Cracks began to appear one after another, and the Lan Family Forbidden Land started to tremble uncontrollably, seemingly on the verge of shattering completely at any moment.

Lan Gu and others were prepared to respond, even ordering the fleet to retreat a significant distance once again.

The crew of the fleet were all visibly tense, knowing full well that they were the elite combat force of the Lan Family, and the ships they operated were the pinnacle of current Dark Spirit Technology. Although most of them were composed of ordinary non-Dark Spirits, with the aid of Dark Spiritual Artifacts, they could surround and annihilate an Upper-level Controller if necessary.

Yet now, this battle-hardened fleet seemed as though it was under immense pressure, with every warrior showing a trace of fear on their faces, indicating just how tense their nerves were at the moment.

The pressure emanating from the direction of the forbidden area was truly terrifying, a kind of oppressive force from a high life level, something only a High-level Dark Spirit could release.

Some of the veteran soldiers already had sweaty palms, having endured far more than the naive new recruits.

They clearly remembered participating in operations against a certain Upper Control Level strongman, where the pressure exerted by the opponent was nowhere near as daunting as the one presently felt.

"Could it be... he’s really reached the peak realm? Or is he close to the peak?"

Lan Gu and Lan Yue exchanged a glance, their eyes revealing undisguised shock.

Achieving a breakthrough straight to the peak would be understandable at a lower realm, but at the Upper Control Level, a realm where the transcendent reign supreme, it was truly unbelievable.

"Let’s wait and see, just hope he hasn’t lost his sanity and turned into madness, otherwise, our Lan Family is in big trouble today..."

Lan Gu’s expression was solemn as he arranged multiple layers of Array around the surroundings of the forbidden area.

When imprinting the fourth Star Pattern, if the imprinter cannot endure the pain of imprinting, or if any serious error occurs in the subsequent guiding stage of Dark Spiritual Power, they could turn into an irrational mad figure.

Such madness would be like a savage Star Beast, killing anyone in sight and completely unable to communicate, with a strength surprisingly powerful, akin to the state of becoming demonically possessed in the Divine Ancient Continent’s Martial Arts realm, making it a significant disaster within a star system if it occurs.

The Lan Family had prepared for both possibilities, ready to confront the madness-transformed Zhang Xiaoman.

However, the aura emanating from the forbidden area was overwhelmingly strong, causing even Lan Gu, a Peak Control Level elder, to feel uncertain in his heart.

"Crack~"

Accompanied by a sound resembling a breaking mirror, the entire Lan Family Forbidden Land could no longer withstand this force and completely shattered open.

"Swish swish swish!"

At the same time, endless colorful rays shot out from the forbidden area, a kind of radiation from Dark Spiritual Power moving at dark speed, visible even to the fleet millions of kilometers away.

Suddenly, under the reflection of this colorful light, everyone’s mind was filled with the image of a Hexagram; some experienced individuals immediately realized it was the Star Pattern imprinted by Ji Xing.

"Success!"

Joy surfaced on Lan Yue’s face, while Lan Gu could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

At this point, it was almost certain that the imprinter had overcome the challenges of imprinting and successfully imprinted the fourth Star Pattern without turning into a dreadful mad figure.

The light raged in the surrounding cosmic space for a long time and eventually receded. When everyone looked over, the Lan Family Forbidden Land was now nowhere to be found, completely obliterated.

At the center of the receding light, a handsome man with waist-length hair stood with his eyes tightly closed. His previous clothes had long since been destroyed, replaced by battle armor imprinted with patterns of the cosmic galaxy, exuding a transcendent aura, majestic as if able to rule the heavens, akin to the return of a War God, evoking a desire in others to kneel in worship.

Zhang Xiaoman slowly opened his eyes, glancing at the ruined forbidden land, feeling the surging power within him, as if he could shatter this star system with a single punch.

"Such strong power, I’ve finally broken through! I didn’t expect the imprinting of this Star Pattern to absorb the energy of the entire forbidden area and directly break through to the peak realm!"

Zhang Xiaoman gently clenched his fist, causing a slight ripple in the surrounding space.

He had encountered a minor problem while absorbing the Star Pattern, but at the crucial moment, the Essence Gathering Technique taught by Ni Yang suddenly started operating on its own. Zhang Xiaoman was surprised to find that this Divine Skill was highly compatible with the Guiding Technique for imprinting Star Patterns, not only successfully resolving the crisis but also enhancing the absorption rate, ultimately drawing all the forbidden area’s energy into his body.

With the power of the forbidden area as backing, Zhang Xiaoman’s breakthrough was unstoppable, advancing swiftly and reaching Upper Control Level Peak.

Communicating with all the Dark Spirit Series was the reason he wouldn’t be limited by realm. As long as he had enough Dark Spiritual Power, he could directly enter the next realm.