"Lan Gu Clan Chief, that ten percent of the resources you mentioned, I can give up. I only have one request: in this relic exploration, everything I personally obtain will belong to me. Clan Leader, what do you think?"

Zhang Xiaoman stated his own opinion.

If it was to repay a favor, then that ten percent of resources the other party promised naturally couldn’t be taken. Otherwise, with this payment involved, how would it still count as repaying a favor?

Hearing this, Lan Gu paused slightly, understanding Zhang Xiaoman’s intention, and his mind began to race.

Very quickly, a smile reappeared on his face as he said:

"Extreme Star Elder, if it’s only the resources you personally acquire, that’s actually a bit too little. You have to know that the materials obtained in the relic, aside from those that can be directly put into Storage Space, most of them need the family’s strength to mine. If you give up that ten percent share, what you get will be very little. Are you sure about this?"

Zhang Xiaoman nodded, indicating that his mind was made up.

"Alright, then I’ll have to trouble Extreme Star Elder to enter with me when the time comes. According to our observations, this relic will open in about two years. By then we’ll gather the elite youths of the clan, and I hope Extreme Star Elder can make preparations in advance."

"Understood."

When Zhang Xiaoman heard that there were still two years, his heart calmed down a little.

"Two years should be enough for me to finish nourishing the fourth Star Pattern. Others might not manage it, but with the Divine Skills Ni Yang passed on to me, the time needed to complete the nourishing will be greatly shortened. By my estimate, at most one year should be enough..."

He pondered this to himself for a moment, then took his leave from Lan Gu and Lan Yue.

As for the matter of nourishing, he did not plan to tell anyone for the time being, especially not a large power like the Lan Family.

Zhang Xiaoman knew very well just how terrifyingly attractive the powerful set of Divine Skills he had mastered really was. If one followed the normal progress, after imprinting the fourth Star Pattern, wanting to complete the nourishing without relying on any resources or Formation, it would probably be impossible without several decades or even up to a hundred years.

He had heard Ziwei say that when she finally managed to imprint the fourth Star Pattern back then, all her savings had already been completely exhausted, so she simply didn’t have the money to set up a Nurturing Array to speed up the Star Pattern’s nourishing. She could only take missions while letting it nourish on its own.

In the end, when the Strength accumulated in her body finally completed its Fusion, it was already fifty years later. And that was with Ziwei’s own Talent being very high to begin with; if it were someone with slightly poorer aptitude, without a hundred years it really wouldn’t be possible.

If one had the blessing of a Formation and invested a large amount of Spiritual Medicine as support, spending an enormous amount of money, this time could be shortened to about five to ten years. This was also the plan the Lan Family had originally arranged for Zhang Xiaoman.

But no one expected that in just these few years after Zhang Xiaoman imprinted, the Plague Relics were affected by the cosmic Fusion and actually opened ahead of time, so Lan Gu could only have him temporarily give up his nourishing plan and instead prepare to go to the relic with him.

Fortunately, Zhang Xiaoman possessed the Divine Skills taught by Ni Yang, so completing the nourishing would only take about a year. By the time the relic opened two years later, his Strength would definitely be a level above what it was now; by then he might even directly break through to the Lower Extraordinary Level and achieve True God.

"True God, huh..."

He gently shook his head. As for this so‑called Divine title, he didn’t really agree with it, and felt it was nothing more than an honorific people in the Second Universe used for powerful Dark Spirit.

In Zhang Xiaoman’s view, there were no real Divine beings in this world, because a true Divine would be flawless, and such an existence couldn’t appear in the world. Therefore, there were no Divine beings; those who were called Divine were just powerful lifeforms.

After returning from the Second Universe, Zhang Xiaoman planned to complete the nourishing in the First Universe.

Compared to the traditional Nurturing Array, the Divine Skills Ni Yang had passed on were much more cost‑effective. Although they still needed to consume quite a few resources, the amount was far less than the former, and with Zhang Xiaoman’s financial capacity he could easily gather enough.

Before starting the nourishing of the fourth Star Pattern, he went back to take a look at the Star Alliance and found that the organization was developing steadily just as he had anticipated, without any crisis. Even Guleng Star seemed peaceful for the time being; the Alien Species on the Prism hadn’t caused any disturbance, and everything was still under Control.

Three years was, after all, still too short. Although for Humans it was enough to accomplish many things, in the vast universe it was nothing but the blink of an eye.

Zhang Xiaoman found an uninhabited Planet, made some minor modifications, then set up a Formation and began operating the "Returning Sea Divine Ability" to start nourishing the fourth Star Pattern.

...

Water Blue Star, America, New York City.

On the bustling streets, the neon lights shone with a mesmerizing glow. Night draped this city in a gorgeous robe, young men and women weaving through it, with scenes of drunken revelry and wanton laughter everywhere the eye could see.

Yet beneath this seemingly beautiful surface, the seeds of evil were beginning to sprout, and a crisis quietly emerged.

"Eva, hurry up! Let’s go over there and take a look. I heard that’s one of the most famous streets in the world—lots of movies use it as a filming location. Let’s hurry and go check it out!"