From star gatherer to leader of humanity

In the twenty-fifth city of Shattered Star, Xu Bai waited in line at the unloading port to unload his cargo.

"Master, five days ago, the Twenty-Five Cities of Shattered Stars announced that they had raided four trading posts established by traitors deep in the Shattered Star Sea, and acquired spirit ore worth billions of strands of spiritual energy, as well as important intelligence."

Xu Ai's voice rang out in the control room, and Xu Bai's expression became extremely complicated.

"Who first discovered these four trading posts?"

"This operation was led by the Kao Shan Gang. Based on existing intelligence, it is estimated that 80% of the transactions took place at the trading station pointed out by Che Jihuang."

A light screen appeared in front of Xu Bai, showing Che Jihuang's whereabouts over the past few days and his frequent contact with the leader of the Kaoshan Gang.

"The loss of hundreds of millions of strands of spiritual energy~" Xu Bai sighed, feeling a bit of a headache.

After unloading the cargo at the unloading port, Xu Bai only received 500 million strands of spiritual energy after paying the tax on the spiritual ore, which was worth 200 million strands of spiritual energy. He then docked the spaceship at the public port and returned to his residence.

"Looks like I need to get something to protect myself." Xu Bai rubbed his head, feeling a bit of a headache. He just wanted to stay put and cultivate properly, but why were there so many more problems?

As usual, Xu Ai brought over a glass of juice, and then projected a light screen in front of Xu Bai, which contained information about the luck and spirits of the human race throughout history.

"You suspect that Che Jihuang is a spirit of destiny?"

"Yes, before him, the highest achievement of any individual in the history of the Hundred Refinements Sect Star Gathering Team was collecting 40 billion strands of spiritual energy in 50 years."

"Che Jihuang achieved the highest achievement in less than two years after joining the Caixing Team."

"According to the human race's information on the Qi Luck Spirit Body, as long as one begins to cultivate, the Qi Luck Spirit Body will gradually manifest and radiate to those around them. Those who are happy with it will not have their luck increased, but those who are hostile to it will be indirectly targeted by the Qi Luck on their bodies," Xu Ai said.

"What methods are there to avoid this targeting?" Xu Bai said quietly. When he saw the information on these Qi Luck Spirits, he had already vaguely guessed what was going on.

"Master need not worry. With his Qi Luck Spirit Body, he will surely be recruited by the major immortal sects. His reputation has already spread. The big data of the thirty-six immortal sects has probably already detected his existence. I believe that Che Jihuang will be taken away by the thirty-six immortal sects soon."

"As long as the owner doesn't get into any spatial entanglements with it, it won't affect the owner in the future."

A torrent of data flashed in Xu Ai's eyes as she gently walked behind Xu Bai and massaged his head.

"I understand what you mean. I happen to need to cultivate outside for a while, so I'll just use this as a way to hide away."

"Then I'll prepare some more nutritious meals that suit my taste for my master." Xu Ai's voice was gentle, much like a tender wife preparing her husband's luggage for his trip.

"That's fine."

The next day, noon.

Xu Bai piloted the magical mining spaceship, slowly departing from the twenty-five cities of the Shattered Star Sea.

The spaceship entered the Sea of ​​Shattered Stars, traversing the gaps between broken celestial bodies. After preparing to travel tens of thousands of miles, it activated its attributes, transforming into a stream of light and flying towards the base.

Just then, the spaceship suddenly felt a tightness in its chest. The space around the spaceship slowly blurred, and the spaceship came to an uncontrollable stop on a giant hand that looked like a human hand.

Sitting in the spaceship's main control room, Xu Bai was somewhat dazed, wondering if he was about to die.

Xu Bai stepped off the spaceship.

"Junior Xu Bai greets senior." Xu Bai stood on the giant hand and bowed.

"You're quite courageous and polite, young man. Not bad."

As if starlight had gathered, a tall, middle-aged man in a Taoist robe appeared before Xu Bai.

"I've come to you, just to ask you some questions."

"Senior, may I ask?"

"Are there any people with extraordinary fortune in the twenty-five cities of Shattered Star? Tell me properly, I don't want to resort to soul-searching techniques."

A pair of eyes that seemed to see through the hearts of people opened deep within Xu Bai's soul. At that moment, Xu Bai knew that he could not lie. Compared to soul searching, this method was more sophisticated and gentler.

"Che Jihuang has collected large quantities of goods in the Shattered Star Sea several times, and even discovered a place..." Xu Bai recounted Che Jihuang's information in detail without hesitation.

"You have a grudge against him?" The middle-aged man in the Taoist robe seemed to have sensed something.

"I was not targeted by them unintentionally, and I have suffered heavy losses."

The middle-aged man in the Taoist robe stared at Xu Bai and smiled slightly.

"The Hundred Refinements Sect has always sought an important immortal artifact that only the Ghost Face Clan possesses. The Ghost Face Clan has a secret realm that requires a person with great fortune to open. The two sides complement each other, so there will inevitably be some unsavory things."

"Of the tens of thousands of people in Shattered Star City, it's fate that you were the one they captured and questioned. If you can leave, then leave. If you can't, go to this coordinate and get away from this place of trouble." The middle-aged man in the Taoist robe flicked his finger, and a ray of spiritual light flew into Xu Bai's brow.

When Xu Bai came to his senses, he found himself sitting in the main control room of the magic weapon mining spaceship, which was hovering above a broken celestial body.

Everything that just happened seemed like a dream, but Xu Bai had a new coordinate in his mind.

Xu Bai frowned slightly, then, with a thought, he piloted his magical mining spaceship back to Shattered Star City 25.

Upon returning to the residential office, Xu Bai immediately instructed Xu Ai to check the records to see if there was any way to transfer back to Mining Team 147 or to request a leave of absence.

"Master, the contract you signed with the Hundred Refinements Sect was extremely harsh. You were not allowed to apply for a transfer or leave."

"Is it not allowed to bribe high-ranking officials in the city in private?" Xu Bai asked.

"Master, please tell me the whole story. I can then offer advice based on the Hundred Refinements Sect's style of doing things."

"Whether it's the Hundred Refinements Sect or the Star Gathering Team, whether it's official history or unofficial history circulating privately, I have records of them all in my database."

Xu Ai looked at Xu Bai intently, her mechanical eyes conveying a genuine seriousness that, while serious, also carried a strange sense of humor.

Xu Bai recounted what he had encountered to Xu Ai.

Xu Ai's mechanical eyes were flooded with data, like a vast galaxy flowing through them.

"Private bribery can only save you from disaster. Afterwards, the master will inevitably face a soul search by the special department of the Hundred Refinements Sect. They may not even bother to search the soul and will directly arrange for the master to 'die accidentally' in the Shattered Star Sea."

"The place where Master was before, the Twenty-Nine Shattered Star City, I infiltrated the Hundred Refinements Sect's internal network and found a suspicious piece of information that seems to be somewhat related to Master's matter."

A light screen appeared in front of Xu Bai, displaying a timeline—the timeline of the destruction of the Twenty-Nine Shattered Star Cities, after Che Jihuang discovered several large shipments.

Between these two points in time was an event: the Heavenly Craft Immortal Sect imposed a huge fine on the Hundred Refinements Sect.

An inscrutable mystery seems to shroud this timeline, and he seems to be nothing more than a tiny ant easily obliterated within it.

"Are we really going to this coordinate?" Xu Bai frowned slightly.

At that moment, Xu Bai's personal terminal suddenly received a message.

"Three months later, all members of the Star Gathering Team in the Twenty-Five Shattered Star Cities will undergo a heart-searching test. Those who fail to attend will be immediately expelled from the Star Gathering Team and marked as untrustworthy by the Hundred Refinements Sect."

Upon seeing this message, Xu Bai sighed.

"After I'm gone, please contact my family discreetly."

"Yes, Master." Xu Ai nodded.