Swallowing the Stars: Ten Thousand Times Return for Taking on Disciples

Chapter 1 The Giant Axe Warrior Who Has Lived for 90,000 Years

Devour the starry sky world.

Qianwu Universe Kingdom, Black Dragon Mountain Star Region, Maple Leaf Empire, Maple Leaf Star.

The massive interstellar spaceport, like a tireless behemoth, swallows and spits out countless spaceships, with thousands of transport ships taking off and landing here every day.

Amidst the busy flow of ships, the X31 Black Dragon Mountain spaceship is steadily gliding toward its designated berth.

Inside the cabin, an elderly man in a gray robe looked out the porthole at the orderly port, a look of nostalgia on his face.

Behind him, five young people—three men and two women—were also pressed against the porthole, their eyes filled with curiosity.

"My lord, is this Maple Leaf Star?" A young man with a single horn on his head couldn't help but ask, his voice filled with barely suppressed excitement.

“That’s right.” The gray-robed elder nodded, his gaze sweeping over the bustling port outside the cabin door. “This is Maple Leaf Star, the ancestral home of the Lu family, and the foundation of our Maple Leaf Empire.”

His gaze shifted to the other equally outstanding young people, and his tone became more solemn: "You five are the most talented geniuses in the empire over the past century. After arriving on Maple Leaf Star, you will have the opportunity to meet the Ancestor."

The old man's voice was deep and powerful.

"If any of you can gain the favor of the Ancestor and be accepted as a disciple... then not only will your personal cultivation path be smooth sailing, but your family and even the planet you came from will also receive unimaginable benefits."

Upon hearing this, the excitement and curiosity on the faces of the young people gradually faded, replaced by heartfelt respect.

Clearly, they had long heard of this legendary patriarch of the Maple Leaf Empire.

That was a peak-level powerhouse who had lived for over 90,000 years!
He is the true pillar of the Maple Leaf Empire!

His illustrious reputation had already spread throughout the entire Maple Leaf Galaxy, and even in the neighboring Silver Blue Empire and the transcendent and independent Dragon Star, there were legends about this Ancestor Lu.

If one could become a disciple of such an unparalleled expert, their status and position would rise dramatically, and they would even have a sliver of hope... to break through to the cosmic level.

The hatch of the Black Dragon Mountain spaceship X31 slid open silently, and the group stepped onto the land of Maple Leaf Star.

……

Deep within the Maple Leaf Empire's imperial palace lies a training cave constructed from precious D5-grade metal ore, its ground paved with dazzling gems.

Without warning.

A terrifying, world-destroying primal force suddenly erupted, and a violent energy turbulence swept through the entire underground palace, instantly crushing everything visible in its path into dust.

The D5 ore wall, which was strong enough to easily withstand the attack of a cosmic-level powerhouse, trembled violently.

Fortunately, the devastating eruption lasted only a moment before dissipating; otherwise, this sturdy underground cavern might have truly been at risk of collapsing.

"call……"

Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, Lu Qingshan slowly opened his eyes, his gaze revealing deep weariness and dejection.

“Failed…” A low sigh echoed in the cave.

"This is the third time in ten thousand years that I have attempted to break through to the Domain Lord realm... This time, the preparations were the most thorough, and almost half of the Empire's resources were used. I never expected... that I would still fail at the last hurdle."

He opened his palm, as if he could still feel the pain of failing to condense the life core.

"The Heavenly Purification Water... although it healed 99% of the hidden injuries in my body, the damage to my foundation from my early years is ultimately a fatal wound, preventing me from truly condensing that Domain Lord's Life Core..."

Ninety thousand years had passed, and Lu Qingshan thought his mind had long been tempered to a state of perfect tranquility. However, this latest failure to break through still stirred up waves of turmoil within him.

He couldn't help but panic.

Because their lifespan is about to end.

Theoretically, the lifespan of a cosmic-level powerhouse can reach ten epochs.

However, the severe injuries he suffered in his early years, coupled with the backlash from several failed breakthroughs, had already prematurely depleted his life essence.

He could clearly sense that the lifespan granted by the irresistible primordial universe was slowly coming to an end.

"There are probably only 120 years left."

Lu Qingshan knew what this meant.

If he cannot break through to the Domain Lord level within these 120 years and gain a longer lifespan, he will be completely transformed into a speck of dust in this vast galaxy, returning to eternal oblivion.

But how can we break through in just 120 years?
To achieve this breakthrough, he nearly exhausted ninety percent of the Maple Leaf Empire's reserves and even shamelessly borrowed a huge amount of cosmic currency from that senior on Qiulong Star.

The incredibly precious Heavenly Pure Water, capable of repairing hidden injuries, was acquired at an auction at a cost of an astronomical amount of cosmic coins.

Without an extraordinary stroke of luck within a century, he would have no chance of gathering the resources needed for his next assault.

not to mention……

Even with resources, is he guaranteed success?
A faint sense of resentment surged in my chest.

Lu Qingshan is a time traveler.

Ninety thousand years ago, he was born into an ordinary family on Maple Leaf Planet. At that time, Maple Leaf Planet had not yet come into contact with extraterrestrial civilizations, and martial arts flourished on the planet. He even thought for a time that he had entered some fantasy world.

With his exceptional martial arts talent, he reached the pinnacle of the planet in just a century, becoming a Martial God. With a wave of his hand, he overturned mountains and rivers, easily unified the entire planet, and established the Maple Leaf Empire.

However, disaster struck soon!

A spaceship fully loaded with slave-hunting crews landed on Maple Leaf Star not long after the empire's founding. Its overwhelming power plunged the planet's elite into despair.

Even someone as powerful as Lu Qingshan, after risking his life to kill two star-level slave-hunting team members, was ultimately ruthlessly suppressed.

On Maple Leaf Star, all experts above the Martial Saint level were captured, controlled by slave chips, and turned into commodities to be sold at a higher price.

The slave-catching team left behind some basic cosmic cultivation methods and established a cruel "breeding base" on Maple Leaf Star to train martial artists and spiritual masters on the planet.

The billions of people on Maple Leaf Star are like leeks waiting to be harvested, cultivated and sold without end.

Lu Qingshan, having fought back and killed slave hunters at the first level of the Stellar Realm, demonstrating considerable potential, was not treated as an ordinary slave.

The slave owners trained him in order to extract greater value from him.

With the help of resources far exceeding those of Maple Leaf Star, Lu Qingshan's strength advanced by leaps and bounds. In just one hundred years, he cultivated to the ninth level of the Stellar Realm and successfully broke through to the Cosmic Realm, comprehending the Light Domain.

Afterwards, under the control of the slave chip, he became the organization's henchman, fighting against other slave organizations and space pirates in the long and bloody years.

With the meager resources accumulated from each mission, he painstakingly advanced to the eighth level of the cosmic level, and his light domain also broke through to the third level.

At this point, a problem arose.

Once Lu Qingshan breaks through to the Domain Lord level, he will be able to break free from the chip's control and turn against its master.

The leader of the slave organization, who was at the domain lord level, gave him two choices.

Either you are stuck at the eighth level of the cosmic level for life and are not allowed to break through, or you participate in the life-or-death battle of the giant axe with a near 100% mortality rate.

Lu Qingshan chose the latter.

Participate in the Giant Axe Battle of Life and Death. If you win a thousand consecutive matches, you will receive the title of Giant Axe Warrior and regain your freedom under the witness of the Giant Axe Arena.

Although with his strength at the third level of the Domain, he would almost certainly die in that level of arena, for him, the undignified life of slavery was more agonizing than death.

And slave owners were happy to accept this choice.

If Lu Qingshan dies in battle, the organization will receive a substantial compensation; if he wins several battles, the compensation will be even greater.

As for Lu Qingshan's success?
Nobody had any faith in him.

Lu Qingshan no longer wanted to recall those thousand brutal battles of life and death. In the end, he miraculously won the title of Giant Axe Warrior through sheer luck, gaining the freedom he had always dreamed of.

However, the cost was extremely high!

His body was severely damaged in the series of deadly battles, and the secret techniques he used further damaged his cultivation foundation, almost extinguishing his hope of breaking through to the Domain Lord level in the future.

For this reason, he lost the opportunity to be recruited into the Giant Axe Arena.

Ultimately, he chose to become a space mercenary, wandering the vast universe. After enduring countless hardships and accumulating enough wealth, he redeemed Maple Leaf Star from the slave owners and saved his second homeland from which he had traveled.

Ninety thousand years have passed in the blink of an eye. The slave organization that once enslaved him had long been wiped out because it offended a powerful figure in the Black Dragon Mountain Star Region, leaving him no chance to take revenge himself.

Over the next ten thousand years, Lu Qingshan, with the prestige of the Giant Axe Warrior and the help of friends he made during his career as a mercenary in the universe, established the Maple Leaf Empire, a rudimentary cosmic civilization.

This is a cosmic kingdom with only one star system in its territory, and it cannot be compared with other primary cosmic kingdoms in the surrounding area.

Memories flashed through his mind like smoke. Lu Qingshan slowly rose from the pile of broken gems, temporarily suppressing those heavy memories.

"One hundred and twenty years..."

Feeling the distinct sense of life slipping away within his body, and after a long period of recollection, Lu Qingshan's sadness faded considerably.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Having lived for 90,000 years, what more could I ask for?"

"If I were to transmigrate to a world like Shrouding the Heavens, where even the Great Emperors only live for ten thousand years, with my meager strength, my bones would probably have turned to ashes long ago..."

The moment this thought arose, Lu Qingshan felt as if an invisible shackle deep within his heart had loosened slightly, and an indescribable enlightenment quietly arose within him.

Before he could fully grasp this insight, the light and shadow before him distorted, and a black kobold phantom made of energy respectfully appeared.

This is Lu Qingshan's intelligent life form, Nasus.

“Master,” the illusory figure said in a deep and clear voice, “the third son of Eagle Star has returned. He has brought with him the five most outstanding geniuses in the Empire in the last hundred years, who request an audience with you, Master.”

Mistress?
The image of that guy who always liked to wear a gray robe and act profound immediately popped into Lu Qingshan's mind.

"Another hundred years have passed..." Lu Qingshan sighed softly, his tone returning to its usual calm. "Let him bring his men in."

(End of this chapter)