I'm not just human!

Captain Red Pufferfish was enthusiastically greeting the other captains, exchanging pleasantries with them and barely paying attention to Xia Fa.

"Xia Fa, just wait in the Hall of Stars. The leader should be out in about ten minutes. After the pirate conference, he will summon you in person!"

Captain Red Porcupine was surrounded by several other captains of the Myriad Stars Pirate Crew as they departed, seemingly to have a good chat and exchange information.

But even in his busy schedule, he turned around and gave Xia Fa a word of advice from afar.

Xia Fa smiled and waved his hand, indicating that he should go about his business. Then, amidst the surging crowd of pirates, he walked through the gates of the Palace of Stars.

If the Palace of Stars is so magnificent and grand, then the palace hall must be extremely spacious, with ancient Greek-style columns supporting the dome that resembles the sky.

The dome was actually a nautical chart of the Baron Ocean, which marked in detail all kinds of sea areas, islands, forbidden areas, and the places where powerful sea monsters roamed, attracting Xia Fa's attention for quite a while.

At the deepest part of the hall stands a pirate throne crafted from celestial iron, perched atop a high platform.

Even though no one is sitting on the throne now, it still gives everyone a sense of overwhelming majesty and authority, as if looking down upon all living beings.

Xia Fa pursed his lips, not paying much attention. After glancing around the hall, he deliberately squeezed into a corner.

The hall was now packed with people, almost all of them pirates, gathered in small groups, chatting amongst themselves.

However, no pirate dared to play cards or rock-paper-scissors in the palace of the Father of All Stars. Clearly, even the most unruly pirates dared not act recklessly in the palace of the Father of All Stars.

Seeing these usually carefree and unrestrained pirates become obedient and compliant, Xia Fa felt a growing curiosity and inexplicable awe towards the Father of Ten Thousand Stars.

This is where the advantage of having lived in the palaces of the Augustan family came into play; although the structures of these palaces could not be exactly the same, and even varied greatly from one another,

But Xia Fa, relying on his experience, headed towards the restroom of the Palace of Stars.

There were rows of washrooms, numbering over a hundred. Many of them were occupied, and a foul odor was emanating from them, suggesting that pirates were using the toilets.

Xia Fa chose an empty washroom and pushed the door open to enter.

He first used his spiritual intuition to confirm that there were no means of spying in the washroom, which showed that the Father of Ten Thousand Stars was quite concerned about protecting the privacy of his guests.

Immediately, Xia Fa sprinkled some live iron powder, and then used the secret abilities of [Time Concealment] and [Bending Manipulation] to influence time and space.

Thus, a closed space that could interfere with divination and prying into secrets was formed.

Xia Fa flipped his palm, revealing a golden gem within. Inside the gem was a miniature compass, flanked by four silver star pillars.

These silver pillars are also miniature versions, only a few millimeters long.

This is the "Simple Divination Stone," the treasure I obtained when I cut open the Traveling Slime last time.

Out of caution, Xia Fa wanted to consult the oracle to see if there would be any danger in the upcoming pirate gathering and his meeting with the Father of Ten Thousand Stars.

As a close friend of Marshal Gaius, the Father of Ten Thousand Stars was unlikely to harm him, but the fact that pirates from the Shark Pirate Crew had arrived this time made Xia Fa feel vaguely uneasy.

If there is danger, we can still escape now.

Immediately, Xia Fa grasped the simple divination stone, mobilized a strange current from his spine, and injected it into it.

Because of this pirate tournament, at least two beings of the Sovereign rank will appear: the Father of Ten Thousand Stars and the Princess of the Sharks.

Among them, the Father of Ten Thousand Stars was even a transcendent monarch, so a single strand of strange electricity was clearly not enough.

Fortunately, Xia Fa had already advanced to the Eagle level, and was able to barely draw out a second strange current from his spine and inject it into the Simple Divination Stone.

As soon as two strange currents were injected, the compass and four mechanical pillars inside the simple divination stone immediately lit up.

boom--!

Xia Fa's mind and thoughts seemed to vanish into the exploded starry sky, where he vaguely saw strange scenes such as intertwined figures, chaotic elements, arguments and accusations.

It seems that because this divination involved not only two rulers, but also many angels and countless demigods, and lasted for an extremely short time, Xia Fa's mind immediately returned to reality.

He pondered the vague images he had just seen, or rather received, in the Protoss Realm, and his brow furrowed deeply.

Besides enabling one to clearly perceive the scene of an event and clarify many things that can be understood, as before, divination, through its ability to provide a clearer picture, also...

Occasionally, like now, all I get are some vague images, or even just a few ambiguous words.

However, this is precisely when a diviner's ability and judgment are truly tested.

Intertwined figures, disordered elements, arguments and accusations... These three "images" or "revelations" may seem different, but in fact they are highly unified.

All of this foreshadows that this pirate gathering...will be the subject of quite a quarrel!

With the extraordinary monarch Father of Ten Thousand Stars and the powerful ruler Princess Shark, whose strength is no less than that of an extraordinary monarch, in the midst of their presence, the fact that they could still have a quarrel... Xia Fa guessed that they were probably discussing how to join forces to deal with that mysterious emperor.

Could it be that... the Father of Ten Thousand Stars and Princess Shark had different opinions and started arguing?

Xia Fa, the father of ten thousand stars, was not familiar with him, having never even met him. He had only heard that as a transcendent monarch, he was always extremely powerful, for without power one could not survive at sea.

As for Princess Shark... I always felt she was the type who would resort to violence at the slightest provocation.

However, none of these three images involve the individual, suggesting that the argument may not be about them personally.

This is normal, of course. Xia Fa understands that, on the surface, he is just an insect-level superhuman, and it is difficult for him to become the core of the quarrel between the two dominant pirate groups.

Then, here comes the problem.

"Should we leave now... or stay and observe first?"

To be honest, deep down, Xia Fa still wanted to learn from the Father of All Stars how to develop the "Gate of Stars," a supreme-level secret contract.

Firstly, given Marshal Gaius's connection, the Father of All Stars might give Marshal Gaius some face and teach him a lesson.

Secondly, before boarding the Red Porcupine on the beach outside Rum City, Captain Red Porcupine had said that the Father of All Stars seemed to be looking for a signatory to the Gate of Stars as a successor.

Furthermore, if he were to reveal the power of the "Gate of Stars," a top-tier secret contract, to the Father of Stars, Xia Fa estimated that the Father of Stars would likely immediately appoint him as the vice-captain of the Star Pirate Crew!

Because the Father of All Stars learned from Marshal Gaius that he was the signatory to the Silver Throne, and what he was about to demonstrate before Him was the secret power of the Gate of Stars...

What this means is self-evident.

The second Mysterious Emperor on the Star Coin Continent and even the entire planet Caligi!

Well, actually, he's the future Emperor of Mystery, since Xia Fa knows he hasn't become the ruler yet.

Becoming the vice-captain of the Wanxing Pirate Crew, or even the future captain... just thinking about it is fantastic. He also wanted to build his own power, and it would be even better if he could have it directly; it would be so much more convenient.

After considering all these factors, Xia Fa decided to take the risk and participate in this pirate tournament!

It's just an argument anyway, so the chances of it being dangerous are slim.

If all else fails and danger looms, one can simply use the burning sensation within their body to activate the "starlight" of their Starlight Body and escape.

Even the Crimson Agent, a transcendent monarch who had signed a "conditional pact," couldn't keep him, let alone an argument that had nothing to do with him.

"Wait, there seems to be another way..."

Xia Fa wasn't sure if there were any traps or factors aimed at him in this argument.

Therefore, the most appropriate method is—

With a flick of his hand, Xia Fa retrieved the legendary treasure from his mother's family, "The Face Carved with a Knife and Axe," from this enclosed space constructed of living iron powder—a space and time barrier that could isolate even the most powerful divination and secret-seeking beings.

Based on my previous experiments, this sharply defined face could prevent even beings of the Sovereign rank from seeing through my disguise.

Therefore, Xia Fa decided to simply use his chiseled face to disguise himself as someone else.

In this way, even in the one in ten thousand chance that the Crimson Proxy would dare to infiltrate the Hall of Stars and attack him, he would not be able to find him!

Xia Fa thought it over and over and found it feasible. He immediately picked up the small silver axe-shaped pendant from the necklace and slashed it hard across his handsome, flawless face.

This time he made an extra effort, after all, he was likely to face a dominant argument and dispute. With this cut, the muscle rolled up, and you could almost see the pale cheekbone!

Xia Fa hissed, enduring the pain, and watched as drops of blood on his face were absorbed by the small silver axe. Then, he used his extraordinary power to activate this legendary treasure.

The next moment, his entire face and scalp rolled up as if they had been forcefully ripped open from behind.

That "sharply sculpted face" instantly turned into silver liquid, covering him.

Xia Fa's body crackled like popping beans, and in the blink of an eye, he had transformed into a short man who was only 1.75 meters tall, as thin as a bamboo pole, so frail that he could be blown over by a gust of wind.

His clothes, which had been transformed from the treasured suit worth fifty thousand gold pounds into a linen shirt and jeans, had become a dirty, tattered gray-black leather jacket.

He wore a pirate hat, baggy black leather pants, and tall boots.

Xia Fa's lips curled into a sinister smile. His once prominent nose had become a hooked nose, his face was covered in pockmarks, and his eyes were filled with ferocity.

The way he curled his lips was incredibly menacing.

This is a composite image that Xia Fa has come up with based on the various pirates and bounty hunters he has seen along the way.

In any case, besides the Myriad Stars Pirate Crew, this pirate tournament also included the Shark Gang Pirate Crew, as well as countless other pirate crews of all sizes.

By transforming himself into a pirate-like figure, it would be very easy for him to blend in with the crowd.

Moreover, from the moment they entered the Palace of Stars, there was no one in charge of checking them.

It's unclear whether it's because the Palace of Stars itself has ritual arrays responsible for monitoring the intrusion of powerful beings, or because the Father of All Stars, as an extraordinary monarch, is too domineering and simply doesn't care.

It's estimated that only a being of the Dominator rank who infiltrates would trigger the possible ritual array.

After thinking for a moment, in this washroom that was isolated from divination and prying, Xia Fa's body suddenly disintegrated and turned into specks of starlight.

Starlight immediately condensed in an empty washroom not far away, and Xia Fa then pushed open the washroom door and came out.

He wasn't sure if he was being overly cautious, but given the impending, dominant argument, it was always better to be safe than sorry.

Xia Fa walked back to the Hall of Stars and waited quietly.

At this time, the number of pirates in the Hall of Stars increased to almost 100,000, ranging from angelic pirates to fungal pirates.

Moreover, no one bothered to distinguish the pirates; they were simply allowed to gather together and chat amongst themselves.

However, the pirates were unusually excited, seemingly because they were about to meet the Father of Ten Thousand Stars.

Come to think of it, the Father of Ten Thousand Stars was one of the five pirate emperors of the sea, and also an extraordinary monarch who dominated the seas for hundreds of years, leaving behind countless legends.

Every time the Wanxing Pirate Crew holds its pirate convention, there are always new pirates who come to see the legendary pirate emperor. Their excitement is understandable.

"The Father of All Stars has arrived!"

Someone shouted, and the entire Hall of Stars immediately fell silent.

despair!despair!despair!

Heavy but imposing footsteps sounded, and a burly man, dressed in a magnificent starry robe and wearing a golden crown, walked out of the corridor.

He walked slowly, with a sky full of starlight behind him, as if a god had come from the depths of the universe to rule the world.

The oppressive aura of an extraordinary monarch gradually spread out, like an unshakeable mountain, or like a star of any size slowly descending.

Everyone present felt a tightness in their chest and couldn't breathe.