"Yes, Master!"
After more than a year of transformation, the entire Blue Star had returned to a relatively peaceful era.
On Blue Star, Zhang Pingfan established the brand new Heavenly God Sect.
Most of the remaining Heavenly God Sect disciples from the apocalypse had joined the new Heavenly God Sect.
Due to Zhang Pingfan's power, any capable young person eagerly sought to join the Heavenly God Sect.
However, the Heavenly God Sect was not accepting everyone nowadays, as resources on Blue Star were limited.
Zhang Pingfan and others believed that limited resources should be allocated to more elite individuals.
Over the past year, humanity had indeed cultivated many elite disciples, especially with the system girl's assistance, providing them with a comprehensive training program.
"Ziling, how is the progress on Blue Star's barrier?"
The system's name was Ziling. After many years, they had become friends.
"Almost done. The materials you've brought back from various planets during this period are generally sufficient. With your current strength, plus this barrier, as long as no Domain Lord-level powerhouses appear, there should be no major issues!"
"Phew, but you said the strongest of the demon slave race is the Lord of the Universe. There should be quite a few Domain Lord-level powerhouses among the demon slaves, right?"
"What are you thinking? While the demon slave race is strong, it's not to the point where Domain Lords are commonplace. Domain Lord-level powerhouses are respected across the universe. If you possessed Domain Lord-level cultivation, you would quickly gain your own territory, and major powers would sincerely invite you to join them. With the prestige of these powers as protection, even Lords of the Universe might not act against Domain Lord-level powerhouses, except for enemies, of course!"
Zhang Pingfan nodded. He was still far from the Domain Lord level; there was still a Planet Lord level in between.
"After so long, why is there still no reaction from the demon slaves?"
"You killed a high-level universe expert. Of course, they would be cautious. Furthermore, being able to eliminate a high-level universe expert indicates considerable strength. They also need to weigh their own capabilities."
"What if they deploy Domain Lord-level powerhouses?"
"Don't worry. If they dare to deploy Domain Lord-level powerhouses, what do you take the Black Dragon Empire for? The Black Dragon Empire wouldn't allow a powerhouse not belonging to their empire to cause trouble within their territory!"
"The Black Dragon Empire? How many more things have you kept from me!"
"Hehe, isn't this to prevent you from being distracted? To let you focus on cultivation. However, it seems cultivating on Blue Star doesn't help you much anymore. Your Blue Star is merely the Solar System, or rather, even your Milky Way Galaxy is just one of the countless galaxies controlled by the Black Dragon Empire. Their power is not something a mere demon slave can shake."
"Heavens, the Black Dragon Empire rules billions of galaxies?"
"Of course. However, the Black Dragon Empire isn't the strongest. Above the Black Dragon Empire, there's an even larger ruler, the Dragon Mountain Sect. There are as many as 23 powers like the Black Dragon Empire under the Dragon Mountain Sect!"
A bitter smile appeared on Zhang Pingfan's face. Ignorance was bliss; knowing this made him feel how insignificant he was.
"The Black Dragon Empire's strength comes from 5 Universe Supreme Experts. As far as I know, the demon slaves only have two strongest individuals, both merely Lords of the Universe. Compared to the Black Dragon Empire, they are insignificant!"
"Alright, so we are safe for the time being?"
"Not necessarily. If someone below the Domain Lord level comes to cause trouble, it will indeed be a problem. Therefore, you must go to the Black Dragon Empire and become one of them. Only then will the demon slaves dare not to act recklessly!"
Zhang Pingfan nodded. This seemed like the best solution.
Realm Introduction (borrowing from Devour the World's realms): Apprentice (First Tier Warrior - Ninth Tier Peak War God), Planetary Level (Emperor Level), Stellar Level, Cosmic Level, Domain Lord Level, Domain Lord Level, Immortal, Universe Venerable, Universe Lord, Universe Supreme Expert, Void True God, Eternal True God, Chaos Sovereign, God King.