As Qu Jianlei anticipated, Yuanyuan was not surprised by the topic of refining the Mist Mansion.

However, she did say that it was just speculation, and she wasn't very familiar with the specifics.

From what she said, she even felt that Qu Jianlei was being a bit too ambitious—why ponder this before reaching Supreme?

Qu Jianlei didn't argue with her but instead communicated some information about the Mist Mansion seriously.

It was evident that Yuanyuan had a lot of information about the Mist Mansion, even more detailed than the Farmer.

No wonder she rushed over tirelessly after hearing someone followed Luo Hanshuang into the Inner Circle.

However, in terms of the overall judgment, her understanding of the Mist Mansion was still not as extensive as the Farmer's.

But this was normal, as the Farmer was already aiming for Supreme, while Yuanyuan was still accumulating, with different focuses naturally.

Like Qu Jianlei's analysis of the Colonization Army planting Superpower Rice to reduce the alien energy in the Mist Mansion, she hadn't heard of it.

However, Yuanyuan did agree with Qu Jianlei's hypothesis, believing that such an approach should assist in refining the Mist Mansion.

In short, the two had a rather good conversation, and both felt they had gained something.

Without realizing it, it was evening, and Qu Jianlei started to cook, with Yuanyuan expressing a casual desire to taste his cooking.

Unfortunately, she preferred milder flavors and couldn't quite accept heavily seasoned dishes.

However, if the food was too salty, eating more Superpower Rice helped.

Her appetite left Qu Jianlei a bit speechless, as she ate five large bowls the size of human heads.

With such a small body, he wondered where all that Superpower Rice went.

After dinner, Yuanyuan drove back to the Brotherhood's residence in a super exaggerated heavy off-road vehicle.

Lubricant was drinking alone in the yard and asked upon seeing her, "Isn't that guy very troublesome?"

Yuanyuan was startled before answering, "The man is quite nice. I say, can you cause less trouble in the future?"

"Nice?" Lubricant was surprised by her words, "Did you agree to his unreasonable requests?"

Unreasonable requests? Yuanyuan waved her hand and said blandly, "Some things are not for you to comment on."

Watching her departing figure, Lubricant gaped in astonishment and muttered quietly after a while, "Not for us to comment on..."

Yuanyuan left Celestial Hook Star for a while and accumulated some matters to handle, keeping her busy for several days.

On the afternoon of the sixth day, she found some time to drive over to Qu Jianlei, wanting to discuss Cultivation Techniques again.

Truth be told, she enjoyed such discussions, though rarely finding people to talk with.

Finding someone who could inspire her was even more uncommon. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Unfortunately, the small courtyard was already empty, and Ran Bingluan's watch couldn't be reached.

Yuanyuan knew the Brotherhood still had an eye on this person, so she contacted the organization to inquire about the situation.

Then she learned that Ran Bingluan disappeared three days ago, and had not used the watch since.

Stone's family had returned, so she sought out Stone for the whole story.

Stone replied that Lord Ran Bingluan had moved to a new place, but he didn't know the details.

In fact, Qu Jianlei's new residence was found with Stone's help, but Stone was asked to keep it confidential.

Yuanyuan felt that this Earth Attribute B-level was probably lying, but she had no way—she couldn't force people to talk.

"Did he say when he'd contact you again?"

Stone shook his head, "No, he just said he didn't want to be disturbed in his research."

This was true, Qu Jianlei felt it was a bit noisy here, and although the Brotherhood's affairs had passed, it was too close to Celestial Heart City.

This time he rented a large courtyard in a remote valley, deserted on all sides.

He disappeared for over twenty days until his new Cultivation Technique calculations were almost complete, ending his retreat.

There were still some details that could be improved, but there's no rush, and he could perfect them in fragmented time.

After coming out of retreat, he did not use the watch but quietly snuck back into Celestial Heart City.

He planned to retrieve Kushnier's sachet from Celestial Sharp Star, using a smuggling method.

Ran Bingluan's identity could be used for interstellar travel, but he didn't want to be noticed by the Brotherhood.

He was willing to trust Yuanyuan to some extent, yet why let her speculate that he was going to Celestial Sharp Star for the Qi Gathering Array?

Qu Jianlei went to the Star Port by night, already familiar with smuggling.

However, it was unfortunate, as Xiao Hu discovered bad news—a wandering meteorite group was near Celestial Sharp Star.

Just the meteorite group was one thing, but it also brought strong electromagnetic interference.

For safety, the flight from Celestial Hook to Celestial Sharp was suspended, not resuming for at least five days.

Even when resumed, flights wouldn't be entirely opened, but gradually.

That's unavoidable, for despite being in the interstellar sailing age, some complex celestial phenomena must be appropriately avoided.

Not that starships would definitely be affected, but just a "possible" effect was enough.

Qu Jianlei understood this and recalled how flight delays due to weather were common back on Blue Star.

Many times, just a heavy rain could cause massive flight delays or even cancellations.

Even with the advent of the interstellar navigation era, life remains fragile, and preventing accidents is essential.

Does it mean... I have to wait for a few days? Qu Jianlei's brow slightly furrowed.

All of a sudden, he discovered a flight heading to the Star of Hope, a passenger-cargo starship, and it's tonight.

Return to the Star of Hope for a look? Once this thought emerged, it grew wildly within his heart.

Then let's take a look; either way, there's nothing better to do, and he could perfect his Cultivation Technique during the journey.

Six hours later, the starship heading to the Star of Hope took off, tearing through the dark night sky and quickly disappeared.

The journey was silent, and seven days later, the starship landed on the Star of Hope.

Qu Jianlei mingled among the passengers, exerting a faint Spiritual Power influence, easily exiting the Star Port.

The small lake quickly connected to the network, "Let me check the latest information."

Recently, several incidents have indeed occurred in the Hope Star Realm, some of which are related to Qu Jianlei.

The most crucial of them is the hunt for remnants following Hoyel, the second-in-command of Star No. 4.

"Panda" is a key figure among the remnants, and the Divine Text Research Association even dispatched Supreme Hokkstan to investigate.

Hokkstan made a brief stop at Star One before heading straight to Star No. 4.

From the perspective of the association, Panda is likely still hidden on Star No. 4—a very high probability.

Previously, a targeted Slaughter occurred on Star One against the Cyan Blade Commerce Association; however, amid this, it was the Electromagnetic A-level that stole the limelight.

Panda isn't of Electromagnetic Attribute nor of A-level; everyone is certain of that.

The Electromagnetic Attribute causing chaos on Star One likely aimed to mislead, making everyone think Panda's side shifted its attack focus.

Considering this logic, Panda has a great chance of hiding on Star No. 4, awaiting a suitable opportunity to leave.

Thus, not only did Hokkstan come, but Cyan Blade Commerce Association also hired Supreme Fubi to join Amestina on Star No. 4.

In other words, the search intensity on Star One has significantly decreased—after all, it's been nearly two months.

Currently, only four Supremes are primarily responsible for the examination on Star One.

Four Supremes are still a formidable force, but compared to the previous seven Supremes, it somewhat allows people to relax.

Among them, two Supremes exert the most effort: Arindel from the Cyan Blade Commerce Association's main battle faction, and Cohen from the Divine Text Research Association.

Just these two, Qu Jianlei plans to assassinate them before leaving.

Arindel... is relatively easier to kill, being the only Supreme of the Cyan Blade Commerce Association on Star One.

The Cyan Blade Commerce Association is typically known for bloodthirst and savagery outside the Blade Star Realm, having a "I'm barbaric, who do I fear?" kind of reputation.

Because of this, despite numerous collaborations with outsiders, the lack of good reputation is a major flaw.

Which means most partners have an attitude of "business is fine, nothing else is negotiable."

Cohen, however, is different—who among the Supremes with dreams would want to offend the Divine Text Research Association?

Plus, Cohen himself leans more towards the technical side.

Though he cannot casually divulge the association's findings, but a casual piece of advice is immensely beneficial to others.

Thus, Cohen's surroundings are constantly bustling, truly lively from dawn to dusk.

He doesn't enjoy commotion, holding onto some airs; few dare to approach him, otherwise even nights wouldn't remain calm.

Qu Jianlei walked in the wide suburbs, feeling refreshed for a moment.

Two months ago, he was hiding under a car, barely escaping this planet.

Now he can openly be in a car... no, on the street; what a great feeling.

However, since he's back, he won't just loiter around for a few days and then leave; he intends to kill, to kill Supremes!

Supremes are hard to kill, and it's even harder for an A-level to slay a Supreme, especially in this city bustling with unknown numbers of Supremes.

Last time, when he was about to kill Fahim, he had to make a hasty retreat as Bu Shang Supreme arrived just in time.

In the end, he did manage to land a critical blow, but it took quite the endeavor.

So it's sufficient to first slay one Supreme; trying for a second will likely lead to a siege.

Compared to ordinary people, Supremes react too swiftly.

Of course, encountering a siege doesn't necessarily mean being unable to escape; he managed to flee safely last time, albeit the process involved risks.

In any case, being cautious is always a safe bet. Qu Jianlei pondered: Which one should he choose?

In the next moment, the consciousness from the small lake transmitted over, "Boss, I've found some news."

It no longer called Qu Jianlei master but boss.

Qu Jianlei assumed it was just the personality consciousness of artificial intelligence awakening gradually and didn't pay it much mind, "What news?"

"Hertman is dead, a little over a month ago; he was slashed over thirty times on his back, died from excessive blood loss..."

"According to the authoritative analysis from official institutions, he committed suicide out of guilt!"

"What?" Upon hearing this, Qu Jianlei was stunned.

"How could someone hack themselves over thirty times on the back and call it suicide... It's clearly self-torture, isn't it?"