Realm-Hopping Martial Master

The reason all of them were injured was entirely because of internal strife.

"It is indeed strange."

Elder Lei felt the same, but the Saint’s Realm was too lofty; he could not fathom what that person was thinking, and could only set the matter aside for the time being.

The Star Shuttle’s massive engines let out a steady roar as it began to accelerate, preparing to break free from the nightmare-like expanse of the Abyssal Star Vortex and return to the War Alliance.

Lights cast cold shadows along the wide passageway. The Disciples slumped against the walls, silently tending to their wounds; strained breathing and low groans of pain intertwined, yet satisfaction still lingered on their faces.

Jiang Shu, meanwhile, was sent into the Star Shuttle’s most central medical sector.

This place was densely covered with precise detection Arrays and ancient healing runes. He was placed in a deep trough carved from a single block of warm jade, with conduits on all sides that pulsed with life runes.

Suspended above the center was a small bronze cauldron radiating gentle white light, its surface etched with countless totems of living beings. This was none other than the War Alliance’s Secret Treasure, the projection Magic Artifact of the Healing Divine Cauldron.

The Divine Cauldron’s Power poured into the jade trough like a warm current, attempting to dispel the venomous Entropy energy erosion.

Even with the Divine Cauldron’s Power bolstering him, the wound on Jiang Shu’s back still healed at an astonishingly slow pace.

Those ghostly blue strands of electronic energy and twisted black threads of Law were incredibly stubborn, as if alive, resisting the Divine Cauldron’s vitality and even slowly consuming the Cauldron’s Power.

Jiang Shu’s life signs hovered constantly at the edge of the danger line, fluctuating between better and worse, and he even slipped into brief bouts of unconsciousness.

Just as everyone’s taut nerves relaxed a fraction, a shrill alarm suddenly blared throughout the Star Shuttle, and the cold synthetic electronic voice snapped the resting crew instantly awake.

"Warning, external Rule-scanning Force Field intrusion!"

"Warning, Star Shuttle main control Spirit Array core encountering unknown data invasion, defensive array disturbed!"

With the alarm, the entire hull shuddered violently, as if gripped by an invisible giant hand. Its course veered in an instant, gravity systems stuttered for a moment, and many already weakened Disciples were thrown hard against the bulkheads.

In the central command hall, light flickered erratically.

The Array Master in charge of operations felt his expression change dramatically. His fingers became afterimages across the rune-covered console, sweat instantly soaking his brow.

"Elder, it’s the Mechanical Clan!"

"They are using an extremely advanced Law-level data incursion. The enemy is forcibly seizing underlying control of the navigation and power systems, attempting to implant self-destruct protocols and a jump to a preset coordinate—they want to capture us!"

"Them again!"

Elder Lei’s hair and beard bristled as a violent thunderous aura erupted, electric light blazing in his eyes.

"Haunting like Yin Souls!"

He knew the enemy had never gone far when the Little World collapsed—or rather, that powerful accomplices had been lying in ambush outside, waiting for the moment they broke free of that shattered space and the Star Shuttle’s position was fixed, to launch a remote, lethal strike!

"Activate the Absolute Spirit Barrier—maximum output!"

Elder Lei roared.

A dense layer of energy, dark and lustrous, instantly surfaced over the Star Shuttle’s outer hull, cutting off pervasive external scans and Law interference.

At the same time, Elder Tie stepped up to the main console. His hands did not touch the runes, but pressed directly onto the cold metal body on either side of the control platform.

A vast, weighty will surged out of him, like an eternal mountain of cold iron, forcibly flooding into the metallic veins of the Star Shuttle’s control system.

He used the most primal and direct form of Power to contend against the Mechanical Clan expert’s icy, digitized assault.

"Zzzzt—!"

Above the main control platform, a vivid scene of confrontation manifested.

On one side, streams of data radiating eerie blue light battered relentlessly at the Star Shuttle’s Defense Runes, tearing and gnawing at them again and again.

On the other side, a torrent of will as solid as bedrock, majestic and unyielding, built layer upon layer of defensive bulwarks, withstanding the most penetrating edge of the ghostly blue data flood.

Elder Tie’s face was as expressionless as if carved from stone, but the veins on his thick forearms bulged and trembled uncontrollably, clearly showing the pressure he was enduring.

This was a battle of wills, a clash of Laws!

Venerable Lie Yang and Venerable Han Yue also acted at the same time.

Venerable Lie Yang swept out a hand, and endless flames surged from his palm, driving back the icy information flow that tried to seep in.

Venerable Han Yue, on the other hand, mobilized his own Ice Law, freezing all anomalous data fluctuations and slowing the Entropy’s computational processes.

Laws exist everywhere; even the invisible, intangible data is no exception.

Outside the ship, the dim, deep-blue data streams clung to the Absolute Spirit Barrier of the Star Shuttle like maggots on bone, tightly coiled around it, constantly seeking the tiniest gaps through which to slip inside and seize control of the vessel.

Under their onslaught, the Star Shuttle’s speed was severely dragged down, as though mired in an invisible bog.

This silent battle of offense and defense lasted for a full half hour, and for everyone aboard the War Alliance Star Shuttle, it was pure torment.

Elder Lei and the Scar-faced Elder guarded the core hub, their expressions grave.

Elder Tie’s torrent of will was torn open more than once by the ghostly blue data, only for him to plug the breaches again with even more stubborn resolve. Yet the cost of this resistance was immense; his aura had noticeably withered.

The other Array Masters on the consoles were doing everything they could to keep the secondary Defensive Arrays running.

Just as the stalemate dragged on and the Star Shuttle’s energy reserves plummeted under the full-power Absolute Spirit Barrier, the distortion intensity of the Abyssal Star Vortex ahead suddenly shifted!

"It’s a Rule tide backflow!"

An old veteran Array Master who had been monitoring the vortex data cried out in surprise.

In front of the Star Shuttle, a region of relatively mild spatial distortion suddenly began to churn violently under the pull of certain Cosmic laws, like water suddenly brought to a rolling boil.

Chaotic spatial folds, furious particle storms, and erratic gravitational ripples instantly knitted themselves into an even more terrifying death zone!

This immense natural Power immediately disrupted the ghostly blue data streams entwined around the Star Shuttle’s hull, like a gale sweeping through a spiderweb. The meticulous, frigid invasion Laws were subjected to savage interference and shredding!

"This is our chance!"

Cold light blazed in Elder Lei’s eyes.

"Engines to full power—charge through!"

Boom!!!

The primary engine nozzles at the Star Shuttle’s stern spewed out a jet of nearly solid azure flame stretching for thousands of meters, all the accumulated Power erupting in that instant.

It was like a Primordial behemoth finally snapping its last chains, surging forward with reckless resolve as it accelerated straight into the heart of the raging Rule tide backflow.

Rip—!

The mighty natural tidal storm instantly tore apart the ghostly blue data network clinging to the Star Shuttle’s hull.

The vessel bucked violently, Shield light flickering madly; internal alarms blared in a cacophony as many people were hurled into the air by the tremendous inertia.

But the shipborne scanning Arrays clearly captured the scene: the ghostly blue data streams pursuing from the rear were shredded like kite strings struck by towering waves, rapidly collapsing and dissipating, and were at last utterly devoured by the frenzied tides!

"Disruption successful, we’re clear!"

"Invasion pathway severed!"

"Data attack terminated!"

On the central main control platform, the torrent of ochre-iron will finally seized the upper hand, completely wiping out the last remnants of the ghostly blue data.

Elder Tie exhaled a long breath, his entire body feeling somewhat light and unreal.

On the other side, Venerable Lie Yang let out a heavy snort. His temperament was as violent as the Fire Law he wielded, and in the afterglow of survival, a new surge of fury rose.

He wished he could fight the Mechanical Clan head-on right this moment.

But this battle had been one of information, a field in which he was far from adept.

The Star Shuttle burst through the most dangerous zone of the Rule tide backflow, and its speed began to stabilize.

In the command hall, the tension that had stretched to the breaking point finally eased, leaving behind only rough, heavy breathing and eyes still shaken with lingering fear.

Outside, the Abyssal Star Vortex’s eternal darkness persisted, but the twisted mist ahead seemed to be slowly thinning, revealing the course toward a safe Star Domain.

Elder Lei rubbed at the bridge of his nose in weary fatigue, his voice hoarse.

"Maintain highest alert. Destination: War Alliance Ancestral Land."

"Full speed ahead!"