Chapter 1 A Special Task Force

On the first administrative planet within the territory of the Wu Hook Star Alliance, various administrative departments were spread across the land. Although the majority of staff worked through the 'Virtual World Network,' the core backbone resided permanently on the first administrative planet.

On this planet, there was a very unique newly established department called the Wu Ming Special Task Force, officially formed five years ago.

"Team leader, we heard that Lord Wu Ming will soon become a Source Lifeform. When exactly will he break through?"

"Yeah, we're so bored! If Lord Wu Ming doesn't break through, we can't do anything."

The members chatted.

"Soon."

Leaning against the window, the team leader, with tentacle-like white hair, sipped her drink and said leisurely, "Don't be impatient. Once Lord Wu Ming breaks through, you won't have any free time at all. You'll be swamped."

"It's been five years since the team was formed, and we've been waiting for five whole years."

"Lord Hao Ming is the most exceptionally talented genius in the history of the Wu Hook Star Alliance," the team leader said with a smile. "He's among the top tier in the entire universe of the human race. It's an honor to work for him, so be patient. But I remind you again that the Star Alliance Elders Council has listed Lord Wu Ming's affairs as the most important matter in the next ten years! None of you can afford any mistakes. If you annoy Lord Wu Ming and make him feel disrespected, leading him to move his home civilization out of the Wu Hook Star Alliance, our entire task force is finished."

"Understood."

"Our preparatory plans are very thorough."

"Lord Wu Ming will definitely be satisfied."

Over the years, the members had repeatedly reviewed the preparation plans. They also compared them with similar plans from other cosmic domains, fearing even the slightest inadequacy, fearing that Lord Wu Ming might be 'poached.'

Talented individuals being poached was a common occurrence throughout history.

Just as they were chatting idly, suddenly—

"Ring—"

A low reminder sounded, echoing throughout the office. All the staff members straightened up and looked at the screens in front of them.

A document issued by the Primordial Research Institute had appeared on the screen.

"A document from the Primordial Research Institute; Lord Hao Ming's identity has been made public," the team leader said solemnly, staring at the document in front of her. "Blue Star Civilization, Xu Jingming, began practicing evolution methods at age 29, and has been cultivating for 31 years since then."

"He's actually from a newly emerging civilization! Lord Wu Ming only came into contact with evolution methods at the age of 29? Unbelievable!"

"In a weak, newly emerging civilization, he didn't receive a complete education, and the cultivation in evolution was also ordinary, yet he grew so quickly. If he were in some powerful civilization, wouldn't Lord Wu Ming be even more dazzling?"

Seeing the document, the task force members immediately thought of many things.

"Team Leader!" Suddenly, a winged woman's expression changed dramatically. She said anxiously, "The Blue Star Civilization is a newly emerging civilization. Its only true core planet is the life-sustaining planet Blue Star. The population on Firefly Star is very small. The entire civilization is very easy to migrate; it only requires paying some costs and the entire Blue Star can be moved intact."

"In other words, the cost for other Star Alliances to poach Lord Wu Ming, to poach the entire Blue Star Civilization, will be very small," the winged woman said anxiously. "We must prepare for this."

"This is the most urgent situation," the team leader said solemnly.

If Lord Wu Ming's true identity came from a relatively powerful civilization, such as a civilization with the territory of several star systems, then it would be almost impossible for that civilization to relocate.

Although inter-Star Alliance migration came at a significant cost, the cost of just one life-sustaining planet was still bearable.

With the civilization being easily relocated, the probability of Lord Wu Ming being poached was high.

"From now on, seize every moment. Our opponents won't wait for us," the team leader ordered. "Execute the contingency plan and immediately synchronize with all departments."

"Yes." All the staff members were filled with fighting spirit.

The task force had been preparing for five years. Although Lord Wu Ming's true identity was a bit troublesome, as his home civilization was too weak, the task force also had corresponding plans.

Everything would proceed according to the plan!

While the various departments of the Wu Hook Star Alliance were coordinating, news of 'Lord Wu Ming's identity' also spread rapidly among some powerful forces within the Wu Hook Star Alliance.

"Lord Wu Ming is actually from the Blue Star Civilization, and his real name is Xu Jingming?" The high-level figures of various major forces within the Wu Hook Star Alliance received the news immediately and began making preparations.

"In the coming days, the power structure of the entire Wu Hook Star Alliance will undergo dramatic changes. Many changes will be related to Lord Wu Ming."

"The closeness or distance of our relationship with Lord Wu Ming will determine the fate of our group for the next tens of thousands of years."

Each of the forces took it very seriously.

Because in everyone's assessment, Lord Wu Ming was at least a tenth-order Source Lifeform. Currently, the entire Wu Hook Star Alliance only had three tenth-order Source Lifeforms, and any tenth-order Source Lifeform would have a significant impact on the Star Alliance.

What's more, if Lord Wu Ming were to go a step further and become a cosmic legend? Then, the entire Wu Hook Star Alliance would revolve around Lord Wu Ming! With Lord Wu Ming as the core, they would participate in the competition among the human race in the universe.

The Black Moon Civilization was the most powerful civilization in the twelfth star district of the Wu Hook Star Alliance. Although it was still in the ranks of 'elementary cosmic civilizations,' it was already at the top tier, far stronger than a newly emerging civilization like the Blue Star Civilization.

Among the more than 980,000 civilizations in the entire Wu Hook Star Alliance, the Black Moon Civilization could rank in the top hundred.

The Black Moon Civilization also had two ninth-order Source Lifeforms, so they were naturally well-informed.

"Mo Lilun, Wu Ming's real identity information has been made public. I think you need to take a close look at it." A message was sent.

Mo Lilun was an old man with a hooked nose, currently sitting in a chair wearing loose robes, looking calmly at the document.

As a Source Lifeform, he had experienced a lot, and few things could make him lose his composure. But today...

"Cultivating for 31 years to become a Source Lifeform; Wu Ming's real identity is Xu Jingming from the Blue Star Civilization?" Mo Lilun looked at the document, his expression changing. He even felt a sense of suffocation, finding it hard to breathe.

He knew very well what this 'Lord Wu Ming' meant. Not to mention the future, even now, he would quickly become one of the top ten figures in the entire Wu Hook Star Alliance!

As for the future? As long as the Black Moon Civilization remained within the Wu Hook Star Alliance, it would be affected by this Lord Wu Ming in every way.

"That damned Lu Nadu! He has brought so much misery to our Black Moon Civilization!" Mo Lilun couldn't help but curse.

"If it weren't for Lu Nadu, it would just be normal trade with a weak civilization. Although there would be some oppression, there would also be protection, which is common in the universe. Making sufficient apologies would be enough to ease the conflict." Mo Lilun was anxious.

It was normal for powerful civilizations to take advantage when trading with weak civilizations!

"Because of Lu Nadu, the garrison was withdrawn! Even other civilizations in the entire star district dared not trade with the Blue Star Civilization. Without any protection, the Blue Star Civilization faced space pirates." Mo Lilun frowned.

"If it weren't for the Crimson Cloud Group's help, the Blue Star Civilization might have even been destroyed."

If the previous conflict was merely about unfairness in trade and profits, then Lu Nadu had exposed the Blue Star Civilization to great danger.

And obviously...

When the Black Moon Civilization chose to stand with Lu Nadu, it foresaw that the Blue Star Civilization would encounter some onlookers and possibly face space pirates. But the Black Moon Civilization coldly watched everything happen.

"Lu Nadu is a member of the Yuan Star Civilization's royal family, so he isn't afraid of Xu Jingming, as Xu Jingming still has to abide by the laws of the human race in the universe."

"But we, the Black Moon Civilization, will be affected everywhere within the Wu Hook Star Alliance." The more Mo Lilun thought about it, the more anxious he became. "In the future, he will have various ways to deal with our Black Moon Civilization."

Mo Lilun immediately connected to the Virtual World Network.

Soon, in a huge conference hall...

All thirteen elders of the Black Moon Civilization's highest council had gathered. They were the highest-ranking individuals in the entire civilization, and they determined the direction of the entire civilization.

"Everyone," Mo Lilun said, looking at the other twelve people before him, "I have urgently convened the highest council because our Black Moon Civilization is now facing a major calamity."

"A major calamity?" The twelve people were somewhat surprised.

"Mo Lilun, what happened?" asked an old man with long reddish-brown hair on the side.

"First, take a look at this document on Lord Wu Ming's identity." Mo Lilun sent the document to the other twelve people.

The twelve people all fell silent and carefully read the document.

After reading it, the expressions of the twelve people changed.

They were not ordinary people. From the information in the document, as well as the recent events involving Lu Nadu and the Blue Star Civilization, they could infer a great deal.

"If only we hadn't bothered with that Lu Nadu! The Yuan Star Civilization can't control our Wu Hook Star Alliance across the cosmic domain."

"The original decision wasn't wrong. Once Lu Nadu's brother becomes the emperor of the Yuan Star Civilization, Lu Nadu's power will greatly increase. I'm afraid many Source Lifeforms in the Wu Hook Star Alliance will give him face. It's right not to offend such a person. After all, we never imagined that a newly emerging civilization like the Blue Star Civilization would produce someone like Lord Wu Ming."

"The deed is done. What should we do now?"

"Lord Hao Ming will quickly become one of the top ten figures in the Wu Hook Star Alliance! Even in the future, it's not impossible for him to become the number one figure in our Wu Hook Star Alliance. The power he creates might even reach the height of the Crimson Cloud Group in the future."

"How exactly should we resolve his hostility?"

The thirteen people of the Black Moon Civilization were all very anxious.

Helping Lu Nadu had now put the entire Black Moon Civilization on the fire.

The most troublesome thing was that Lu Nadu himself was in the royal family of the Yuan Star Civilization and was unaffected. They, the Black Moon Civilization, were within the Wu Hook Star Alliance and had no way to hide.

"We thirteen must come up with a plan today," Mo Lilun said. "We can't delay. Once Lord Wu Ming returns from the Primordial Research Institute and publicly announces his attitude toward our Black Moon Civilization, it will be difficult to get him to retract his decision."

Now, the various civilizations and forces within the Star Alliance were all thinking about how to befriend Xu Jingming.

Only the Black Moon Civilization was thinking about how to resolve the hatred and reconcile their differences.

While the winds were shifting within the Wu Hook Star Alliance, Xu Jingming, at the headquarters of the Primordial Research Institute, had arrived at the director's residence.

Vice-Director Crimson Cloud, Secretary-General Black Heaven, and Xu Jingming stood before a massive, strange building.

"Don't be anxious," Vice-Director Crimson Cloud said. "The director is very busy. He will arrange some things properly before coming to see us."

"Just wait a bit," Secretary-General Black Heaven said, already used to it.

Xu Jingming nodded.

What was waiting a little longer outside the director's door? Even waiting a day was a small matter! Seeing how Vice-Director Crimson Cloud and the others were waiting patiently, he, a small fry, naturally had to be even more obedient.

Xu Jingming stood outside the building's gate for more than half an hour before the gate rumbled and slowly opened.

"That was quite fast this time," Secretary-General Black Heaven said.

"Let's go in," Vice-Director Crimson Cloud said, taking the lead and walking inside.

Xu Jingming followed. As he entered the building, Xu Jingming felt a terrifying heat.

"The temperature here must have reached tens of millions of degrees," Xu Jingming thought. However, as a Source Lifeform, he naturally didn't care about this bit of heat.

As he walked further in, the space was distorted, and the degree of distortion varied.

After walking for a while...

"That is—"

Xu Jingming saw it. In the magnificent space in the distance, there was a miniature Primordial Star.

"A Primordial Star?" Xu Jingming had received a inheritance when he became an outer member, so he had an image of the Primordial Star in his mind, and it was very similar to the scene before him.

The miniature Primordial Star in the distance was clearly there, but Xu Jingming felt that the distance between them was very, very far.

Endless light and heat passed through layers of space-time obstacles and were transmitted here, and the temperature was still terrifyingly high.

"I can be sure that this miniature Primordial Star seems to be inside the building and is very small, but it is actually separated by many layers of space-time, and its actual diameter is at least hundreds of millions of kilometers." Xu Jingming only looked at it and felt its greatness. "No, it's not right to describe it with diameter. It's not a star as I normally understand it, it's a higher-dimensional existence."

"The layers of space-time isolation are actually protecting the Source Lifeforms of the Primordial Research Institute."

"Even with layers of space-time isolation, endless light is still transmitted over?"

A large amount of information from the *Light Rays* chapter appeared in Xu Jingming's mind, and many of his confusions were resolved, and he gained a greater understanding of endless light.

"This old guy's avatar is a higher-dimensional lifeform, but my avatar is so weak," Secretary-General Black Heaven muttered.

*Whoosh.*

Xu Jingming saw that the miniature Primordial Star outside the layers of space-time suddenly converged all its light and heat, and the surrounding area began to darken. The Primordial Star then condensed into a figure. An eighth-order Starry Sky Lifeform had already materialized their physical body into energy.

Condensing the miniature Primordial Star into a human form was not surprising to Xu Jingming. At this level of life, appearance was secondary. The fundamental unit of the life structure was the foundation.

This figure was thin, with short hair, and his eyes were calm and without any waves. When he looked at Xu Jingming...

Xu Jingming had an illusion.

It was as if a being high above was overlooking the people in a small cage world.

"A higher-dimensional lifeform?" This was the first time Xu Jingming had seen a higher-dimensional lifeform. "And it's just the director's avatar."

The director walked over, as if a behemoth was passing through layers of space-time obstacles and finally came to the front. Although the director had completely converged all his power, Xu Jingming was still instinctively terrified.

That was a life that transcended this vast universe.

"Just seeing one of my avatars gave you a deeper understanding of endless light?" The director looked at Xu Jingming with a smile. In his vision, he could see the traces of Xu Jingming from his physical body to his mental strength to the projection of his thoughts.

"Director," Vice-Director Crimson Cloud and Secretary-General Black Heaven saluted. Xu Jingming reacted slightly slower, but he also immediately saluted, "Director."

"A talented little fellow." The director praised with a smile. Because all light and heat had been converged, the temperature in the building also dropped rapidly, and even frost began to appear.