Rhine was not unfamiliar with the topic of the Maiden Star Realm, and even felt that the other party couldn’t avoid talking about it.

So she had the opportunity to bring it up again, "Are you going to the Maiden Star System to seek the path beyond the supreme?"

Qu Jianlei first nodded, then shook his head, "Not entirely."

"Not entirely?" Rhine was initially puzzled, then suddenly realized and nodded, "You also want to enhance the foundation of your research?"

She had already assumed that there was a supreme force backing him.

Qu Jianlei continued to shake his head, his eyes somewhat misty, "Not entirely."

In addition to wanting to carve out his own Nascent Soul path, he also wanted to know how those predecessors from the Divine Land arrived and developed.

Rhine was stunned for a moment, then said, "If there is a suitable opportunity, I can introduce you to someone beyond the supreme."

Beyond the supreme... Qu Jianlei pursed his lips and asked in a deep voice, "Which force does this person you know belong to?"

Which force? Rhine blinked, could it be that this person knows more than one beyond the supreme?

After thinking for a moment, she replied, "It should be... actually, there’s no force that can really constrain someone beyond the supreme."

Qu Jianlei smiled indifferently, this person had no idea what he was really asking.

But it didn’t matter, "Okay, if the opportunity arises, I’ll go to Celestial Handle Star to find you."

His words were vague, with a strong sense of perfunctory, and Rhine could tell.

So she stood up again, "Alright then, I’ll have three million delivered to you later, silver notes or energy blocks?"

"Energy blocks," Qu Jianlei replied casually, he still had over two hundred million in silver notes, which he couldn’t use up for now.

Rhine calculated the size of his cargo hold and the cargo capacity, definitely unable to hold three million energy blocks.

But what supreme wouldn’t have a few storage talismans? It’s quite normal.

Rhine was a decisive woman, leaving the market with her people the day after their conversation.

She left only two crew members and that middle-aged man, residing in the attack ship, guarding the damaged starship.

The supplies Qu Jianlei needed arrived gradually a few days later, including the Haiyin Clan’s weapon system and ammunition.

These supplies cost him over ten million in silver notes, leaving just barely two hundred million in total.

Fortunately, the attack ship was sold, netting him thirty million in energy blocks.

Then he piloted the worn-out 8384 away, with a small sense of anticipation in his heart.

Many in the market saw that his starship was loaded with an expensive set of computing units, along with numerous energy blocks.

Wonder if there’s anyone daring enough to attempt a robbery?

Or encounter that annoying guy from last time again, the remaining attack ship in the cargo hold could make up for the deficiency in speed.

Rhine’s armed merchant ship could fight back strongly, why couldn’t his?

Unfortunately, although Qu Jianlei was prepared, he traveled safely all the way.

The worn-out starship reappeared at Lanyun Market, half a year later.

This time it didn’t come alone, accompanying it was an armed merchant ship and three attack ships.

Two of them were assault-type, and one was a raid-type.

Someone recognized that the armed merchant ship was the former vehicle of the kitchen maid.

This meant that the kitchen maid, who hadn’t appeared for more than half a year, indeed fell into the hands of this force.

Some secretly felt lucky, while others became wary, wondering if a new powerful force had emerged.

Qu Jianlei brought these starships to sell, but it took over a hundred days to sell any.

He paid one hundred and ten thousand in venue fees, yet didn’t manage to sell a single ship.

As he was about to leave, someone came to negotiate a purchase, resulting in the sale of two attack ships for forty million.

The armed merchant ship, which Qu Jianlei had high hopes for, surprisingly didn’t sell.

He hadn’t set the price high, only two hundred million, but the highest offer was only one hundred and ten million.

All the buyers expressed, although your price isn’t high, there’s no way to loan your merchant ship!

The asteroid belt is indeed controlled by many major forces, but no one can easily come up with two hundred million in cash.

Does it mean that stolen goods really can’t fetch a high price? Qu Jianlei wasn’t sure if this was just an excuse.

In any case, making him lose ninety million was out of the question, so he could only leave disappointedly.

A year later, the worn-out 8384 came to Lanyun Market again.

This time Qu Jianlei didn’t bring the merchant ship and attack ship; he only planned to ask if anyone was interested in buying.

If no one was still interested, he would consider having Little Lake’s clone send the 8384 back, and he would stay in the market for a bit longer.

Throughout this past year, he had been using the Spirit Gathering Array for cultivation, and his cultivation level steadily improved.

However, the more he cultivated, the more he could feel the limitations of the Spirit Gathering Array.

There was still time before reaching the limit, but he was already a bit worried about not finding an array for further enhancement by then.

So he was considering whether to secretly hitch a ride on someone else’s starship, to visit Celestial Blade or Celestial Handle Star.

After all, constantly curling up on an abandoned mineral star body for cultivation not only disconnects one from society but also stifles new inspiration.

However, hitching a starship also posed a problem, as while getting there might be okay, returning wouldn’t be so convenient.

He also considered whether to drive the high-tech replica warship for a jump and go look for the Haiyin Family.

However, it is impossible for the high-tech replica warship to land on a habitable planet.

There are many choices, but none particularly suitable, as there are always various drawbacks.

Qu Jianlei pondered on this, deciding to stay at the market for a while longer, hoping to find a better solution.

That was his plan, but unexpectedly, on the day of the big market, someone came to discuss purchasing an armed merchant ship.

The other party offered 180 million, which was quite sincere, but Qu Jianlei indicated that he wasn’t in a hurry to sell.

"—You haven’t brought the goods, you should understand what I mean."

The result was that the buyer proposed new conditions, saying two hundred million could be considered, but asked Qu to guard the mine for two years.

In the asteroid belt, hiring an armed merchant ship to guard a mine is a common practice.

But obviously, this kind of job cannot be accepted casually, at the very least, one must have convincing strength.

This also means that Qu Jianlei’s decimation of the kitchen maid’s team brought some positive effects.

He considered for a moment and stated that two years at twenty million was a bit low — after all, he had a team.

The other party replied, "Your team isn’t large, everyone has seen that, we are very sincere in discussing this matter."

A year ago, 8384 stayed at the market for over a hundred days, with at most one person leaving the starship.

Time proves everything, even if he hides, he cannot withstand other people’s observation and analysis.

To Qu Jianlei, cultivating is cultivating anywhere, he just simply wanted to earn more money.

If he could sell the armed merchant ship quickly, his cash flow would reach an unprecedented four hundred million.

Since the other party mentioned it, he inquired in detail about where the mine was located.

This mine was indeed no simple matter, located on the Gedel Star Body, currently the third-largest body in the asteroid belt.

The body’s diameter exceeded three thousand kilometers with thin atmosphere, featuring three large mines.

The three mines belong to different forces, and currently hiring him is the Sail Consortium.

Qu Jianlei accepted the deal and left with the worn-out 8384.

Ten days later, 8483 arrived at Gedel carrying the kitchen maid’s warship.

Prior to landing, he received an inquiry from the ground.

Upon learning he was a guard for the Sail Consortium, they instructed him to land in a specific area, with a rather stiff attitude.

No choice, it was his first visit, not knowingingly entered someone else’s territory — It’s understandable the other party wasn’t welcoming.

Hence it was evident that the relationship between the three mines was indeed poor.

The Sail Consortium’s mine area was not small, exceeding a hundred thousand square kilometers, and there are currently two major mining zones.

Under the ground’s guidance, 8384 landed with another starship, and the mine soon sent personnel to inspect the starship’s condition.

After a full inspection ended a day later, the other party paid 180 million in silver notes.

The remaining twenty million silver notes would be paid annually, ten million per year.

This pay-after-work method felt somewhat unfair to Qu Jianlei.

Nevertheless, the other party indicated that at that time, he could choose either cash or energy blocks, which seemed like a favorable condition.

After the transaction was completed, the starship left Gedel, leaving only 8384 to guard the mine.

The other party also inquired whether accommodation and meals were needed, offering fairly favorable prices.

Qu Jianlei declined without hesitation — even if he wanted to agree, he would need to make some companions appear, wouldn’t he?

He gathered information and chose an area without ores, piloting the starship there.

Then, under the mine’s scrutiny, he walked out of the starship alone and began the finger technique.

Onlookers can’t help but discuss, "This guy should be A-level, but what is he trying to do?"

"Seriously? An earth attribute A-level? Is he building a house?"

Qu Jianlei’s approach is quite simple and rough.

First, he lifted a section of rock, then used methods to convert rock to soil, along with the armed merchant ship’s machinery arm, physically digging out a big hole.

The large hole was half underground, essentially a semi-underground hangar — strictly called a ship dock.

Then he began repairing the stone gate, employing a simple push-pull method.

Under the gaze of many, Qu Jianlei single-handedly completed the construction of his residence in just half a day.

People from the mine couldn’t help but marvel, "Seriously? Is there really such an impressive A-level?"

"Can’t be Supreme though, but the current issue is that this ship dock seems poorly armored."

"If constructed like this, is it possible to discuss with them improving our accommodation conditions?"

"Don’t even think about it, having an A-level doing construction is insulting, they’d only do it for their own people."

"But doing it this way means the warship forgoes observation capability, isn’t that bad?"

"Information can be shared, but... you’d need to give them a high-powered walkie-talkie."