After finishing the arrangements, Tendo swept his gaze across the group. His invisible pressure caused the stellar energy in the air to tremble slightly.
"Remember, prioritize your own safety. If you encounter a powerful enemy you cannot handle, send a distress signal immediately, and I will come to support you."
Before his voice had even faded, he turned and headed toward the entrance of the third basement level of the core zone, with Caroline following closely behind.
Meanwhile, the others sprang into action.
Jing Liuli led over a dozen elite members, piloting unique stellar energy aircraft as they streaked toward the Central Plaza. The engines of the aircraft tore through the night sky, leaving faint golden trails in their wake.
Chen Kong took An Qin and Isabel, utilizing the "Void Sigil" to erase their presence. Like ghosts, they drifted through the alleys of the western city, heading toward a deserted stellar energy mine.
First, to Tendo and Caroline.
The entrance to the third basement level was blocked by a massive alloy door engraved with complex Abyssal runes. It radiated a thick, black energy—clearly a defensive measure set up by the Abyssal Heavens organization.
Just as Caroline was about to step forward to crack the seal, Tendo raised a hand to stop her.
"No need for the trouble."
Tendo spoke calmly, tapping his finger lightly toward the alloy door.
An invisible vector force field instantly bypassed the alloy door, acting with surgical precision on the core of the Abyssal runes. With a crisp crack, the seemingly indestructible runes shattered, and the black energy receded like a ebbing tide.
Then, with a slight shove of Tendo's palm, the heavy alloy door was pushed open as easily as a sheet of paper, without making a single sound.
Behind the door, a deep passage stretched into the darkness. Along the walls, Abyssal crystals glowing with a dark red light were embedded at regular intervals, bathing the corridor in an eerie radiance.
"It seems these crystals are the key to maintaining the energy stability of the passage while simultaneously interfering with stellar energy detection," Caroline explained. A vast amount of quantum data flowed through her eyes as she rapidly analyzed the energy structure of the crystals.
Though he now knew the reason, Tendo remained indifferent and walked straight into the passage.
The vector force field around him expanded naturally. The moment the dark red light touched him, it was instantly distorted and annihilated. Under the influence of the vector field, the Abyssal crystals along the way shattered into powder one by one, and the darkness in the passage was dispelled by the pale golden light of the force field.
In a mere few dozen seconds, the two reached the end of the passage, where a massive underground space revealed itself.
In the center of the space stood a black main altar, over ten meters high. The entire altar was crafted from an unknown black stone, its surface covered in dark red runes even more complex than those on the sub-space projections. Viscous Abyssal energy flowed through the runes, converging into a pillar of black light that shot toward the ceiling, connecting to the stellar energy core zone above.
Surrounding the altar were over a dozen core members of the Abyssal Heavens organization dressed in black uniforms. All were Star Envoys of Rank 2 or higher, radiating violent Abyssal energy; one had even reached the peak of Rank 3.
Seeing Tendo and Caroline intruding, these Abyssal Heavens Star Envoys immediately surrounded them.
"Stop them! Do not let them destroy the main altar!"
A leading Abyssal Heavens member roared, being the first to activate his Star Source and materialize a black giant axe, which he swung toward Tendo.
Other members followed suit, launching attacks. Black stellar energy bolts, sharp bone blades, and grotesque Abyssal vines swept toward the pair from every direction. The dense barrage covered almost every possible space for evasion.
Caroline was about to activate her Mechanoid Stellar Energy to construct a shield, but Tendo gave a slight wave of his hand.
The invisible vector force field expanded instantly, enveloping every incoming attack. Under the force field's influence, the trajectories of those seemingly fierce strikes were all distorted. They either slammed into the walls and exploded or collided with each other, canceling themselves out. Not a single attack could get within one meter of the two.
"Pointless resistance."
Tendo's voice was icy. With a flick of his finger, an invisible force blade shot out, precisely striking the Star Core of the leading member.
The leader's movements froze instantly. The light in his eyes faded rapidly, and his body went limp as he collapsed, his Star Core utterly destroyed.
Seeing this, the other Abyssal Heavens members paled, a flash of fear appearing in their eyes, yet they gritted their teeth and persisted, launching even more frenzied attacks.
Tendo didn't care to waste time with them. He raised his hand and made a pressing motion toward the crowd.
The large-scale vector force field suddenly contracted, firmly binding all the Abyssal Heavens members where they stood. The stellar energy within their bodies was forcibly suppressed, rendering them unable to launch any further attacks.
"Let's go."
Tendo turned to Caroline, his tone flat, as if he had just dealt with a few ants.
Caroline nodded, ignoring the bound members around them, and followed Tendo directly toward the main altar.
The dark red runes on the main altar seemed to sense danger; their glow became increasingly dazzling, and the flowing Abyssal energy grew more violent. In the next second, a black energy barrier rose around the altar, attempting to block Tendo's path.
"A barrier of this level thinks it can stop me?"
Tendo scoffed and threw a punch. There was no flashy light—only pure vector force concentrated on his fist as it slammed into the energy barrier.
BOOM!
With a massive explosion, the black energy barrier shattered like glass, sending a violent energy shockwave outward. However, the scattered energy was entirely caught by Tendo's vector force field, preventing any collateral damage to the surroundings.
Immediately after, Tendo leaped onto the top of the main altar and pressed his hand against the energy core at its center. This was the energy hub of the entire altar, radiating the most concentrated Abyssal energy.
THUMP!
Tendo's vector force field surged to full power, forcibly pouring into the altar's energy core. The dark red runes on the altar began to fade and crack rapidly, and the flowing Abyssal energy was torn apart and annihilated by the vector field.
In an instant, the main altar let out a low, humming moan and began to shake violently, its surface webbed with fine cracks.
Caroline stood below, watching in silence. The current Tendo could now forcibly dismantle the energy core of a main altar using nothing but raw physical power. His strength had clearly far surpassed that of an ordinary Calamity-class powerhouse.
As the altar's energy core was completely destroyed, the surrounding dark red runes vanished entirely, and the black pillar of light dissipated. Robbed of its energy support, the main altar began to crumble bit by bit, eventually turning into a heap of rubble. As for the residual Abyssal energy in the underground space, it was swallowed and annihilated by Tendo's force field, leaving the air pure once again.
"It's settled," Tendo said into his communicator, his tone remaining as indifferent as ever.
Next, the anime's camera shifted to Chen Kong and his group.
The abandoned stellar energy mine had been derelict for years. The tunnels were pitch black, and the air was thick with dust and faint traces of Abyssal energy. Pale purple stellar energy flowed around An Qin as she accurately sensed the fluctuations of Abyssal energy, leading Chen Kong and Isabel deep into the mine.
"I can feel strong Abyssal fluctuations. The altar should be just ahead," An Qin whispered.
Turning a corner, a small black altar appeared before them. Surrounding it were five Abyssal Heavens members, one of whom was a Rank 3 Star Envoy—a force not to be underestimated.
"I didn't expect there would be some fish that slipped through the net."
Chen Kong's gaze sharpened. He immediately activated the Void Sigil, erasing his and Isabel's presence, while telling An Qin: "Stay behind me and stay safe."
"Hmm?"
The Rank 3 Star Envoy sensed something was wrong and let out a cold snort. His Abyssal energy surged as he swung a black energy wave toward the direction where Chen Kong and Isabel were hidden.
Chen Kong pulled Isabel and dodged quickly. The energy wave struck the wall, blasting a massive crater.
"Isabel, use Absolute Zero to freeze their movements!" Chen Kong shouted.
Isabel nodded. The ice-attribute stellar energy within her surged to its limit, and the surrounding temperature plummeted as pale blue frost swept toward the five Abyssal Heavens members.
"Not good!"
The Rank 3 Star Envoy's expression changed. He tried to activate his stellar energy to resist, but the frost was too fast, enveloping them in an instant. The four Rank 2 Star Envoys had no time to react before their bodies were frozen into blocks of ice, unable to move. Only the Rank 3 envoy managed to break free of the freezing effect through sheer power, though his movements became significantly sluggish.
"Now!"
Chen Kong seized the opportunity and activated the Void Sigil. A silver-white sigil line shot toward the Rank 3 envoy, striking his Star Core with precision. The stellar energy within the envoy instantly became chaotic, and the effects of his Abyssal energy were forcibly dispelled.
Taking advantage of the opening, Chen Kong rushed forward, copying Isabel's Absolute Zero Star Source. He threw a punch, and the pale blue frost condensed into a fist that slammed hard into the envoy's chest.
"Pfft!"
The Rank 3 Star Envoy spat out a mouthful of blood, his body flying backward and hitting the wall with a thud before he lost consciousness.
Having dealt with the Abyssal Heavens members, Chen Kong looked at Isabel. "Do it."
Isabel nodded, stepped forward, and released Absolute Zero stellar energy onto the small altar. The pale blue frost instantly covered it, freezing the Abyssal energy within while the runes cracked and fell away. Chen Kong then used the Void Sigil once more to completely eliminate the residual Abyssal energy.
"The altar in the abandoned mine has been destroyed," Chen Kong reported into his communicator.
Compared to Chen Kong's group, Jing Liuli's side was even more successful. Although there were Abyssal Heavens members guarding the altar in the Central Plaza, their strength was generally weak. The elite members led by Jing Liuli were all Star Envoys of Rank 2 or higher and worked with perfect coordination. Combined with Jing Liuli's dream-manipulation abilities, the guards were quickly neutralized. With Jing Liuli personally taking action, the altar's energy core was destroyed, and everything was settled.
With all three altars destroyed, the last trace of Abyssal energy over Martropolis vanished completely. The stellar energy of the entire floating city returned to normal operation, and the previous shaking and anomalies disappeared.
Tendo and Caroline emerged from the third basement level and met up with Chen Kong, Isabel, An Qin, and the Jing Liuli squad.
An unexpected communication was transmitted to Tendo's data terminal. Looking at the familiar yet strange face on the screen, Tendo wore a peculiar expression. He tapped the screen, and a hearty voice came through.
"As expected, you're quite a bit more capable than I thought. You settled it this quickly?"
"You overpraise me, President," Tendo said simply.
Indeed, the one contacting Tendo was none other than the Grand President, Enite. Looking at Tendo's calm face on the screen, Enite's eyes held a hint of approval.
"Tendo, your performance this time was outstanding. Your strength has far surpassed Star Envoys of your age; even many established Calamity-class powerhouses are not your match."
"What kind of reward do you want? After all, in a sense, you have saved a very important city of the New Federation."
"I don't particularly want anything," Tendo replied, maintaining his usual lazy and indifferent demeanor.
He was well aware that the waters of Martropolis ran very deep. Even if he hadn't intervened, it would have been nearly impossible for the so-called "Abyssal Heavens" to destroy Martropolis. Setting aside the "Four Clans" rooted in the city, the unassuming administrators in the Heavenly Martial Training Base—who were actually Calamity-class Star Beasts in disguise—were enough to wipe out the small-time lackeys Abyssal Heavens had sent. Therefore, in Tendo's view, Abyssal Heavens's actions today were more of a probe than an actual attempt. Only the low-level minions carrying out the task thought it was some grand plan.
Enite did not seem surprised by Tendo's answer. He smiled and spoke again: "Alright then, I'll have others plan it out and give you a satisfactory reward later."
"Furthermore, based on the interrogation results, we have pinned down the specific location of the Abyssal Heavens organization's headquarters. It is deep within the 'Meteor Ruins' of the Old Era. There is a stable Abyssal passage there, which serves as their core stronghold."
"The headquarters has decided that you will lead a team to the Meteor Ruins to completely destroy the Abyssal Heavens headquarters."
The Meteor Ruins?
Tendo had seen records of the Meteor Ruins in ancient texts. Not only was the environment harsh, filled with violent stellar energy turbulence and dangerous relics of the Old Era, but it was also inhabited by powerful Abyssal creatures. It was recognized as a forbidden zone by all seven floating cities.
Perhaps worried that Tendo might underestimate the opposition, Enite's tone grew solemn.
"Tendo, Abyssal Heavens has operated there for many years and possesses great influence. They also have several Calamity-class powerhouses stationed there. Even for you, it won't be easy to gain much of an advantage."
"However, despite the danger, we must completely destroy their headquarters to eliminate the threat once and for all. The Association will provide you with the most elite Star Envoy squads to support your mission."
"Understood," Tendo nodded. "When do we set out?"
"One month from now, assemble at the Star Envoy Association headquarters. In the meantime, prepare yourself well."
"Understood."
With that, Enite ended the communication. Through this conversation, the viewers on the video site also understood where Tendo and the others were heading next. As expected, it would be the so-called Meteor Ruins.
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