“You didn’t say it—you of course didn’t say it!” Yang Hao roared furiously. “Me? Being the leader won’t be dangerous at all! I’ll just sit in an air-conditioned room every day, enjoying cool air, with plenty of pretty girls to hang around with!”
“That’s right, that’s right!” Steve nodded vigorously. “The future vision is indeed like that—it’s more like a dream. But first, you must complete the special training of the Celestials.”
“A suicide mission?” Yang Hao couldn’t help shivering involuntarily. He finally realized where the problem lay. The worries of Hunyuanzi, the concerns of Empress Ming, and his own vague sense of unease—all pointed to this. “Wasn’t it just supposed to be some special training from the Celestials, learning a few skills? How did it turn into a suicide mission?”
“This is a long story,” Steve said smugly, watching Yang Hao sitting dazed on the treacherous leader’s chair. He spoke slowly, clearly enjoying himself. “Many years ago, the Celestials approached our Resistance Alliance. They believed the Empire had gone too far, so they offered to help us select and train leaders for the resistance movement.”
“So what?” Yang Hao couldn’t detect anything wrong with that.
“Not just ‘so what’—it was actually great news!” Steve became excited again. “So we started sending our alliance’s leaders to the Celestials for training on a regular basis.”
“Regularly?” Yang Hao’s heart sank. He’d heard of making regular loan payments, but never of regularly sending leaders. Could it be that there were so many leaders in the Resistance Alliance?
Steve hadn’t finished yet. He continued counting on his fingers, “In the first five years, we sent thirty candidates every year. In the following ten years, we could only send ten candidates annually. Then, in the next ten years, we had fewer outstanding talents, so we only sent two to three candidates regularly. But in recent years, no one has been willing to become the Grand Leader anymore, so…”
“Wait, wait!” Yang Hao immediately interrupted. “What five years, ten years? Let me ask you—every single candidate we sent for training was the Grand Leader of the Alliance?”
“That’s right!”
“Then where are they now? After completing the training, shouldn’t they have led the resistance against the Empire?”
“Well, that’s the thing,” Steve’s expression became slightly awkward, forcing a weak smile. “But if they didn’t finish the training, naturally they couldn’t become leaders…”
“You mean…” Yang Hao’s voice tightened, “All those who were once Grand Leaders of the Alliance are dead? Not a single one returned?”
“Bingo! Full marks!” Steve shouted cheerfully, clapping his hands. “Truly worthy of being our leader, Mr. Yang Hao! You guessed it right away. What amazing talent!”
Like hell! Yang Hao was already scared out of his wits. He now fully understood—this wasn’t a meeting to select a Grand Leader, but a meeting to send someone to their death. No wonder the leaders of these star systems were so humble and generous, willingly handing such an important position to an unknown young punk like Yang Hao.
Herd slowly crawled over from the table. Since Yang Hao had already figured everything out, he decided to explain even more clearly, “The place they’ll send you for training is a Celestial retreat, located near the Tricrystal Sea star system, called the Suffocating Black Hole.”
“The Suffocating Black Hole!” Hunyuanzi cried out in horror. “Oh my God! Surely it’s not that Suffocating Black Hole?”
Herd, somehow able to hear Hunyuanzi’s voice, casually replied, “There’s only one Suffocating Black Hole in the entire universe. If not there, then where else could it be?”
“Oh my God!” Even Hunyuanzi, a thousand-year-old ghost, was about to faint.
Although Yang Hao didn’t yet understand the full gravity of the situation, he could tell from Hunyuanzi’s despairing shriek that this was extremely serious. And no wonder he didn’t know—anything related to the Suffocating Black Hole had long been a taboo. For decades, no one dared even mention the name of this black hole, let alone approach it.
If you opened the latest edition of the interstellar navigation chart, all the star systems and jump routes within the Empire’s territory were meticulously recorded. To ensure safe interstellar travel, countless divination masters had devoted their lives to marking thousands of cosmic traps.
These cosmic traps included terrifying monster planets, asteroid fields, space junkyards, and massive black hole clusters. These traps were precisely marked on the interstellar navigation chart in five levels of danger, allowing travelers to avoid them in advance. The most dangerous and terrifying of these were rated Level 5, places every astronaut feared to approach.
Yet there were five cosmic traps beyond even these five levels, unlisted and unmarked on any interstellar navigation chart. These five traps had already devoured thousands of divination masters, yet no one had ever managed to uncover their true horror. Their terror surpassed all others. Every real astronaut would be thoroughly warned about these five certain-death cosmic traps before even stepping into a spaceship. Even in their dreams, they would never dare to steer their ship in that direction.
And the Suffocating Black Hole was one of these five super-traps. In fact, aside from actual Imperial astronauts, practically no one knew the name of this black hole.
Hunyuanzi had learned about the terror of the Suffocating Black Hole through a different, accidental encounter. Back in the days long before the Empire’s founding, Hunyuanzi had just suffered the massacre of his entire clan by enemies, who then pursued him relentlessly. Forced to flee, Hunyuanzi had projected his soul out of his body, escaping into space in his infant form as a nascent immortal.
At that time, Hunyuanzi hadn’t yet experienced a thousand years of existence. His nascent form was powerful, not yet reaching full transcendence, but close enough to freely travel between planets, unafraid of cosmic radiation, and even capable of destroying small black holes with a single strike.
But everything changed when Hunyuanzi encountered the Suffocating Black Hole. On that day, while flying near the Tricrystal Sea star system, he felt a powerful force pulling him. At first, he paid no attention—previously, he had encountered black holes that devoured everything, but their suction, though strong, could be shattered with his power.
This time, however, was completely different. Hunyuanzi released all his spiritual energy, but instead of being dispersed, the black hole grew larger and stronger. It was as if the black hole were alive—not only unafraid of his attacks, but actually absorbing Hunyuanzi’s energy to fuel itself.
As a result, Hunyuanzi inadvertently became the black hole’s power source. The more he struggled, the more tightly he was pulled in, until finally, he was completely powerless to resist.
Fortunately, just as all seemed lost, Hunyuanzi was saved by a Celestial who used an extremely strange method to rescue him. But after that incident, Hunyuanzi’s powers were never the same. Not only could he no longer seek revenge, but he could barely survive, needing to hide inside a pill just to stay alive. That was precisely why he had ended up being swallowed by Yang Hao.
Having suffered so badly from the Suffocating Black Hole, Hunyuanzi naturally didn’t dare take it lightly. He quickly recounted the horrific experience to Yang Hao. This time, it scared half the soul out of Yang Hao.
After all, if even the powerful Hunyuanzi couldn’t withstand the black hole’s pull back then, how could the current Yang Hao, who had only reached the Harmony Stage of cultivation and relied mostly on a few flying swords for show, possibly survive? Truthfully, he wouldn’t even last a few rounds against a real expert.
“You’re all insane! You want me to enter the Suffocating Black Hole? That’s a one-way trip!” Yang Hao spat furiously at Herd. “You perverted old man, you can go on your suicide mission yourself!”
“I’d love to go, but I’m not the Alliance’s leader,” Herd, the old monster, actually chuckled, looking at Yang Hao as if he were a fool.
Seeing Yang Hao’s face darken, Steve tried to smooth things over, “It’s not that bad, Leader Yang Hao. According to the Celestials, if you pass their training, you’ll definitely be able to enter and exit the Suffocating Black Hole freely. Otherwise, how could the Celestials themselves come and go as they please?”
Indeed, being the leader of the Tricrystal Sea star system, his words carried a bit more weight. Yang Hao nodded slightly, feeling somewhat reassured. Although the Suffocating Black Hole was terrifying, the thought of the Celestials’ training was tempting enough.
But Herd wasn’t done scaring him yet. He continued, making things worse, “It’s not just the black hole you have to worry about. The real issue lies with the Celestials themselves. Do you even know what kind of beings the Celestials are?”
“The Saint Bear kind,” Yang Hao replied, not being some ignorant bumpkin who had never seen a Celestial before.
Herd shook his head so hard that even the lice flew off, “Our great Saint Bear is among the kindest of the Celestials and ranks near the bottom in terms of power. Celestials across the universe come in many different races and temperaments. Some are fearsome, like the Caddis Dragon Clan, hideous creatures that breathe dragon fire and devour humans daily. Others are the Shai Celestials, who can control time—deciding when you live or die. These Celestials aren’t particularly friendly toward humans. If you displease them even slightly, they might just take your life.”
Yang Hao stared wide-eyed at Herd, making the old man feel uneasy.
“Uh… well, scary stuff like that is just legend, you know—just legends.”
“Legends, my foot!” Yang Hao exploded. He grabbed Steve by the collar. “Tell me—were all the people we sent in before eaten by the Celestials? Tell me!!”
“You didn’t say it, of course you didn’t!” Yang Hao roared furiously. “Me, being the leader wouldn’t be dangerous at all—sitting in an air-conditioned room all day, enjoying the cool breeze, with plenty of beauties to play with.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Steve nodded vigorously. “That’s the vision for the future. You could say it’s a dream, but first, you have to complete the special training from the Divine Clan.”
“A suicide mission?” Yang Hao couldn’t help but shiver. He finally realized what the problem was—what Hunyuanzi was worried about, what Empress Ming was anxious about, and what he himself had vaguely sensed as wrong. “Wasn’t it just supposed to be some training from the Divine Clan to learn a few skills? How did it turn into a suicide mission?”
“Well, that’s a long story,” Steve said slowly, watching Yang Hao sit dumbfounded in the leader’s treacherous chair, a hint of smugness in his tone. “Many years ago, the Divine Clan approached our Resistance Alliance. They believed the Empire’s actions were too extreme, so they agreed to help us select and train leaders for the resistance.”
“That doesn’t sound bad,” Yang Hao said, failing to see the catch.
“Not bad? It was fantastic news!” Steve grew excited. “So we started sending Resistance Alliance leaders to the Divine Clan on a regular basis.”
“Regular basis?” Yang Hao’s heart skipped a beat. He’d heard of regular loan repayments, but never regular leader deliveries. Did the Resistance Alliance have that many leaders to spare?
Steve wasn’t finished. He continued counting on his fingers: “In the first five years, we sent thirty candidates annually. Then, for the next ten years, we could only send ten. After that, we ran out of top talent, so we sent two or three every few years. But in recent years, no one has been willing to become the Grand Leader, so—”
“Hold on, hold on!” Yang Hao cut him off sharply. “What’s with all these numbers? Let me ask you—were all the people you sent in the past Grand Leaders of the Alliance?”
“Yep, every single one.”
“Then where are they now? After the training, shouldn’t they have led you in resisting the Empire?”
“Well, that’s the idea,” Steve said, his expression turning awkward as he forced a smile. “But if the training wasn’t completed, they naturally couldn’t become leaders, and so—”
“You mean…” Yang Hao’s face paled. “All those former Alliance leaders—they all died? Not a single one came back?”
“Bingo! Full marks, ten points!” Steve cheered with a bright smile. “Truly worthy of being our leader, Yang Hao! You guessed it right away. Such extraordinary talent.”
“Talent my ass!” Yang Hao was terrified out of his wits. He now fully understood—this wasn’t a meeting to elect a Grand Leader. It was a meeting to push someone to their death. No wonder the leaders of these star systems were so eager to hand over such an important position to an unknown kid like him.
Elder Heard slowly crawled across the table. Seeing that Yang Hao had already grasped the situation, he decided to lay it all out. “The place where you’ll be sent for training is a hidden sanctuary of the Divine Clan, located near the Three-Crystal Sea Star System—a place called the Choking Black Hole.”
“The Choking Black Hole!” Hunyuanzi screamed in horror. “Mama mia! It can’t be that Choking Black Hole, can it?”
Elder Heard, who somehow could always hear Hunyuanzi’s voice, replied nonchalantly, “There’s only one Choking Black Hole in the entire universe. Where else could it be?”
“Mama mia!” Even the thousand-year-old ghost Hunyuanzi was on the verge of fainting.
Though Yang Hao still didn’t fully understand, the sheer terror in Hunyuanzi’s screams told him just how dire the situation was. It was no surprise Yang Hao was clueless—anything related to the Choking Black Hole had long been taboo. For decades, no one dared even mention its name, let alone approach it.
If you opened the latest edition of the interstellar navigation charts, you’d find detailed records of all star systems within the Empire’s territory and their jump routes. To ensure safe space travel, the Empire’s master navigators had spent countless lives and effort marking thousands of cosmic traps.
These traps included terrifying monster planets, asteroid belts, space junkyards, and supermassive black hole clusters. They were categorized into five levels on the navigation charts, allowing travelers to steer clear in advance. The most dangerous and horrifying traps were labeled Level Five—places every pilot would avoid at all costs.
But there were five traps that didn’t even make it onto the charts. These five had devoured thousands of master navigators, yet no one could fully grasp just how terrifying they were. Their horror surpassed all others. Before any true pilot set off, they would be thoroughly warned about these five death traps. Even in their wildest dreams, they wouldn’t dare steer their ships in that direction.
And the Choking Black Hole was one of those five super traps. In fact, aside from the Empire’s actual navigators, hardly anyone even knew its name.
Hunyuanzi had learned of the Choking Black Hole’s horrors through sheer coincidence. Back in the days before the Empire was even founded, when Hunyuanzi had just been wiped out by his enemies and was being hunted across the cosmos, he had no choice but to separate his spirit from his body and flee into space as a nascent soul.
At that time, Hunyuanzi hadn’t yet endured a thousand years of hardship. His nascent soul was immensely powerful—not quite at the level of ascension, but close. He could freely roam between planets, unafraid of cosmic radiation or even small black holes, which he could obliterate with a single strike.
But everything changed when he encountered the Choking Black Hole. That day, as he flew near the Three-Crystal Sea Star System, he felt an immense force pulling at him. At first, Hunyuanzi wasn’t concerned—he’d dealt with black holes before. No matter how strong their gravity, a burst of his energy could scatter them to nothing.
This time, however, was different. No matter how much energy Hunyuanzi unleashed, the Choking Black Hole not only remained intact but grew larger and stronger. It was as if the black hole was alive—unfazed by attacks and capable of absorbing Hunyuanzi’s power for itself.
In the end, Hunyuanzi’s struggles only fueled the black hole’s pull. The more he resisted, the tighter its grip became, until he was utterly powerless.
Miraculously, at the last possible moment, a member of the Divine Clan appeared and saved him using some bizarre method. But after that ordeal, Hunyuanzi’s strength was never the same. Not only could he no longer seek revenge, but he also had to hide inside a pill to survive—which was how he ended up being swallowed by Yang Hao in the first place.
Having suffered so terribly at the hands of the Choking Black Hole, Hunyuanzi wasted no time warning Yang Hao. The revelation scared Yang Hao half to death.
If even Hunyuanzi in his prime couldn’t withstand the black hole’s pull, what hope did Yang Hao have? Sure, Yang Hao had reached the Harmony Realm and had a few flying swords, but those were just for show. In a real fight against a true master, he’d have died a thousand times over.
“Are you insane? You want me to go into the Choking Black Hole? That’s a one-way trip!” Yang Hao spat at Elder Heard. “You old freak, why don’t you go on this suicide mission yourself?”
“I’d love to, but I’m not the Alliance’s leader,” Elder Heard chuckled, looking at Yang Hao as if he were an idiot.
Seeing Yang Hao’s expression darken, Steve stepped in to mediate. “It’s not that bad, Leader Yang Hao. According to the Divine Clan, anyone who completes their training can freely enter and exit the Choking Black Hole. Otherwise, how would the Divine Clan themselves survive there?”
As expected of a star system leader, Steve’s words carried more logic than the big bear’s. Yang Hao nodded slightly, feeling a bit reassured. Though the Choking Black Hole was terrifying, the thought of the Divine Clan’s training was tantalizing.
But Elder Heard wasn’t done scaring him. “The black hole is just the beginning. The real problem is the Divine Clan themselves. Do you even know what kind of creatures they are?”
“Like the Holy Bear, right?” Yang Hao wasn’t completely ignorant of the Divine Clan.
Elder Heard shook his head so hard that lice flew off. “Our glorious Holy Bear is the friendliest of the Divine Clan—and also the weakest. The Divine Clan across the cosmos come in all races and temperaments. Some are vicious, like the Kardis Dragons—ugly, fire-breathing creatures that feed on humans daily. Others, like the Flash Gods, can manipulate time, deciding whether you live or die on a whim. Most of them aren’t exactly… friendly. One wrong move, and they might just snuff you out.”
Yang Hao’s eyes widened, making Elder Heard squirm.
“Uh… but those are just rumors. Legends, really.”
“Legends my ass!” Yang Hao exploded, grabbing Steve by the collar. “Tell me—were all the people you sent in the past eaten by the Divine Clan? Huh? Were they?”
“How should I know? I was never sent in,” Steve whined, looking aggrieved. “You’re the Alliance’s leader, not me!”
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