After the three of them boarded the ship, they were immediately assigned to separate rooms.
Lu Sheng's room was incomparably superior to the one in the old spaceship they had taken during their time in the alien space battlefield. In fact, it was the best single room he had ever stayed in. The entire room was probably larger than a hundred large gymnasiums.
It was equipped with every amenity Lu Sheng could imagine, as well as some he couldn't. Forget sleeping in it. Even a small nation could easily be built there. This was the treatment he, Haiji Dao's "disciple," received. Haiji Dao's own room was likely even more spacious and luxurious.
However, considering the Star Spirit Flower's size, comparable to a dozen azure planets, this little space seemed insignificant. Lu Sheng stood in the room, radiating his spiritual energy and roughly surveying the entire spacecraft inside and out.
He discovered that this star ship held even more life than he had imagined. The entire spacecraft was divided into millions of distinct zones, each containing an independent ecosystem. Through conversations between crew members, he learned that over 99% of these zones were filled with the "cargo" the Star Spirit Flower was transporting on this voyage. Many items and life forms requiring specific ecological environments. This explained the Star Spirit Flower's enormous size.
Sheng focused his investigation on the ship's armed forces. The results revealed that there were nearly fifty level 12 martial artists, but there were only two level 13 martial artists. One of them was Haiji Dao, so, it was no surprise that they received such high treatment.
It was clear. The Star Spirit Flower merchant guild ship's crew truly relied on Haiji Dao's power. They even went out of their way to "pick up" the three of them.
Lu Sheng located the Starry Sky Network within the room. This network was far more advanced than the one he had encountered in the Yamu star region. The total coverage area exceeded three thousand star regions. He easily found what he was looking for.
"The Hunting Bow is another name for the center of the Celestial Snake Galaxy. The entire Hunting Bow covers over ten star regions. On this stellar map..."
Lu Sheng stretched out his hand and enlarged the star map before him. The star band that appeared did indeed resemble a bow.
Just as he was about to search for information about "Star Gates", the pale, poker-faced figure of Haiji Dao suddenly appeared in the sky above the room. It was a message from Haiji Dao about a visit.
"I'll have to change the visit notification mode later," Lu Sheng thought silently, looking at Haiji Dao's oversized face above him. "This notification mode is… too much."
Opening the door, Haiji Dao walked into the room from outside.
"I've learned that, barring any unexpected events, the Star Spirit Flower will reach the Hunting Bow in just five Cosmic Months, two to three months earlier than expected."
Haiji Dao entered and began speaking directly, as was his usual style. Lu Sheng's eyes flickered when he heard his words, and he replied, "A surprise? Space pirates?"
"Yes."
Haiji Dao nodded. "A journey lasting several Cosmic Months, spanning over thousands of Star Regions. The probability of not encountering pirates is almost zero. But don't worry, ordinary pirates wouldn't dare target the Star Spirit Flower."
Haiji Dao's words had another meaning: If this spaceship did encounter pirates, their adversaries would undoubtedly be extraordinary. Judging by the current armed forces aboard this ship, any pirate capable of landing on the Star Spirit Flower would have to be commanded by a level 13 martial arts expert. Thinking of this, Lu Sheng couldn't help but sigh.
A man's journey is to the sea of stars.
These words have inspired countless passionate men to plunge headfirst into the vast starry sky, seeking so-called romance and, ultimately, becoming pirates. Perhaps they were worried that Lu Sheng wouldn't be able to handle this long period of living under someone else's roof.
Haiji Dao specifically explained, "The journey to the Hunting Bow is far too long. We must rely on an Immortal-class or higher spacecraft capable of traveling through star gates to reach it quickly. The two Chief Star Elders of the Hundred Great Star District have an Immortal-class spacecraft, but to prevent emergencies it's not possible to use it just to ferry the three of us to the Hunting Bow. Not to mention the round-trip costs, the safety would also be far lower than that of a super-large trade association like Star Spirit Flower."
Because fewer people doesn't mean the ship can travel faster, nor does it mean a smaller target won't attract powerful star pirates. Lu Sheng expressed his understanding and inquired about information on Immortal-class spacecrafts.
Haiji Dao's response was, "Immortal-class spacecrafts are constructed partly from materials derived from level 14 or higher alien beasts. They are extremely valuable and not readily available to ordinary people.
"By ordinary people I mean martial arts masters of level 13 and below. Only a super-powerful guild like the Star Spirit Flower, backed by one or more level 14 experts and conducting business spanning the entire galaxy, could afford and qualify for such a purchase. And only Immortal-class spacecraft and above are strong enough to withstand the immense pressure of transiting through a Star Gate, which requires an explanation of the meaning of a Star Gate."
This saves Lu Sheng the trouble of searching online for the answer.
"Star Gate shuttle technology is related to space jump technology. Any spaceship of even moderate quality possesses the ability to space jump, but the difference between the latter and the former is enormous. The universe is an irregular, curved space. The void is divided into multiple layers, like a thousand-layer pancake, one layer stacked on top of another. Until level 12, the ability to break through several layers of the void is an important criterion for measuring a warrior's martial arts prowess."
This is also the concept of breaking the limit of combat power that Lu Sheng once understood.
"A typical spacecraft uses space jump teleportation to exploit the gaps between layers of space. Passing through these gaps, they achieve the goal of exceeding the speed of light and shortening distances. Simply put, it's like entering one gap and exiting through another. During this process, the spacecraft travels faster than light.
"Star Gate travel, on the other hand, is a true teleportation. It's the process of breaking through one space and reaching another. If the void can be compared to sheets of paper stacked together, the former involves passing through the gaps between the sheets. while the latter involves penetrating the paper, entering from the front and exiting from the back.
"The difficulty and technical requirements of the two are completely different. The spatial void created by breaking through the paper is called a Star Gate."
Lu Sheng's previous judgment was correct. The "transparent" force he sensed, like melting wax, was the purest form of spatial power.
"If one could master spatial power, would one possess the ability to travel through Star Gates in one's physical body?" He asked Haiji Dao.
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Translation notes by dhoo
For more complete translation notes (Chinese characters, chapters where keywords appear, translation questions) including all the keywords used in this chapter, check my Glossary, published right before chapter #530.
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The Hunting Bow was introduced in the previous chapter, now we know that it's the name of the Star District made of "over ten Star Regions" located at the center of the Celestial Snake galaxy.
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The Yamu Star Region aka Sub-Jupiter region is the Star Region where Lu Sheng's family currently lives.
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Starry Sky Network
A galactic internet :) see Glossary