After coming out of the training room, Wen Yuzhi had still been excited a moment ago, but in the blink of an eye, he unknowingly fell asleep in Mansendis’s arms.

When he dozed off, his little paws and tail were still resting on Mansendis’s hand, his fluffy ears drooping down, one side pressed flat while the other tilted up.

Perhaps because of his personality, the cub usually slept very neatly, hardly ever tossing around. It was the classic sleep posture of a well-behaved baby.

Wen Yuzhi was also used to sleeping curled on his side, with his back exposed outward.

That posture made him feel a little safer.

After all, after Wen Che and Madam Jilanya met with disaster, no one had ever coaxed him to sleep again. The only things left to keep him company in his room were those stuffed dolls.

Every night, when he had to sleep alone, even if he felt afraid, all he could do was cling to the doll beside him.

Over time, Wen Yuzhi got used to holding a doll tightly while he slept, using it to find a sense of safety.

When he had first come to Dark Tower Star, Mansendis had seen the cub sleeping like that several times, always in that same insecure posture.

But as Mansendis spent more and more time with Wen Yuzhi, and especially after Wen Yuzhi hatched again, when Mansendis seemed to want nothing more than to keep the cub by his side at all times, the bond between father and son gradually deepened.

By now, Wen Yuzhi no longer felt afraid in Dad’s arms.

He could fall asleep whenever he wanted, and his sleeping posture had become more and more relaxed.

Just like now—Wen Yuzhi had fallen asleep before he had even drawn back his little paws.

This was probably because, deep down, Mansendis was no longer the Saint Clan sovereign who had once made him feel stiff and afraid.

He was his dad, someone he could trust and cling to.

And Dad’s arms were also the place in this world where Wen Yuzhi felt safest.

“Hff... Dad...”

Wen Yuzhi was even mumbling in his sleep.

Mond brought over a small blanket, and Mansendis carefully covered the cub with it.

He tucked in the corners, turned off the light,

and when Mansendis stepped outside, Selet was already waiting at the door.

Selet seemed to have just come down from a warship. There was still a black combat uniform on, and the cold, murderous aura of battle had not yet faded. Having gotten off the warship, Selet had come straight here, looking somewhat travel-worn.

With the cub no longer by his side, the warmth on Mansendis’s face had already returned to ice.

“How did it go?”

The silver-haired sovereign asked in an indifferent voice.

Selet replied, “Following your orders, I have already wiped out those institutes.”

Wiped out in the most literal physical sense.

The firepower of a destruction-class warship could make a target vanish completely once struck, to the point that not even a fragment would likely remain.

Every institute that was hit by those shells was reduced to the same thing.

A giant crater.

The Saint Clan’s method was undoubtedly direct and brutal.

Mansendis had not even bothered with the process of publicly searching for evidence. He had not negotiated in advance with the human side either. Selet had simply commanded the warships to surround the Poes Empire’s capital world without another word.

Before any of those people could even react, the death that belonged to them had already descended.

Among them was the famous Kegso.

Over the years, relying on the research in hand, Kegso had become an honored guest among various powers. Even His Majesty Bernard had turned a blind eye to everything Kegso had done inside the empire.

Kegso knew that many people hated him.

But at the same time, he had been extremely confident. He believed those people sought him out for the research in his head, so although he had many enemies, Kegso had never truly been afraid.

As long as he could provide research data, those people would not dare act rashly.

Alive, he was far more valuable than dead.

With that as leverage, Kegso really had moved smoothly among the various powers, and nothing had ever happened to him. In the end, everyone who wanted trouble with him would choose to cooperate instead.

What Kegso had never expected was that the Saint Clan would refuse to play by the usual rules.

They neither came to contact him nor gave him any chance for interrogation or negotiation.

From beginning to end, the Saint Clan never even showed themselves. They simply and brutally blasted apart every person inside the institute, along with all those materials the outside world considered extraordinarily precious.

Kegso only saw news of the Saint Clan’s attack in the final second before his death. Before he could think of any response at all, he was already dead, and not even a corpse was left behind.

The once highly respected Dr. Kegso died just like that—sudden, chaotic, and ignoble.

Even in death, Kegso likely never imagined that everything the Saint Clan had done was merely because he had enraged a tyrant who doted on his child with all his heart.

Mansendis had no interest at all in whatever those institutes had been messing with behind the scenes.

The moment they made a move against the Saint Clan—or more precisely, against his child—they were already dead in his eyes.

As for whether doing this would provoke dissatisfaction, Mansendis did not care in the slightest.

If they truly meant to take issue with it, all the better. Mansendis had already been considering whether to conquer a few planets and find a few prettier star cores to add as ornamentation to the crown atop Wen Yuzhi’s head.

If those people really wanted to go to war with the Saint Clan, then the Saint Clan could just take a few planets from them for fun.

As for the human side,

they did not come demanding an explanation from the Saint Clan either. Other than the fact that they could not afford to offend them, another major reason was His Majesty Bernard’s sudden collapse into unconsciousness.

Bernard had three sons and one daughter.

The irony was that, although he always prided himself on how deeply he loved the empress, all three sons and that one daughter were illegitimate children he had fathered outside the marriage.

Among them, the eldest prince’s age, if counted carefully, showed that he had already existed before the empress had even married into the family.

It was undoubtedly a sharp mockery of all Bernard’s performances of devotion over the years.

The upper levels of the empire all knew these imperial family secrets without speaking of them, but the ordinary people remained entirely unaware.

There was, however, one thing that could be confirmed:

none of Bernard’s children were especially gifted, nor had any of them displayed the kind of talent the public hoped for—the talent to lead the empire into renewed strength.

And on top of that, the Hoffmann imperial family had not produced any particularly outstanding bloodlines in recent years.

Which meant that although the royal house still looked glorious from the outside, once Bernard fell, they would likely lose even the last scrap of dignity they still possessed.

What awaited them would be either deposition or death.

Because of that, the Hoffmann royal family was now in utter chaos over Bernard collapsing in public. Where would they find the time to accuse the Saint Clan?

The nobles were the same.

Bernard’s collapse had completely confirmed that his body was no longer what it once was.

Watching the old lion king grow weaker and more frail by the day, those nobles who harbored ambitions to push their families one step further would naturally never let such a perfect opportunity pass.

Previously, the conflict between the royal family and the nobles had mostly remained underground.

Although the nobles had long suspected Bernard’s health was poor, and Bernard himself knew the nobles were coveting his throne,

as long as neither side intended to tear the mask off completely, the surface remained one of harmony, with ruler and ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ subjects maintaining a delicate balance.

But the Saint Clan’s sudden strike had plainly shattered that balance, dragging the schemes that should have remained currents beneath the surface straight out into the open.

The moment the Saint Clan’s warships withdrew, the capital world fell into total chaos.

But that was not something the Saint Clan cared about.

Unlike the Hoffmann royal family, which was now overwhelmed, the Saint Clan had a sovereign as powerful as Mansendis, and they had also just recovered their little prince, lost for so many years.

They were no longer confused about the future of the Saint Clan.

The atmosphere of oppression and unease that had once hung over the Saint Clan had long since dissipated.

Now, all the Saint Clan wanted was to catch a few more glimpses of their little prince every day—what the little prince had done today, whether he was in a good mood, what things he liked. Those were the matters everyone in the Saint Clan cared about most.

...

When he woke up, the first thing Wen Yuzhi did was check his body.

From his paws, to his tail, to his little wings, then the ears and little horns on top of his head.

The good news was that he had not somehow turned into some other species in his sleep.

The bad news was that after sleeping, he was still in beast form.

Beast form was beast form. Mu Luo had said before that his current state was only temporary. Once he gradually got used to it, he would be able to switch between the two forms on his own.

So Wen Yuzhi did not feel too upset.

He picked up his light-brain with both paws.

Fortunately, the light-brain was smart enough to be controlled through mental power, so even in beast form, it was no problem.

After thinking about it, Wen Yuzhi told Xi Heyan what he had told Mansendis before—that he wanted to become a doctor too.

Xi Heyan was his only friend.

Wen Yuzhi could sense that Xi Heyan was a little older than he was and had been through more things.

Before he met the Saint Clan, there had been so many things he had not known who to talk to about. It had always been the other person guiding him, offering him advice and analysis.

Although now he had a new family, and could also bring his troubles and questions to the Saint Clan, Wen Yuzhi still wanted to hear what this good friend thought.

And when Wen Yuzhi sent that message, Xi Heyan happened to be in battle theory class.

Only, from teacher to students, not a single person in that classroom was truly paying attention. They were all distracted.

Everyone was thinking about the shifts happening in the empire’s upper ranks, and about Bernard’s condition.

Up to this very moment, Bernard still had not awakened. The palace had called in many doctors, and also summoned a batch of soldiers to stand guard outside, sealing off the palace gates and forbidding casual entry or exit.

The whole atmosphere on the capital world turned tense in an instant.

Outside, there were even some citizens with extreme devotion to the royal family spontaneously holding prayer gatherings for His Majesty Bernard.

And because the military academy’s situation was so closely tied to the empire’s, they too were affected by the unrest. As a result, none of them had much heart left for class.

So when Xi Heyan noticed a new message on the light-brain, he openly took the chance to slack off in class.

He looked at the message.

As for Wen Yuzhi saying he wanted to study how to become a doctor who treated mental power, Xi Heyan did not ask why. He also did not say things like mental power treatment is exhausting and difficult, so a young master like you shouldn’t go through that sort of hardship.

Instead, he quietly sent over the materials he had organized over the past few days.

As early as when Wen Yuzhi had told him there was a problem with a family member’s mental sea, and had shown interest in understanding symptoms related to mental power disorder, Xi Heyan had already guessed that Wen Yuzhi might be interested in this field.

Every night, Xi Heyan had been taking some time to look things up, digging through materials and pulling out the relevant content bit by bit.

What he sent Wen Yuzhi now was exactly what he had painstakingly organized over those days.

[These are all practical case studies in mental power treatment. You can take a look. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask me.]

Wen Yuzhi had not expected Xi Heyan to directly send him fresh materials.

He opened them and glanced through a few pages, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

Without even having time to keep reading, Wen Yuzhi hurriedly replied:

[Thank you! I really need these!]

Cat Hearts.jpg

Looking at the sticker Wen Yuzhi had sent, the corner of Xi Heyan’s mouth unconsciously lifted slightly.

[As long as it can help you.]

[These things are useless in my hands anyway. If they can help you, then at least their value won’t be buried.]

Xi Heyan was not just saying that.

The person who had given him those materials had also hoped their value could be used to help others.

If she were still alive, she certainly would have been happy to teach this knowledge to Wen Yuzhi too.

After all...

Xi Heyan lowered his eyes.

He had not forgotten that someone once said to him that Polaris had been created for the sake of helping more patients troubled by mental power.

“Then why is it called Polaris?”

“Because I’m the moon. And these research results are all my children. The moon’s children are stars, aren’t they?”

“...”

“Just kidding. It’s because all research is really just searching for answers in the fog. I hope Polaris can be that little point of starlight in the mist, something that can illuminate the way forward for us.”

Xi Heyan had never forgotten those words.

He also knew that when those materials had been entrusted to him, the hope had been that he would continue that unfinished research.

But Xi Heyan knew himself very well.

He had never liked things like healing the sick and saving lives.

What he liked was fighting.

Clashing with enemies on the battlefield—that was what he wanted to do most.

In the past, Xi Heyan’s dream had been to become a soldier like his father, defend the nation, and fight for the glory of the empire.

And now, Xi Heyan still loved battle.

Only now, his battlefield was no longer the empire’s enemies.

It had become the nation itself—already rotten and collapsing.

...

Elsewhere, in the underground black market.

After such a massive disturbance on the capital world, even the black market had become unusually quiet.

Only the bar’s business had not been affected.

The same seats.

The same three people.

The man in the vest and dress shirt arched a brow and asked, “Are you sure Kegso is dead?”

“Our people went to check. There was nothing left of the institute. Everyone is dead.”

“Well, that truly is... very sad.”

The man sighed as he said it, but there was not the slightest trace of sadness on his face.

“He was a good teacher. He taught me many things. I’d originally been hoping he could live a few days longer. Teacher and student, after all. Once the experiment produced results, I also wanted to let him be happy for a few more days.”

His hypocritical act drew a sneer from the person across from him.

“Well, congratulations are in order then, Dan. Kegso is dead. Polaris now belongs entirely to you.”

“What use is the current Polaris to me? Without the materials in Xi Yuelin’s hands, Polaris is nothing more than an empty shell.”

The man called Dan shook his head.

“Only an idiot like Bernard would do something as stupid as completely exterminating the Xi family. Otherwise Xi Yuelin would never have been driven into choosing mutual destruction when cornered.”

If nothing had happened to the Xi family, then for her family’s sake, Xi Yuelin would eventually have compromised and handed over control of Polaris.

Their plan would already have succeeded smoothly.

But at this point, there was no meaning in talking about that anymore. Xi Yuelin was dead, all the materials had vanished, and all they could do now was keep thinking of ways to recover them.

The other person knew that too, so when speaking again, they skipped over the matter of the materials and brought up another topic instead.

“I really didn’t expect the Saint Clan to make a move against those institutes this time.”

“Clearly, it was a warning,” Dan said. “A warning to us.”

Their reach had stretched too far and had already enraged the Saint Clan sovereign.

If they did not rein themselves in, then the next thing descending over their heads would probably be Saint Clan warships.

Unfortunately, Dan was not the kind of person who knew how to behave himself.

When faced with danger, what he thought of was not hiding.

Instead, he sharply sensed that something subtle was hidden in it.

“The Saint Clan should know something.”

“You mean... they know about the plan?”

“That’s only a guess.” Dan lifted a brow. “But don’t you think it’s strange?”

“Back when they attacked Kanirila, Mansendis’s condition had already worsened. The Saint Clan warships had even withdrawn. But in the end, that Saint Clan sovereign still did not lose control. Not long after that, the Saint Clan sealed off the Ninth Star Sector. And then came this...”

The Saint Clan warships had suddenly surrounded the capital world. The strange thing was that they had not come to invade. Their goal had been explicit: destroy those few institutes.

The Saint Clan rarely involved themselves in interstellar affairs, and even more rarely left the Ninth Star Sector. So all these recent abnormal actions made Dan feel that something was very wrong.

He had a strong intuition that something inside the Saint Clan had changed.

With that thought, Dan took out a photograph.

“This is...?”

The photo Dan was holding was the very same one secretly taken by the Pachi people.

The cub egg that had once spread wildly across StarNet, and that even now many people still could not stop thinking about.

The other person asked, “Isn’t this the cub egg you’ve been putting out a bounty on lately?”

The fact that Polaris Life Research Institute had offered a huge reward for that cub egg was no secret in the underground black market anymore.

That sky-high amount of money had tempted countless people.

If not for the fact that the egg was in the Saint Clan’s hands, they probably would have already snatched it.

But Dan pointed at the photograph and said, “Don’t you think it looks similar?”

Similar?

Similar to what?

The other person froze for a second, then seemed to realize something. Somewhat startled, they said, “You mean it might be...?”

Dan smiled.

“If I’m not mistaken, then the Saint Clan has most likely given birth to another royal blood.”

A royal blood with Salilaino’s bloodline—

and still just a cub.

“This is our chance.”

“Find him. Catch him.”