Gao Wu: You have science, and I have magic!

Its facial features were constantly reorganizing, sometimes resembling Ye Qingzhou, sometimes resembling Qingdi, changing in a dreamy and blurry manner, and finally freezing into the face of an old man that the three had never seen before.

When it spoke, the entire Jianmu network resonated: "You who have touched the ultimate inheritor of the universe... you have touched the first heaven."

The Emperor Mie was calm as ice, but he deliberately put on an angry posture, clenched his fists and challenged: "You are playing tricks! Do you dare to fight me?"

The purpose of inviting a fight is to stimulate the opponent to come down and descend into the Taixu Universe, so that one's side can have the home advantage.

But the old man showed no expression of either sadness or joy, and did not fall into the trap.

He exhaled lightly, blowing away the fragments of the barrier of the Fruit of the Myriad Worlds. "I am the Watcher Zero, an existence older than all the epochs."

Qingdi's vision of Jianmu suddenly felt a sharp pain - he saw the original shadow of the World Tree in this being, but it was more... primitive and pure.

“You think you’re fighting an invasion?”

The Watcher's voice caused dimensional ripples: "No, you are participating in a test."

Ye Qingzhou's sword energy suddenly stopped: "Test?"

"The multiverse has countless worlds, and each world has a world tree. Every era of rebirth is an ultimate test. Only those who reach the other side can participate in the assessment."

The faces of the galaxies began to decompose and reassemble: "Whoever can break through the shackles of the thirty-six heavens will be able to see... the true ultimate of the universe."

Following these words, the fourth to thirty-sixth universes suddenly lit up.

They turned into steps, and each universe presented a clear path of advancement, showing a deeper realm of martial arts than "Zhoutian Huanyu".

Emperor Mie spat out a mouthful of blood foam: "So those antimatter fleets and mechanical civilizations..."

“It’s just part of the test.”

The face of the watcher began to blur, and his voice became even more ethereal, as if it came from the sky, filling all directions: "Now make a choice. Continue forward and you may be annihilated; or stop here and keep the existing universe safe."

The Qing Emperor's roots swayed gently: "What if we choose to move forward?"

"Then the real test begins."

Thirty-six star gates appeared in the void, and a trembling breath came from behind each gate: "Every time you pass through a level, you will be able to regain the true meaning of martial arts that was lost in an era."

Ye Qingzhou suddenly laughed.

His sword energy was no longer on guard, but turned into a pure stream of light surrounding his body: "Do I still need to choose?"

The Emperor of Destruction also ignited his fighting spirit, and all the golden scrolls of entropy lit up, forming larger geometric shapes on his skin: "A higher realm is really exciting!"

The Qing Emperor said nothing, but his Jianmu roots had already actively entangled the first star gate.

The watcher's face finally showed a hint of a smile: "Very good. The trial of the first heaven is..."

The star gate suddenly expanded and swallowed up the three people.

The final echo reverberates across the dimensional gap:
"...In a world where the spirit and energy are locked...it proves the significance of the existence of martial arts..."

When Ye Qingzhou opened his eyes, the dazzling white light made him instinctively raise his hands to block it.

This simple action gave him a shock—his arm felt light and fluttery, and the physical strength that was once enough to split the stars disappeared without a trace.

"Newborn Ye Qingzhou, brain wave synchronization completed."

A cold mechanical voice came from above: "Welcome to join the Third War Academy of Shenma Star."

He sat up suddenly and found himself lying in a pure white medical cabin.

Through the observation window, you can see countless cubic buildings suspended in the air and aircraft shuttling between them.

What shocked him the most was that he could not sense any spiritual fluctuations in the air.

"Please proceed to the testing area for a mental fitness assessment."

The hatch slid open, and a suspended metal sphere glowed. "You have been in a coma for 72 hours. The school needs to confirm the sequelae of brain overload caused by your forced driving of the Skylark mecha."

Ye Qingzhou subconsciously wanted to summon the Wuji Sword, but found that his dantian was empty.

Only a faint trace of sword intent remained between the eyebrows - that was the spiritual secret method obtained after the improvement of the heart sword secret technique in "Zhou Tian Huan Yu".

That night, Ye Qingzhou was arranged to return to the dormitory.

The electronic calendar hanging on the wall of the room showed that the "Freshman Mental Power Rating Competition" was held three days ago, and the original owner had an accident because he did not have enough mental power and forced himself to drive the mecha.

He sat cross-legged on the bed, trying to practice the most basic "Six Forces of Military Conflict", but found that he could not condense even a trace of sword energy.

"Sure enough, after changing to a new universe, due to the change in the basic constants, the techniques involving body and qi training are no longer useful."

He looked at his palm with a wry smile.

In this universe, the dimensional sword energy of "Zhou Tian Huan Yu" has become a tree without roots, and only the "Heart Sword" chapter involving spiritual cultivation can still be sensed.

After a moment, the dormitory door slowly slid open with a slight sound of metal friction after sensing the biological signal.

My roommate Li Ming walked in with heavy steps. The hem of his school uniform was stained with oil from the training building. He looked like all the energy had been drained out of him, and he looked listless.

He threw the toolbox to the ground with a clang, breaking the silence in the room. Then he slumped down on the bed, and the spring bed creaked under the weight.

"Are you still thinking about Chu Yao?"

Li Ming supported his knees with his elbows, raised his head and looked at Ye Qingzhou who was still sitting cross-legged, his eyes full of fatigue and helplessness.

"Brother, give up. We are just ordinary people. Without the innate spiritual power, we can't even reach the threshold of being a pilot. Look at us. We finally got into the War College, but what's the result? We still have to study maintenance and do the job of cleaning the butts of mechas."

Ye Qingzhou lowered his eyes slightly and said nothing.

He could feel the bitterness in Li Ming's words, which was the unspeakable pain in the hearts of countless ordinary students like them.

Outside the window, the lights of the aircraft drew brilliant tracks in the night sky, but this prosperous interstellar scene seemed to have nothing to do with them.

Seeing Ye Qingzhou didn't say anything, Li Ming sighed heavily and continued, "Do you know? Today in the training building, I saw Chu Yao driving the brand new Skylark mecha with my own eyes. She was like a fish in water in the simulated battlefield. Her mental power fluctuations were so strong that the mecha seemed to come alive in her hands. And we..."

He paused, his voice a little frustrated: "We have trouble even operating the most basic mechas, let alone galloping on the battlefield like her."

Ye Qingzhou stood up, walked to Li Ming, and patted him on the shoulder: "Don't be so pessimistic. Do as much as you can. Everyone's talents are unique. We are born with talents that can be used. Being admitted to the War University has proved our abilities. There is no need to give up on ourselves."

Li Ming didn't know whether to laugh or cry when hearing this: "You guy, you're actually trying to comfort me? It's obviously you who's trapped in love and unwilling to give up..."

Ye Qingzhou got a lot of useful information from his roommate. The planet he was on was called Shenma Star, and it belonged to a force called the Human Union, whose full name was the Pan-Universe Human Alliance, and it was a highly secularized society.

The Supreme Council is the highest authority of the Human Alliance and is composed of representatives from various planets.

The Parliament decides major affairs of the Human Alliance through voting, such as making laws, planning development strategies, and allocating resources.

The parliament has several committees, which are responsible for different areas such as military, diplomacy, science and technology, and people's livelihood.

The War College is the product of cooperation between the military and science and technology departments. Its main purpose is to train pilots and develop new mechas.

On the second day, the maintenance class's training workshop was filled with the smell of engine oil and burning metal.

Ye Qingzhou's hand holding the wrench paused, and his gaze fell on the chest cavity of the half-disassembled Guardian-class mecha in front of him - the diamond-shaped crystal that was flashing with a faint blue light was resonating faintly with the sword intent between his eyebrows.

"Is this the spiritual resonance core?"

He picked up the circuit board with tweezers and used the flashlight beam to see the neural connection patterns running on the surface of the crystal.

Last night, when he was practicing the Heart Sword Secret Art, he saw countless golden threads passing through his palms in meditation. At this moment, the trajectories of those threads were surprisingly similar to the circuits on the crystal connection diagram.

"Don't touch it!"

Li Ming's voice came from behind, with the caution of a maintenance student: "Last week, a freshman short-circuited the resonance regulator, and the instructor punished him to clean the mecha tripod for three days. He was exhausted."

Ye Qingzhou withdrew his hand, but his fingertips gently brushed the edge of the crystal.

A cool touch spread along the nerve endings, and the sword intent between the eyebrows suddenly rippled, as if some dormant power was gently tapped.

He remembered what the Guardian Zero said about "a world where essence and energy are locked". Could it be that in this universe, the so-called "mental power" is actually a variant of the martial artist's consciousness?
When the practical training class ended, dusk had already penetrated the floor-to-ceiling windows of the workshop.

Ye Qingzhou had just put the toolbox back in place when he suddenly heard a tide of exclamations coming from the corridor.

Li Ming tugged at his sleeve, his eyes full of gossip: "Chu Yao's Skylark mecha has been put into storage. It's a limited edition with pink paint. I heard that the custom paint alone cost 30 million star coins."

The students in the maintenance class crowded on the observation deck, watching the streamlined mecha slowly sliding in on the suspended track.

The rose gold armor exudes a pearly luster under the light, the plum blossom patterns on the wings are outlined with nano-level reflective material, and the tail vertebrae jet nozzle is inlaid with twelve diamond-cut energy crystals.

This is not a weapon of war at all, it is clearly a mobile jewelry box of the powerful and wealthy.

"I heard that her father donated three interstellar mineral veins to the academy in exchange for this specially customized model."

Some students grumbled sourly.

The moment Ye Qingzhou looked at the mecha cockpit opening, he felt that the spiritual fluctuations emanating from her were indeed different from the ordinary.

If the mental power of ordinary people around him was like a candle flame, then Chu Yao's mental power was at least at the level of a kerosene lamp.

"Hello, Senior Sister Chu Yao!"

I don't know who took the lead and shouted, and suddenly the maintenance team heard a mixed voice of greetings.

The girl was wearing a well-tailored pilot uniform, her long chestnut hair tied up with a diamond headband. When she passed the observation deck, she suddenly stopped, her eyes swept across the crowd, and finally fell on Ye Qingzhou.

"Are you alright...?"

Her voice was like agar soaked in honey, with just the right amount of concern.

There were gasps all around, and Li Ming even poked him hard in the waist with his elbow - in the entire group of freshmen, no one probably thought that Chu Yao would take the initiative to talk to Ye Qingzhou, who "failed to pass the mental strength test".

"Already healed."

Ye Qingzhou maintained a polite smile: "Your mecha is dazzling."

Chu Yao gently stroked the armor of the Skylark mecha, with a proud arc on her lips: "Dad said that a real pilot must be in tune with the mecha. The resonance core of this 'Pink Butterfly' has been overclocked and adjusted seven times, and now my mental power can synchronize with..."

She suddenly stopped and stared at Ye Qingzhou's brow with suspicious eyes, wondering why there was an extra sword mark.

The students in the maintenance class followed her gaze, but only saw Ye Qingzhou's calm face.

"nothing."

Chu Yao quickly regained her elegant smile: "Tomorrow is the mecha control training, see you then."

The crowd watched her board the special elevator, and only when the metal door was completely closed did they burst into a buzz of discussion.

Li Ming dragged Ye Qingzhou towards the dormitory, still muttering: "She actually talked to you! I heard that you two graduated from the same high school, and she and you often competed for the first place in the school. Could it be that you and her..."

Late at night, Ye Qingzhou sat cross-legged on the bed again.

He put aside all distracting thoughts and allowed the golden light of the Heart Sword Secret Technique to spread along his nerves to his fingertips.

When the first ray of morning light climbed up the windowsill, he suddenly opened his eyes, and a sharp sword energy flashed in his eyes - just now, his mental power actually penetrated the monitoring system of the training workshop and clearly "saw" every joint structure of the guard-class mecha.

And deep in the distant mecha hangar, the Skylark mecha known as "Powder Butterfly" suddenly made a slight buzzing sound.

Under the armor with plum blossom patterns, the blue light of the resonance core lit up strangely, as if responding to Ye Qingzhou's spiritual call.

At noon, the dome of the training hall was dyed golden by the morning sun, and Chu Yao's Skylark mecha slowly rose on the lifting platform.

She lightly touched the control panel, and the pupils of the pink mecha immediately lit up with a glass-like luster, and the neural connector and resonance core in the palm of her hand made a slight electric sound.

In the audience, the crystal cup of the chairman of the school board reflected the smooth lines of the mecha. In Chu Yao's father's suit pocket, the pure gold pocket watch was trembling slightly with his nervous heartbeat.

"Look! The resonance index has exceeded 120%!"

The dean's exclamation drowned out the applause.

Ye Qingzhou stood behind the maintenance seat and saw Chu Yao's mental power wrapped around the joints of the mecha like red silk, demonstrating extremely high control skills.

And between his brows, the sword intent was resonating at a frequency invisible to the naked eye, as if responding to some spiritual call.

"My daughter is not talented..."

Chu Yao's father stood up to give a speech, the Star Alliance business badge on his sleeve reflected a cold light: "But if we can train an ace pilot for the Human Alliance..."

At this moment, the alarm suddenly tore through the air!

The entire building shook violently, and the ceiling lighting system burst into a blinding blue light.

"Oh no, it's the Black Demon Pirates!" (End of this chapter)