Chapter 60: The Shattered Peace (Bonus Chapter)

Within the cold, shadowed cells of the Central Temple, the divine attendants had been deep in contemplation for a long time. At last, Ye Lian composed herself, her expression solemn, and began to speak in a slow, reverent tone.

Her voice radiated a profound faith and piety toward the Star Father.
“All of this is the arrangement of the Star Father. As mere mortals, we cannot glimpse the intentions of the divine.”

“If it is the will of the Star Father, then even if we cannot comprehend it, we must obey unconditionally.”

Yao Yuan was taken aback. He had not expected that the people of Celestial Vault Star would possess such unwavering belief, but he could only press on with his questions.

“Were all your divine arts taught by the High Priest? Is it true, as the history books record, that the High Priest once destroyed a planet using a black hole?”

“Our teacher is the Chosen of the Gods, the emissary of the Star Father upon this world, and he possesses power bestowed by the divine.” Su Xiaoyi nodded, his eyes shining with boundless veneration for Shen Xing as he continued, “He once destroyed a massive planet using a black hole, saving all life on our world.”

“Later, foreseeing that alien species would invade Celestial Vault Star, our teacher recruited the six of us as his disciples and personally taught us the divine arts.”

With this confirmation, the five from Earth looked at one another, confusion clouding their eyes.

Shen Xing not only possessed the power to destroy worlds, but also the ability to foresee the future. How could humanity possibly contend with such an opponent?

Was he not, perhaps, some higher-dimensional being?

A sense of despair began to creep into Yao Yuan and his companions’ eyes, and at last, they could only sigh. “The High Priest is right. The universe is vast and boundless, and there remain many mysteries unknown to us.”

“Perhaps, in this world, there truly exists a creator such as the Star Father.”

Though they now believed in the existence of the Star Father, the perspective of atheism still led these Earthlings to attempt to understand this deity through a materialist lens. In their hearts, they reflected silently:

“The Star Father might simply be an existence of higher dimensionality than ourselves—just as we create robots, programming them to obey our commands forever.”

None of them noticed Ye Wu’s deep, lingering glance at Yao Yuan. Suddenly, the noises of Qu Shixin and Lin Luan behind them broke the silence.

“Their companions have come to rescue them—we must prepare for battle.”

Yao Yuan and his group raised their heads sharply, hope flickering in their eyes for an instant.

But that hope was quickly extinguished.

They knew that against Shen Xing—who could create black holes and destroy planets—even the arrival of Earth’s main fleet would do little to alter the balance.

Before leaving, Su Xiaoyi spoke a final sentence:

“In light of your cooperation and good behavior, our teacher has permitted you to move freely within the temple.”

With that, Su Xiaoyi and the other five turned and left, leaving the cell door quietly open.

Within the cell, Yao Yuan rose first, worry etched across his face as he spoke to the others. “Let’s go out and take a look.”

They stepped out of the cell, uncertainty about the future and the safety of their companions weighing heavily upon them.

The five of them were thus granted freedom within the temple, precisely as Shen Xing had ordered.

They had already witnessed the extraordinary nature of Celestial Vault Star, and the once steadfast bedrock of atheism in their hearts had begun to crack.

Shen Xing, knowing these Earthlings could never escape this world, decided to let them witness the power of divine arts more deeply.

He wanted them to see with their own eyes those forces that defied all reason, to awe them and pave the way for the next stage of their ideological transformation.

Wandering through the enigmatic temple, the group gazed upon ancient runes carved into the walls, as if concealing endless wisdom.

Above them, the dome was adorned with a cosmic tableau of Celestial Vault Star, stars flowing in their courses and telling the legend of the Star Father.

Silently, Shen Xing’s plan unfolded—he would show these people from Earth that, before absolute power, all resistance was futile.

He believed that true wisdom would lead them to surrender before the might of the divine, for that was the wisest choice for survival.

Within the temple, the five from Earth wandered, pondering ceaselessly.

Perhaps the Star Father worshipped here was not so simple as they had once imagined. Perhaps, in this universe, there did exist powers beyond human comprehension, and they were but insignificant before such forces.

...

After Yao Yuan and his group lost contact, under Lu Hongfeng’s orders, the experimental spacecraft returned to the embrace of the Vanguard Ship.

All eyes were fixed anxiously on the ship’s main screen, watching the developments within Celestial Vault City.

Nearly all of the Vanguard’s combat strength had been deployed in the form of armed mechs—a testament to the Earthlings’ caution and gravity.

As they returned from Celestial Vault Star to orbit, everyone aboard awakened from the adjustment pods, including Albert.

After centuries of separation from the planetary atmosphere, many suffered adverse reactions, but after a period of recovery in the pods, they had largely shaken them off.

Learning of Yao Yuan’s group going missing, Albert’s face was deathly pale. He knew that, once such an event occurred, peaceful relations between Earth’s civilization and that of Celestial Vault Star might already be impossible.

Even if those aboard the Vanguard Ship could accept it, those in the main fleet would never tolerate the possibility of being provoked by a lesser civilization.

“Activate threat detection,” Lu Hongfeng ordered, his face expressionless, sending commands to several probes.

“Enemy armed firepower detected taking off… Enemy firepower lock detected… Assessing… Assessment result: No threat.”

“Assessment result: No threat.”

“Assessment result: No threat.”

Though this was merely a routine procedure, all aboard understood: the antique-like thermal weaponry of Celestial Vault Star could not harm their ship in the slightest.

It was as if an ant were trying to shake a great tree—the disparity was so vast that it was not truly a contest.

“Destroy their weapons,” Lu Hongfeng ordered instantly. If not for the risk of friendly fire, the Central Temple would already have been reduced to ashes beneath Earth’s firepower.

Above Celestial Vault City, over a hundred fighter jets roared into the sky, swiftly converging over the city.

The pilots’ orders were to first force the strangely shaped machines out of populated areas, then to destroy them in safe zones.

Thus, their gazes locked onto those heavily armed, technologically advanced mechs within their sights.

But when they tried to locate targets via radar, their screens returned nothing but a chaotic blizzard of static.

This unpredictable, untraceable stealth ability instilled an unprecedented sense of crisis in the fighter pilots.

As they attempted to visually lock on, the mechs suddenly opened fire—lasers rained down from the sky, and the fighter jets were struck down one by one with pinpoint accuracy.

The heavens blossomed with brilliant explosions, and the wreckage of the jets fell like a meteor shower, streaking across the sky toward the ground.

Next, the mechs turned their weapons on the ground-based anti-aircraft bases, the muzzles of their energy cannons shining with the light of destruction.

With several deafening blasts, the ground erupted in massive explosions—the entire anti-air base was wiped off the map.

“Bang!”

“Who are these people?” the military defense chief roared, slamming the table before him. Among the downed pilots and the destroyed bases were countless friends, comrades—even family.

Yet the faces of the soldiers, wracked with grief, remained cold and impassive.

This was wartime. In this moment, those who had never before experienced such calamity slipped instantly into their roles. The only thing that could give them courage now was the Star Father.

Faith kept them from collapsing, and hope compelled them to keep fighting.

The district governor, his shock barely suppressed, steadied himself and turned to the furious military minister, his voice trembling, “What… what kind of weapons are these? We have never encountered anything like them before.”

“Will the High Priest be in danger?”

“The High Priest possesses divine power—he should be unharmed…”

Hearing this, the secretary beside him nearly replied with certainty, but a flicker of doubt touched his heart.

He had never witnessed the High Priest’s power with his own eyes.

Yet, almost immediately, he was ashamed of his uncertainty, for the High Priest was the incarnation of the Star Father upon the earth—invincible and unassailable.

But who, truly, were these sudden and terrifying enemies?