147. Do You Believe Me If I Say I'm Just a Bystander?
The biggest feature of the Heroic Empire was its inclusivity: no restrictions on race, faith, or status. You could freely change your identity and residence within any of the federated civilizations. As long as you pledged loyalty to the emperor, you could enjoy this freedom forever.
In his previous life, Li Aozi was a [Starfall Master] under the Heroic Empire, changing civilizations 34 times and nationalities 28 times. This was practically a faith-based meritocracy—declare your belief, pass an exam, and the Empire would issue you a citizenship card.
Through such methods, the Heroic Empire's appeal to immigrants was immense, gradually siphoning away the core strengths of the [Temple of Annihilation] and [United Company].
Although Li Aozi's ultimate destination was the Heroic Empire, heading there now wasn't an option. Sure, the Empire was welcoming, but as a stateless cosmic drifter, he'd still face discrimination, cold stares, and be barred from using public facilities.
However, with those spirit maggots in hand, he knew the Temple of Annihilation would stop at nothing to acquire them, so Li Aozi decided to head directly to the nearest Temple-controlled planet.
Of course, flying there non-stop would take years. To save time and avoid unnecessary trouble, Li Aozi planned to fly a certain distance and then use a stargate for teleportation.
—Even a small planet like Azure Star attracted the attention of two secret societies, both serpentine and deceptive. Li Aozi was worried about what other societies might be lured into the cosmic fray.
Space travel was too dangerous; better to get out of dodge fast!
Upon reaching space, Li Aozi unlocked a new title, [Pioneer of the Future], which granted a 20% boost to his [Intelligence] gains. This title's effect overrode [Autocrat].
Aside from boosting his Intelligence from a mere 7 to a more formidable 8.4, it wasn't of much use to Li Aozi.
By Azure Star standards, this was the equivalent of jumping from a bachelor's degree to a master's—though still a degree with a 40% plagiarism rate.
Intelligence wasn't particularly helpful for Li Aozi. He had [Autocrat], which increased his risk of societal corruption, and without at least 15 points of Intelligence, the stat didn't contribute much to combat.
If he needed deeper wisdom or sharper thinking, Sequence Fifty-Nine • [Erudition] and Sequence Forty • [Sage] could fulfill that need.
The former allowed him to search through his bloodline, tribe, or even civilization's past memories across time and space.
The latter was simpler: it enabled him to make the right decision in any situation instantly.
With [Autocrat] in hand, Li Aozi didn't need to worry about Intelligence until his class change to [Pope].
Space travel was monotonous and dangerous. Li Aozi's body accelerated continuously, and before he knew it, more than ten days had passed—equivalent to the time it took for the players in the biochem pool to finish a burger.
By then, Li Aozi had reached 40% of light speed. Using the gravitational pulls of two massive stars, he had boosted his speed to 80%, but no matter what, his body couldn't push beyond 90%.
Fortunately, that speed was enough.
Li Aozi remained mentally focused. Sub-light-speed travel wasn't easy, so the moment he escaped Azure Star's gravity, he activated his "celibacy" mode to slowly accumulate experience.
His main class had already reached level 60, and since his [Biochemist] subclass was based on a personality overlay, it didn't affect his total level.
So, no matter what, he had to max out his [Mutant] class before advancing.
"Looks like I'll need a proper secondary profession under [Architect] to ease the pressure of leveling up."
A subclass could at least reduce some of the pressure during advancement, especially since most stat bonuses would eventually convert to [Charisma], thanks to [Autocrat].
He was one step away from ascending to Gamma-tier, but now faced an annoying issue—he couldn't complete his Gamma-tier task.
The Gamma-tier task for [Mutant] was simple: complete the class change.
It seemed easy, but Li Aozi was still flying through space, and the inheritance of the [Echoer] class would take him back to the Feines Federation to deal with their endless bureaucratic procedures.
Li Aozi didn't have the patience for that. The Feines Federation's lifespan ranged from 300 to 400 years, and their administrative processes moved at a snail's pace. Worse, they often concocted bizarre, paranoid theories.
Once, a high-ranking official from the Heroic Empire tried to return to Feines but was barred entry—the border guards suspected he was a fugitive escaping prosecution. They detained him for a week.
It sounded reasonable, right?
—That man was the president of the Feines Federation, returning via a civilian flight because his ship had malfunctioned.
The Feines Federation often pulled stunts like this. Li Aozi figured they'd drag out his process for two or three years.
By then, David Lin might have already risen to power in Frost-Plated.
Besides, with his current limitations—constantly in [Dominator Mode]—his power was significantly weakened, making completing the class change too risky.
After deliberating for several days, Li Aozi decided on a course of action—get to a stargate, sort out his and the players' identities first. Being a "black account" in the Star Abyss meant zero protection. It didn't matter which planet the stargate teleported him to, as long as he could settle down somewhere.
Li Aozi had memorized the Star Abyss star charts by heart. Once he left the Azure Star system, he immediately recognized the familiar route, so he didn't have to worry about colliding with anything—he could just relax and fly toward his target planet.
Li Aozi was in luck. Throughout his journey, no Feines Federation ships detected him. This trade route was usually congested, but for some reason, no one was vying for airspace.
He was ecstatic, zooming through space like a racecar on an empty highway, crashing through the civilian lanes without any interference from the interstellar traffic authorities.
Unfortunately, Li Aozi soon realized his luck had run out.
After three months of continuous flight, Li Aozi encountered a problem: he was too far ahead of schedule.
At this point in time, the trade route might not have even been officially tested yet.
"Li Aozi, Li Aozi... Do you know why no one's stopping you?"
Li Aozi stared silently at the laser grid in front of him, as neutron torpedoes erupted into deadly plumes, and fusion rays violently tore through the stars, vaporizing asteroids and plowing through uninhabited planets, only to be deflected by the enemy fleet's force shields.
Amid thousands of missiles, small assault ships carrying transcendent beings darted toward the enemy fleet's flagship, superhumans wielding nuclear rifles and magical blades. Even from tens of thousands of kilometers away, Li Aozi could clearly see the massive outlines of the battlefield.
The probing attacks across several light-years had ended. The cold wreckage indicated the war had reached its final, intense phase. Both sides were now fighting up close, at a distance of less than 3 million kilometers—almost face-to-face in cosmic terms.
Everything around him confirmed it: Li Aozi had stumbled into the middle of an interstellar war between advanced civilizations.