Chapter One: The Calamity of Exile (Part Two)

Sorry, everyone. Yesterday afternoon, after taking a bath, I fell asleep and didn’t wake up until now—almost turning into the god of sleep. This chapter is to make up for yesterday’s, my apologies.

Upon hearing this, Kuangchi’s expression changed; the consequences were simply too grave. His grandfather also seemed furious and pressed further: “Fatty, you little rascal, what exactly did you do to provoke that giant turtle? Speak up, or I’ll skin you alive.”

Kuangchi could only force a bitter smile in his heart. How would he know what he had done to provoke the great turtle? All he did was descend to the bottom of the valley and come back up again.

Just then, his grandfather continued, “A spy from the Hyde family saw you enter the valley where the cosmic beast’s lair is. He even recorded footage of you going down. What do you want us to do about this? Now the entire Empire is blaming you, thinking it must have been something you did that made the cosmic beast chase after you.”

“What? Someone saw me go into the valley?” Kuangchi cried out in shock.

After glancing at everyone around, his grandfather nodded heavily. “Fatty, couldn’t you just stay put in Soren Fortress? Look at you—carrying out a special mission, what a great opportunity it should have been! Instead, you brought a cosmic beast down on us and dragged the entire Soren Fortress into the mess. Do you think the Empire’s people will let it go?”

Kuangchi remained silent and turned directly to Kuang Qingshan, who was still standing behind him. “What’s wrong with you all? We were supposed to keep watch, and none of you realized someone was following us?”

Before Kuang Qingshan could reply, Kuangchi’s father snorted coldly and said, “The Hyde family’s Shadow Warriors are the best at surveillance and tracking. Do you think they’re easy to spot? But in the end, it’s still your fault. Why did you have to go into that valley? What on earth did you do down there to make the cosmic beast pursue you so relentlessly?”

Kuangchi could only wear a wry smile. This was a question that not just others, but even he himself was desperate to answer. Why was the giant turtle chasing him? For over a month, he hadn’t found any reason.

Not knowing the answer himself, Kuangchi had no way to respond. In the end, with nothing more to ask, his family could only let him return to his room.

As soon as he was back, Kuangchi shut the door tightly and called out Xiaohua again. The moment Xiaohua appeared, its vines spread throughout the room. Kuangchi then summoned Xiaohei as well, whose huge flower head filled most of the space.

Once more, Kuangchi shouted coldly, “Xiaohei, what exactly did you do at the bottom of the valley? Tell me honestly!”

Xiaohei’s large head swayed back and forth, and Xiaohua answered on its behalf, “This black fellow still insists it didn’t do anything.”

Kuangchi snorted, “Nothing? If you did nothing, why would the cosmic beast chase me? Do you realize you almost got me killed?”

With that, Kuangchi stormed out of the room, calling back as he left, “Xiaohua, interrogate it thoroughly. Find out what it really did. Damn, what if that giant turtle comes after us again?”

When Kuangchi returned after a while, he noticed Xiaohua’s expression seemed odd. As time passed, Xiaohua’s body had been maturing, and it was growing increasingly human-like, with more and more expressive features.

By looking at Xiaohua’s face now, Kuangchi knew something must have happened.

He didn’t speak first but only gazed coldly at Xiaohua. After a moment’s thought, Xiaohua finally said, “Master, this black fellow really has caused a disaster.”

As she spoke, a long vine held up a blood-red, fist-sized, oval crystal, presenting it before Kuangchi.

Staring at the crystal, Kuangchi was dumbstruck. If he didn’t know what this was, he would have to be a fool.

Inside the semi-translucent blood-red crystal was a faint figure—one identical to the giant turtle cosmic beast. The figure seemed to be breathing freely within the pale blue fluid that filled the interior of the crystal, tiny bubbles rising ceaselessly from its body and vanishing mysteriously when they touched the crystal’s surface.

After a while, seeing that Kuangchi was still silent, Xiaohua continued, “Xiaohei originally thought this was just a core crystal and swallowed it along with the other cores. Only just now did it realize this thing hadn’t been digested.”

At that, Xiaohua prudently fell quiet. This was now for Kuangchi to resolve.

After a long silence, Kuangchi finally snapped out of it and burst out, “Damn! I’ve hit the jackpot! Haha—I'm going to raise it as a pet!”

Xiaohua felt her body go limp, nearly dropping her head to the floor.

She quickly tried to reason with him, “Master, that cosmic beast will never let it go. From the looks of it, the beast has some way of tracking this egg.”

Kuangchi snorted coldly. “So what? If it comes, let it come. This is the Caro Empire, not the borderlands. Does it think it can just waltz in here? Even if it does, can't we just run?”

With that, he excitedly reached out and picked up the little egg. Such a massive cosmic beast, and yet its egg was so tiny—if not for Xiaohei’s big mouth, finding it among all the carnage in the valley would have been impossible.

Xiaohua then added, “Master, do you really plan to keep the egg? I still think it’s best to toss it on some uninhabited planet.”

Kuangchi snorted, “Throw it away? I already tossed one before, and I won’t ever do it again. Look how formidable that big turtle is. If this little one hatches, maybe it’ll be just as powerful. Even if it isn’t, it’s beautiful—Zixia will definitely love it.”

He carefully hid the egg on his person.

Early the next morning, Kuangchi was summoned to his grandfather’s office by his father and grandfather. As soon as his grandfather saw him, he sighed deeply and said, “Fatty, soon you’ll travel with your father to the Imperial Capital. There are ministers and noble families currently lobbying the Emperor to punish you severely. Be very careful in the capital, and make sure to tell Zixia what happened so she can inform her grandfather and have their Sword Sect work in your favor. When will you ever stop worrying us, you little rascal?”

Arriving at the Imperial Capital, Kuangchi was met with Zixia’s furious glare. She whisked him back to her quarters at the Imperial Academy—after all, though he had joined the military, he hadn’t yet been expelled from the Academy.

Once she had dismissed the You sisters and her two maids, Zixia shut the door and demanded, “Fatty, what trouble have you gotten into now? You’ve made a cosmic beast chase you all over the place. Do you realize what you’ve done? Tens of thousands of elite soldiers from the Third Legion died, and Soren Fortress was devastated!”

Kuangchi said nothing, but produced the small egg he’d hidden close to his chest.

Zixia was no fool—she was exceptionally clever. The moment she saw the egg in his hand, her eyes went wide and she stood there, dumbfounded.

After a while, seeing she was still speechless, Kuangchi said, “I once found a cosmic beast egg in the Death Star Sea, but I didn’t dare keep it back then and tossed it away. I won’t throw this one. Look how beautiful it is! I’m sure it’ll grow strong and gorgeous.”

Zixia snatched the egg from his hand and rapped him on the head. After examining it for quite some time, she finally said, “Fatty, you actually once threw away a cosmic beast egg?”

Kuangchi nodded repeatedly, recounting the events in the Death Star Sea.