Devouring the Stars: The Lord of the Sky

Chapter 157 Killing the Chicken to Warn the Monkey, Sixteen Forms of Heavenly Frost

"Your Highness Lu Jin, are you really going to go this far?"

Adeba's face darkened.

He was neither enslaved by the foreign race nor secretly provided them with benefits, but the military department really couldn't withstand scrutiny.

After all, the clan had gone to great lengths to secure him the position of Minister of Martial Arts, not so that he could shine, but rather to gain personal benefits.

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin said nonchalantly, "Lord Liehuo, you're right, the universe is a jungle where the strong prey on the weak."

Unfortunately, in my eyes, you are the weak one.

To be honest, those words were quite provocative, but Lu Jin didn't care.

When facing a powerful opponent, he should be humble and polite, and avoid making enemies if possible. At the very least, he should not make enemies with the powerful opponent, because the powerful opponent truly has the strength to kill him.

But when faced with a weakling who is ready to oppose him, he naturally has to strike hard and completely crush them as a warning to others.

"Alright, Marquis Liehuo, since your suspicion has not been cleared, I have some confidential matters to discuss with the two ministers. Please excuse me for the time being."

As he spoke, Lu Jin pointed to the main gate of the side hall.

After staring at Lu Jin with a gloomy expression for a moment, Adeba didn't utter any harsh words, got up and left the hall.

“Your Highness, Adeba is a Marquis-level High Immortal.”

Glancing at Adeba's departing figure, Chen Ye gave Lu Jin a reminder.

"No problem~"

Lu Jin waved his hand and said, "Gentlemen, let's continue with what happened before."

The buying and selling of human slaves within the territory of the Heavenly Frost Universe Kingdom must be prohibited.

Furthermore, I had already consulted with my teacher beforehand, and the official authorities of the Space Kingdom would issue a clear ban subsequently.

Trisna asked, "Your Highness, what Adeba said earlier wasn't entirely without merit. Are there any specific measures in place?"
After the ban was issued, what became of those slave-inhabited planets and the countless slaves?

"After the ban is officially issued, the Cosmic Nation and the governments of various empires will pay to reclaim ownership of these slave planets at an equal price, convert them into ordinary administrative planets, and incorporate them into the official administrative system."

If local governments lack sufficient funds or have other concerns, I have established a company called 'Yanhuang' in the Guanghan Star Region. At that time, Yanhuang Company will acquire these inhabited planets.

In addition, human slaves who were sold before the ban was issued are not subject to the ban.

But after the ban was issued, even if they had been implanted with slave chips, slave traders had to send them back to their original habitable planets.

"Gentlemen, my requirements for the branch are not high. Just help me find out which slave organizations or slave traders are not complying with this prohibition."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ye raised an eyebrow, while Trisna remained silent.

Trisna thought that if Adeba were still here, he would probably regret it to death.

She knew that the human slave trade was an important part of the interests of the Redhorn human race, to which Adba belonged.

The prohibition of the buying and selling of human slaves did indeed have a significant impact on the Red Horned Human race.

However, instead of forcibly reclaiming the slave-living planets, they were reclaimed through purchase at a fair price, which greatly reduced the losses.

Moreover, this ban was issued by the official government of the Frost Universe Kingdom, and the small Crimson Horned Human Clan certainly wouldn't dare to disobey it.

All I can say is that Adeba was too hasty; he jumped out before the audience had even finished listening.

He's just a muscle-bound idiot who doesn't have a brain!

Well, that's it. Adeba, the Minister of War, was killed like a chicken by this little devil.

"Lord Yin Ge, do you know where the real-life Lord Lie Huo is located? I need his assistance in the investigation."

Lu Jin said to Chen Ye.

Auditing accounts is never a simple task, especially for a behemoth like the Tian Shuang branch.

Without a doubt, Adeba, as the Minister of Armed Forces, must have already prepared the false accounts.

To improve efficiency, Lu Jin decided to take a different approach, having Zi Ni Chang make an offline trip to catch Adeba and use illusion magic to directly extract evidence from him.

Once the evidence is obtained, it is reported to the headquarters of the Virtual Universe Company. Then, Zi Ni Chang destroys his soul, brings back his body, and creates the illusion that Adeba has fled to escape punishment.

In this way, the goal of making an example of someone has been achieved, the goal of eliminating Adeba has also been achieved, and incidentally, we can also have extra resources to cultivate a blank-slate hero.

If this guy dares to go against him, Lu Jin will feel uncomfortable all over if he doesn't kill him.

Chen Ye gave Lu Jin a meaningful look and said, "Your Highness, I'll have the AI ​​send it to you right away."

"Well, I'm done."

Lu Jin nodded.

After informing the 'Great Philanthropist Project', Lu Jin didn't stay on Blue Crystal Island any longer. He exited the virtual universe and handed over Adeba's offline address to Zi Nishang.

Zi Ni Chang acted swiftly, finding Adba offline in less than two hours and extracting evidence from him of abusing his power, using his position for personal gain, and secretly channeling benefits to the Red Horned Human Clan.

The reason why they found Adeba so quickly was that Zi Nishang's divine power tokens were found in various star fields within the Tian Shuang Universe Kingdom.

These divine artifacts were delivered by Lu Jin's many servants in his early years, who traveled there in spaceships.

With the divine kingdom's teleportation and the space venerable's instantaneous teleportation, Zi Ni Chang could quickly arrive at any location within the Heavenly Frost Universe Kingdom.

Even if a top-tier cosmic overlord were to use only the ordinary soul technique "Soul Suppressing Bell," it would be enough to render a Marquis-level Immortal powerless.

With the evidence in hand, Zi Nishang silently annihilated Adeba's soul, then packed up his body and took it back to Guanghan Star.

Subsequently, Lu Jin uploaded the evidence sent by Zi Nishang to headquarters, confirming Adeba's criminal activities.

As for why the headquarters couldn't find Adeba, the Minister of the Armed Forces, afterward?

He fled to avoid punishment, that's normal.

Unless the Lord of the Universe reverses time, no one knows that Adeba was killed by Zi Nishang.

But it's clear that Adeba, a mere Marquis of a high rank, is not qualified for the Lord of the Universe to investigate him.

On the other side, Minister of Commerce Trisna, representing the Virtual Universe Company's Tianshuang branch, sent invitations to numerous Immortals of the rank of Marquis and above within the Tianshuang Universe to a welcome banquet held a month later outside Guanghan Star to welcome the newly appointed Inspector.

At the same time, the official government of the Tianshuang Universe Kingdom issued a ban.

—[Effective immediately, all buying and selling of human slaves is prohibited within the territory of the Skyfrost Universe Kingdom (non-human slaves are exempt from this ban). Please see the attached page for details.]

Due to the convenience of the virtual universe, this ban quickly spread throughout the entire Tianshuang Universe Kingdom, causing a huge uproar.

Of all the 1008 human kingdoms in the universe, only the current Heavenly Frost Kingdom has issued a ban on the buying and selling of human slaves.

"Lord God, is the Imperial government going to acquire the slave planets within the Empire's territory?"

"Isn't there that Yanhuang Company? Contact Yanhuang Company. The Empire can just act as an intermediary and let them handle the acquisition. The Empire shouldn't mess with this troublemaker."

"Damn it! Why did the Cosmic Kingdom ban the human slave trade?"

"Thank goodness, with the government and this Yanhuang Company acquiring the slave planet, the losses aren't too great. Otherwise, if I had taken out a loan to buy the slave planet, I would have lost everything, even my underwear."

"Hmph~, my slave star system is located on the edge of the universe kingdom. The Heavenly Frost Universe Kingdom forbids slaves, so can't I sell them to the neighboring universe kingdom?"

After receiving the ban, the relevant parties had different attitudes.

Some cosmic civilizations abide by this ban, with the government funding the acquisition of various slave-inhabited planets within their borders.

Some officials are preparing to act as intermediaries, contacting Yanhuang Company and the owner of Slave Planet, and getting Yanhuang Company to pay for it.

After all, some slave owners were powerful or influential, and even the official authorities of their respective empires couldn't afford to offend them.

Let this troublesome matter be handled by the suddenly emerging Yanhuang Company.

Most slave organizations, after the ban was issued, prepared to cut off their human slave business and expand their existing non-human slave business.

The Cosmic Kingdom prohibits the buying and selling of human slaves, but it does not prohibit the buying and selling of non-human slaves. So, it shouldn't be a problem for me to sell slaves of other races, right?

Moreover, with the ban in effect, the supply of human slaves has been cut off, and the market supply will be less than demand in the near future. The price of slaves from other races will inevitably rise. If you seize this opportunity, you might be able to earn more than before!

Some slave organizations, however, were preparing to exploit loopholes in the ban.

For example, those human slave planets located on the edge of the Tianshuang Universe Kingdom. The Tianshuang Universe Kingdom prohibits the buying and selling of human slaves, which means that the neighboring universe kingdoms do the same.

Although the void between universe nations is vast, the transportation cost of traversing the dark universe using large transport ships is not actually that high.

After all, the profit from the slave trade is substantial, and even with increased transportation costs, the profit is still there.

Of course, some of them also harbored wishful thinking, or felt that the authorities were too busy to deal with their own small slave organizations or individuals.

It's just illegal; it's not something that happens all the time in the universe.

Once the ban is issued, it's impossible for anyone to dare to disobey it.

After killing Adeba, Lu Jin logged into the virtual universe.

Thunder Island, on the mountainside, stands the Frost Temple.

"The disciple has met the teacher."

Lu Jin saluted the Lord Tianshuang on the throne.

"You've only just taken office as the branch's special inspector, and you're already planning to fire the head of the military department?"

The King of Tianshuang said with a smile.

Tian Shuang Universe Kingdom is his territory, and Chen Ye, the Minister of the Military Department, is also his man. Lu Jin's actions against the Minister of the Military Department, Adeba, could not be kept from him.

Of course, at this moment, the King of Tianshuang Kingdom was unaware that Adba had nominally fled to escape punishment, but in reality, he had vanished from the universe.

"Teacher Hui reminded me that the universe is a law of the jungle."

Lu Jin said in a very serious tone.

"Haha~"

Upon hearing this, the King of Tianshuang couldn't help but laugh.

Of all people to mess with, Adeba had to pick on Lu Jin. He's just unlucky.

Putting aside the fact that Lu Jin is his disciple, his status as a special envoy of the Inspectorate alone makes him someone that Adeba cannot afford to offend.

Unless Adeba is impartial and selfless and has never abused his power for personal gain.

Moreover, as a seven-star overlord in the Hong Alliance, he knew that the Hong Alliance had recently gained a new four-star member.

Although there are no specific battle records, as long as the Universe Venerable joins the Hong Alliance, he is guaranteed to reach at least a four-star level.

To upgrade your star rating, you need to demonstrate specific achievements.

And you know what? This disciple of mine is quite the opportunist. Back when he was a Domain Lord, it was one thing for him to be fed by a wealthy woman at the peak of the Marquis level.

Now that he's reached the Realm Lord level, the rich woman who was being fed by him has actually become a Universe Venerable. That's outrageous!
As for how this wealthy woman became a cosmic master?
That's not important; there are countless opportunities in the universe.

If every powerful individual had to recount their destiny, then even a powerful alliance like the Great Alliance would only face disbandment.

Because no powerful person is willing to reveal their opportunities to others.

"Stop joking, is there something you don't understand?"

After laughing, the King of Tianshuang asked.

Lu Jin said, "Teacher, I can now unleash the ninth level of the Heavenly Frost Divine Weapon."

"Oh? So fast?"

Raising an eyebrow, remembering that it had been a while since he had tested his disciple's strength, the Heavenly Frost King waved his hand, and a Heavenly Frost Divine Weapon materialized out of thin air and landed in front of Lu Jin, saying, "Perform it once, and I'll see if there are any shortcomings."

"is teacher!"

Lu Jin responded, his mental power surging and attaching itself to the Heavenly Frost Divine Weapon in front of him.

In an instant, the Heavenly Frost Divine Weapon, which resembled a six-sided shield, disintegrated, and countless threads of law-based runes burst forth and connected.

As the fluctuations of the fundamental laws of water and space arose, amidst the dazzling blue-gold radiance, the 10081 tiny blue cones of the Heavenly Frost Divine Weapon instantly condensed into a single blue-gold Heavenly Frost Divine Cone radiating a chilling aura.

"call out!"

The next moment, the seven-foot-long Heavenly Frost Divine Cone shot out and disappeared, reappearing a thousand meters away, and then kept flashing in the hall.

"Not bad!"

Looking at the constantly flashing Heavenly Frost Divine Cone, the Heavenly Frost King nodded in satisfaction.

In just over a century, that little guy from the genius battle back then was already able to unleash the ninth level of the divine weapon. This growth rate far exceeded his expectations.

Even though he had overestimated it as much as possible, it was still actually underestimated.

“Lu Jin, although your understanding of the laws is still far inferior to that of ordinary controllers of the first level of the ninth level of divine weapons, it is time for you to begin to learn the basics of the Beast God Path.”

With a wave of his hand, the Heavenly Frost King's Heavenly Frost Divine Cone, which had been flashing continuously inside the temple, disappeared.

He could see that Lu Jin's understanding of the laws was not yet sufficient to unleash the ninth level of the Heavenly Frost Divine Weapon.

However, the extremely high amplitude of soul vibration compensated for the gap in understanding the laws.

This is similar to the second level of the Heavenly Frost Divine Weapon, 'Sky-Piercing Style'. Even if the comprehension of the laws is not up to standard, a Domain Lord-level controller can still unleash it with enough powerful mental energy.

While the level of understanding of the laws is very important for each level of Heavenly Frost Divine Weapon, it doesn't mean that one can only unleash it if their understanding of the laws reaches a certain standard.

Then, the King of Tianshuang raised his hand and flipped it, and a metal book appeared, landing in front of Lu Jin.

In the virtual universe, non-arcane creators must purchase arcane arts if they wish to gift them to others.

However, if you are the creator of the arcane art yourself, then there is no need to purchase it.

Within the Heavenly Frost Temple, the Heavenly Frost King possesses extremely high virtual universe authority, making it entirely possible for him to create a secret technique out of thin air.

"The Sixteen Forms of Heavenly Frost?"

Taking the metal book, Lu Jin looked at the five universal language characters on the cover and read them softly.

The King of Tianshuang Kingdom slowly said, "My famous technique, 'Seven Transformations of Water and Void,' is the ultimate secret method of the Water and Void Beast God Path. Even the first level is very difficult for you now."

The Sixteen Forms of Heavenly Frost is an in-depth version of the Secret Manual of Heavenly Frost and also the introductory basic chapter of the Seven Transformations of Water and Space.

You should first cultivate the "Sixteen Forms of Heavenly Frost". Once you have mastered it and have a certain foundation, you can formally embark on the Path of the Water and Sky Beast God.

If you have any questions, feel free to come to the temple to find me.

"is teacher."

Lu Jin bowed respectfully, having already confirmed something in his heart.

Although the ultimate secret technique is not difficult for the Lord of the Universe, it can be achieved as long as enough time is spent.

However, even for a cosmic master, the ultimate secret technique is still extremely difficult.

A Venerable One who can create ultimate secret techniques must possess at least the strength of a cosmic overlord, provided their treasures aren't too lacking.

If the life gene multiplication factor is extremely high, reaching eight or nine thousand times, it can be called a top-tier cosmic overlord, with strength no less than that of the most ordinary cosmic lord.

After leaving the Heavenly Frost Temple and returning to the Primitive District Manor, Lu Jin opened the "Sixteen Forms of Heavenly Frost".

After a cursory glance, Lu Jin discovered that the "Sixteen Forms of Heavenly Frost" was a comprehensive secret technique that combined research and combat.

Moreover, research takes up a larger proportion of the focus compared to combat.

The Sixteen Forms of Heavenly Frost emphasizes the fundamentals, explaining the combination of the fundamental laws of water and the fundamental laws of space throughout the entire text.

It also tells the story of how the Heavenly Frost Divine Weapon was created, and it contains a complete concept of creating one's own telekinetic weapons and secret techniques.

However, the cultivation of the "Sixteen Forms of Heavenly Frost" involves manipulating tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of tiny, sharp cones without any laws or secret patterns.

In terms of cultivation, the higher the amplitude of mental power or even the amplitude of the soul, the easier it is.

It can be said that cultivating the "Sixteen Forms of Heavenly Frost" tests many aspects such as the understanding of laws, the ability to control them, and the creation of secret techniques.

'There's no need to get a matching weapon; the Heavenly Frost Divine Weapon is sufficient before the Realm Lord's training begins.'

Lu Jin thought to himself.

Before undergoing the training of the Realm Lord stage, apart from encountering assassination attempts, he would generally not encounter enemies of the rank of Marquis or above that he needed to deal with alone.

The opponent's strength is not enough to be a Marquis, so the power of the Heavenly Frost Divine Weapon is sufficient.

Once she reaches the Realm Lord training stage, Zi Ni Chang should be able to forge powerful treasures, or at the very least, pseudo-powerful treasures. Then she can upgrade and equip herself with better gear.

The space is divided into two levels, inside the magnificent divine palace.

"Master, there's news about No. 1."

The alluring red-haired woman swayed gracefully as she strode into the hall and addressed the black-robed figure seated cross-legged in the center.

The man in black robes opened his eyes and uttered a single word: "Speak."

The red-haired, alluring woman said respectfully, "Master, No.1 has been appointed as the Special Inspector of the Virtual Universe Company's Tianshuang Branch. The Tianshuang Branch will be holding a welcome banquet for him in a month. Currently, the organization's No.2 has received the invitation."

"Excellent! Last time in the Saipan star system, No. 1 escaped. This time, we must strike decisively and kill him!"

The figure in black robes nodded in satisfaction, a fierce glint flashing in his crimson eyes.

"Master, one number 2 alone is probably not enough."

According to intelligence, the three department heads of the Tian Shuang branch are all powerful individuals at least at the high-level of Marquis rank, and the guests present are mostly of Marquis rank as well. Therefore, number 2 may not necessarily succeed.

The alluring red-haired woman offered a reminder.

"Hmph~!"

The man in black snorted coldly and said, "Do you need to tell me? I will arrange it myself. Tell Number 2 to prepare."

"Yes, Master!"

The alluring red-haired woman knelt down and said.

In a blink of an eye, a month later.

Guanghan Star, the headquarters building of Yanhuang Company.

"Xu Xin, is there enough money in the company account?"

Lu Jin asked Xu Xin.

With the Qiankun Cauldron capable of automatically refining treasures, producing large quantities of fifth-tier Force battle suits, Force weapons, and psychic weapons, Yanhuang Company need not worry about insufficient supply in its weapons and equipment business.

As a disciple personally taught by the ruler of the Tianshuang Kingdom, he conducted business within the Tianshuang Universe Kingdom, and no one dared to maliciously target the Yanhuang Company.

The combination of these two factors meant that even if the president of Yanhuang Company was only mediocre, he was still capable enough to make Yanhuang Company grow and expand rapidly.

Lu Jin can't really assess Xu Xin's abilities as president, but she is definitely hardworking.

For over a hundred years, due to Luo Feng's absence, Xu Xin devoted almost all his energy to the development of Yanhuang Company, making him his top lieutenant.

As for the second bull and horse?

The second ox, Luo Hua, is relatively idle most of the time.

After all, it's financial investment, so the decision-maker doesn't need to keep an eye on it all the time. He just needs to grasp the general direction and do the fine-tuning when it comes to action.

Xu Xin said, "Over the years, Sister Ni Chang has provided a lot of Tier 5 Force equipment. With the profits from the investment department, the company account has tens of millions of Mixed Yuan Units, which is more than enough to acquire the Slave Life Planet."

There are more than 16,000 star regions within the Tianshuang Universe Kingdom. Each star region has a different number of star systems depending on its size.

Based on an average of nine thousand star regions, the entire Tianshuang Universe Kingdom has less than 1.5 million star systems.

Generally speaking, the value of a galaxy is approximately several hundred billion cosmic coins, which is less than one cosmic unit.

Tens of millions of Chaos Units are enough to buy fifteen million scattered star systems. And it's impossible that more than one-tenth of the approximately 1.5 million star systems in the Tianshuang Universe Kingdom are human slave star systems, right?

Slave galaxies do exist, but the proportion is definitely not that exaggerated, let alone human slave galaxies.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Jin said, "During the acquisition process, a slight premium is fine, but if we encounter an exorbitant demand, we can have the acquisition department bypass it and just notify the security department."

The members of the security department of Yanhuang Company are all immortal-level soul servants under Lu Jin who have made up for their shortcomings in secret techniques. Each of them has the strength of a genuine primary immortal military lord.

Sending them to battlefields outside the region would indeed be like sending them to their deaths.

But if used to strike ordinary slave traders, it would be an understatement to call it a mechanical divine intervention, since many slave organizations don't even have a world lord.

As for the slave organizations with 'large physiques'?

Just let the Blood God Child take the King-level plant life form on a trip.

"I see."

Xu Xin nodded.

Lu Jin instructed, "After buying the slave planet, remember to send people to establish order and pass down cultivation methods that can reach the cosmic level."

If any geniuses emerge who have crossed the threshold from the Stellar stage to the lower-level fundamental laws, try to recruit them into the company. As for the others, their fate is up to them.

Oh, and don't forget to erect statues of me on these slave planets, so that all those human slaves will know the name of the great philanthropist, Lu.

(End of this chapter)