Let Me Put on a Show: A Star in Every Bite

The car pulled up at Jun'an Community. A woman clad in a bodysuit stepped out, an urgent expression written across her face. "The great war is about to begin. It's no longer safe here. I have to take Xiao Yuan away. Going to the Tianyuan Sect is his only glimmer of hope." The bodysuit-clad woman was "Xiao Mei," and she was also the apprentice of the parents of Qi Yuan's current body. She had always been quietly keeping an eye on Qi Yuan. Originally, she had not wanted to disturb his peaceful life. Yet now, war was imminent, and the entire Qinyuan Kingdom was about to fall. She had to take Qi Yuan with her; she could not let her master's bloodline be extinguished. Inside the residential compound, pedestrians hurried by, all bearing anxious expressions. The Eyes of the Sky had been destroyed, and Can Star's grand armada could descend from the stars at any moment. Everyone could smell the gathering storm clouds of war. Heading up the stairs, the woman's thoughts drifted. *In my short life, I've actually witnessed so much history.* She could not help but sigh with emotion. Soon, she arrived before the door of Qi Yuan's apartment. Looking at the door in front of her, a hint of trepidation surfaced in her heart. Taking a deep breath, she pressed the doorbell. About five breaths of time passed. The door swung open, and an exquisitely crafted, slender robot came into view. "Hello. How may I help you?" Zero-One asked politely, holding a phone in one hand as if recording a video. From deep inside the apartment came the mournful meowing of a cat. "I'm here to see Qi Yuan. It's urgent," the bodysuit-clad woman said hurriedly. "My apologies. My master is not at home," Zero-One replied. "Where is he right now? I have an emergency—a matter of life and death!" The woman grew anxious. If Qi Yuan went missing at a time like this, disaster would strike. "My apologies. That involves privacy; I cannot disclose my master's whereabouts." "This concerns Qi Yuan's very survival! Forget about privacy!" The woman's voice tightened with urgency. The Tianyuan Sect's dharma boat would depart in just three days. Time was running out for her. "My apologies. I do not have the authorization to disclose that." Zero-One's tone was flat and uncompromising. The woman gritted her teeth. "You..." Just then, a gentle voice called from inside the apartment: "Zero-One, it's fine. I'm back." As the words fell, Qi Yuan's figure stepped out from the interior. He had just stepped off the bridge manifested by Emperors Shu and Hu, returning to his home. Dressed in a blood-red robe, he looked peerlessly handsome. Seeing Qi Yuan's face, the woman was momentarily dazed. Although she had seen Qi Yuan decades ago, this time felt entirely different from the last. "Qi Yuan, I'm..." "Yeah, I know. You're Xiao Mei." Qi Yuan recognized her as well. "You didn't come to ask for your money back, did you?" Qi Yuan felt a bit conflicted and hesitant. He had not bought Arch Star yet, nor had he saved enough money to buy land and build the Netherworld. He was pinching pennies right now and really did not want to repay any debts. "No." The woman pressed a hand to her forehead. "The great war is starting..." "Are you out of money?" "No." "I know you're in a rush, but hold on a second. I have something urgent to handle. Can we talk after I take care of it? Give me, say, ten minutes? An hour?" Qi Yuan asked. He was itching to welsh on the debt. Why should he repay money borrowed through his own sheer ability! This mortal world was truly full of malice at every turn. Cut off mid-sentence, the woman could only nod at his words. "Fine. Make it quick. I have urgent matters to discuss with you." "Great. Go on in and take a seat. Bye-bye." Qi Yuan pushed her into the apartment, and at that very instant, his figure vanished into thin air. He left behind only the worried woman. Still, having seen Qi Yuan, she breathed a sigh of relief, assuming nothing was amiss. *** Out in the pitch-black depths of cosmic space, several azure and fiery-red orbs could be seen from afar. Like the eyeballs of colossal beasts, they hovered in the vast universe, solitary and deathly still. Deep in the cosmos, utter silence reigned, as though it were a world that had lost its voice. Meteorites drifted, and streaks of light flashed past. Looking ahead, nearly a hundred space warships formed a vast formation cruising through the cosmos. The warships gleamed with a cold, silvery-white luster, their distinct designs commanding dread at a single glance. Inside the lead warship, Pang Qie, a demon man draped in a robe of human skin, wore an arrogant smirk. "These human gadgets are quite amusing. This speed... it's even faster than a Purple Mansion." "These warships are the latest models. Any single one is enough to flatten the Qinyuan Kingdom. Of course, compared to the esteemed lords of the Myriad Demons Realm, they are nothing more than scrap metal," a man in specialized combat gear said fawningly. He was the commander of this warship and the supreme commander of this operational plan. Of course, the true supreme authority was the demon beside him, Lord Pang Qie. "The destructive power of these warships is indeed astonishing, and they truly aren't easy to deal with. But as long as you take care of the people inside, they're quite ordinary," Pang Qie said. If the Myriad Demons Realm were to clash head-on with these warships, there was no question they would suffer heavy losses and lose many Purple Mansions. However, the Myriad Demons Realm had been clever, choosing to corrupt the upper echelon and take control of Can Star from the top down. Now, Can Star's fleet was also in the hands of the demon race. The soldiers and officers deployed for this campaign were all warmongers. "We are mere mortals; naturally, we cannot hold a candle to your lordship!" the commander flattered. Just then, a voice suddenly resounded across the fleet. "Hey, excuse me, which way to Can Star?" Hearing this, the soldiers aboard the warships instantly tensed up. The fleet commander's heart seized as well. "Trace the source of the voice! Scan for unidentified lifeforms!" he barked in haste. In just a few breaths, a blood-red figure appeared on the main screen. Standing atop a massive meteorite was a man dressed in a blood-red robe. "An immortal cultivator?" Pang Qie bared his teeth, a grin spreading across his face. "To traverse the stars like this, he must be a Purple Mansion. So this is Qinyuan's trump card—a single Purple Mansion?" "Hey, you guys wouldn't happen to be Can Star's fleet, would you?" the blood-red figure asked once more. The meteorite beneath his feet kept pace with the fleet the entire time. Pang Qie looked at the blood-red robe, a look of appreciation entering his eyes. "You have decent guts. If you swear fealty to me as your master, I can guarantee the safety of your lineage!" Pang Qie offered generously. Aboard the meteorite, Qi Yuan paused upon hearing this. "Not only do you want to cancel the Martial Arts Tournament, but you also want to kill me?" Pang Qie found Qi Yuan's words utterly baffling. Then, he sneered, "It seems you have guts, but no brains. In that case, let's just kill him. Spare the idle chatter." "Understood!" The captain quickly acknowledged and barked out orders. "Target locked! Power up the Tiancang Heavy Cannons—exterminate him!" At the captain's command, the fleet rapidly dispersed, moving at extreme speeds as they jumped through space. In mere breaths, they surrounded Qi Yuan, cutting off every route of retreat. The muzzles of the Tiancang Heavy Cannons swiveled and locked onto Qi Yuan. The Tiancang Heavy Cannon was a formidable weapon designed from the conceptual fantasy of star-busting cannons. It was the most powerful weapon mounted on space warships, and the second most potent weapon on Can Star, rivaling even the Eye of the Sky. At the captain's command, over a hundred Tiancang Heavy Cannons locked onto Qi Yuan. Electronic synthesized voices echoed in unison: "Charging... 3, 2, 1..." Excitement flared across the captain's face. This kind of weapon could obliterate even immortals! A mere Purple Mansion was nothing more than a corpse in a tomb. Seeing this, Qi Yuan in his blood-red robe maintained a calm gaze. "Looks like there are quite a few villains among the NPCs." He stood in place, entirely motionless. Countless missiles and beams of light fired toward him from all directions in a saturation strike. Even a Grand Sovereign would have found it impossible to escape at this moment. Yet he was Qi Yuan. A fleet of this level? He didn't care about it in the slightest. "Too boring." Qi Yuan parted his lips and blew a single breath forward. Within the originally soundless cosmos, a monstrous tempest abruptly surged. It was like a cosmic storm, like stars bursting apart. Countless meteorites pulverized into nothingness in that instant. The shells and beams flying toward Qi Yuan all crumbled to dust. As for those warships, not a single alarm had time to blare; every soldier and demon inside died instantly under Qi Yuan's single breath before they could register any reaction. In the silence of outer space, there was not even a sound of explosion. A formidable fleet had been wiped out just like that, without stirring up a single ripple. "You couldn't even handle a single breath from me, yet you talked so big. What a joke!" Qi Yuan yawned and cast his gaze around. "Is that glowing green planet Can Star? The sun next to it is a bit glaring. It's totally in the way!" Arch Star and Can Star's system was only slightly larger than a typical solar system. Within this stellar system, there were two stars. Well, not counting Qi Yuan's own projected one. "Off I go." In the cosmic void, Qi Yuan's figure vanished. *** Meanwhile, within Can Star's largest military base. A man in a military uniform rushed in, his face pale with panic. "Marshal! The Sailing Fleet... we've lost contact!" "Lost contact?" The marshal was briefly taken aback. "Did they simply lose signal?" "Marshal, it's far worse than losing signal! Our soldiers'... Thousand-Li Dark have all died!" The Thousand-Li Dark was a specialized organism—or rather, a bacterial culture. A portion was implanted into the soldiers' bodies, while another portion was kept in culture dishes. If a soldier died, the corresponding bacterial culture would perish, causing the culture in the dish to die as well. Their function was analogous to soul lamps in the cultivator world. When the soul lamp went out, the person had fallen. "What? Every single one is gone?" The marshal's expression changed drastically, panic showing on his face for the very first time. Didn't this mean the entire fleet had been annihilated? That was an armada of nearly a hundred space warships—a force where a single vessel had historically been enough to conquer an entire nation. Now... completely gone. How could he not be terrified? "Did any message come through?" The marshal stomped his foot in agitation. The deaths of soldiers were a minor matter; failing the Myriad Demons Realm's mission was a catastrophic one. "None! The connection was severed completely! "However, just before the connection cut off, the fleet encountered an enemy and even activated the Tiancang Heavy Cannons." "This... Immediately bring the Starry River Defense Line to full power! Forbid anyone from stepping onto Can Star!" the marshal ordered at once. If—if the fleet had been destroyed by an enemy, then that enemy's strength was beyond terrifying. If such a monstrous foe penetrated Can Star itself, their hands would be tied, just as had happened with the Myriad Demons Realm. The best course of action was to execute him in outer space. The Starry River Defense Line was Can Star's greatest defense system in space. This defensive network comprised seven celestial bodies. Five of the seven were natural satellites of Can Star, while two had been captured using advanced technology. The Starry River Defense Line formed by these seven bodies bristled with Can Star's most powerful weaponry. The moment an intruder appeared, it could be brought online. At full power, the Starry River Defense Line was horrifyingly lethal. Orbital cannons, fantasy-type star-busting cannons, super-energy radiation, stellar bombs, cosmic light—every manner of formidable weapon was at its disposal. It was enough to blast a small satellite into smithereens. "I must report this to the Demon Lord and the King at once!" the marshal said hurriedly. *** Time ticked away, minute by minute. Inside the grand royal palace, the Thousand-Eyed Demon Lord listened to the dispatch with an unruffled expression, his head resting upon the pale, scallion-white thigh of a young royal consort. "An enemy attack? How amusing." He did not care in the slightest. The aged king stood to one side, his face devoid of emotion. The princess stood nearby, her nerves stretched taut. Right at that moment, a holographic projection suddenly appeared inside the palace. "I am robot Zero-One, here to deliver my master's message: "'Can Star is arrogant and conceited, dreaming of invading Arch Star and canceling the Martial Arts Tournament. Today, I shall pay a personal visit to test your mettle.' "My master, Qi Yuan, will descend upon Can Star in three minutes. "Those who surrender shall live! "Those who resist shall be shown no mercy!" The mechanical voice rang out, cold and merciless. Only then did the reclining Thousand-Eyed Demon Lord sit up, a flicker of murderous intent surfacing in his eyes. "Amusing. To think someone dares threaten me to my face." The Thousand-Eyed Demon Lord rose to his feet, exuding intense malevolence. The king remained numb, offering no words. In the princess's eyes, however, a barely perceptible gleam of excitement flickered. "Demon Lord, what should we do?" The marshal bowed his head, terrified. After all, the intruder had annihilated an entire fleet; he was clearly not someone to be trifled with. "Don't you have the Starry River Defense Line? The void of space shall be his final resting place!" The Thousand-Eyed Demon Lord's gaze was ferocious; he had no fear of Qi Yuan whatsoever. In his eyes, this Qi Yuan who had wiped out a fleet was at most a peak Purple Mansion. He himself was a peak Purple Mansion, and the Myriad Demons Realm boasted triple digits of peak Purple Mansions. In terms of combat prowess, he feared nothing. What was more, the Starry River Defense Line was genuinely potent. Even ten peak Purple Mansions would likely fail to breach it. "Understood! I will ensure he never reaches Can Star alive." "Hmph, a mantis trying to stop a chariot—courting his own death!" The Thousand-Eyed Demon Lord scoffed with disdain. Beside him, the princess felt a pang of worry rise in her heart. Right then, the combat robots sounded an alarm: *Beep. Intruder detected at the Starry River Defense Line. Commencing extermination!* *Orbital cannons activated!* *Cosmic Obliteration Beams activated!* ... *Fantasy-type star-busting cannons activated!* Countless devastating weapons surged to life. At this moment, anyone who looked up at the sky would find it ablaze with light from end to end. However, human vision was not keen enough to see the details. On the surveillance screens, endless sparks flared and crisscrossing beams of light flashed. All seven weaponized satellites were operating at full capacity, unleashing a torrential saturation bombardment. A dense barrage of weapons, beams, and radiation rained down on the target without regard for cost. "Even I could not withstand an assault like this. Hmph, he came merely to throw his life away," the Thousand-Eyed Demon Lord remarked coldly. Out in space, Qi Yuan stood motionless. Countless artillery shells and energy attacks struck his body, yet they could not even pierce his blood-red robe. His expression was calm, tinged with a hint of disappointment. "I thought that since you dared cancel the Martial Arts Tournament, you'd have some real trump cards. Turns out it's just this? What a letdown," Qi Yuan said softly. And his voice seemed to disregard space entirely, resounding across Can Star at that very instant. Every single inhabitant of Can Star heard Qi Yuan's voice. "What is that?" "Did you hear that?" "Is that the voice of a god?" Everyone raised their heads and looked toward the sky, but they could see nothing at all. They were incapable of witnessing the battle unfolding in outer space. For the first time, a look of gravity crept into the Thousand-Eyed Demon Lord's eyes. "Crank up the power and destroy him!" "Understood!" the marshal barked, hastily passing down the order. Just then, the vast voice echoed once more: "Walking for so long has made me a little hungry... Wait till I grab a bite to eat, and then I'll have a good chat with you all." As the words fell... The sky suddenly turned blood red. All white light vanished from the world, replaced entirely by crimson radiance. "What is that?" "What's going on?" "A planet?" Everyone looked up, filled with confusion and dread. Because above their heads, the starry sky was gone, and the sun had vanished. What they could see was a... rounded, massive object resembling... a star. No, there were two of them! "Those are... eyes?" The numb king's eyes went wide. Because the abrupt shapes in the sky that blotted out all light appeared to be... the eyes of some colossal behemoth. A voice boomed at that moment: "Growing big feels so much better after all. Shriveling up in a tiny body all the time was really boring. Sigh, but growing big has its downsides too. My eyeballs are practically pressed against Can Star, yet I still can't see you clearly!" He stood in the cosmic void. Can Star was not even the size of his palm; his body spanned across the universe. At this moment, he seemed entirely unfettered by the rules of the cosmos. The moment he appeared, every single person could see him. His voice did not propagate through the air like ordinary sound; the moment it sounded, everyone heard it. The Thousand-Eyed Demon Lord trembled violently, completely unable to speak. The rest of Can Star's populace lost all courage at that moment, falling to their knees one after another. Meanwhile, on Arch Star, countless tens of thousands of li away, all the citizens saw that blood-red figure as well. When a Yang God's dharma idol body was manifested, all living beings could behold that terrifying form, transcending distance and space. Can Star was far from Arch Star. From Arch Star, Can Star normally appeared no larger than a fist. Yet now, blood-red light had replaced the sun. A humanoid behemoth stood in the cosmic void, seemingly eclipsing Can Star. The sun near Can Star looked no larger than the palm of his hand. Every human who had been panic-buying supplies froze, instinctively looking up at the sky. Fortunately, their "vision" was exceptionally sharp this time. They clearly saw a colossal titan standing in the depths of space. "What is that blood-red thing in the sky?" "Is that a person?" "Are my eyes playing tricks on me?" "Mommy, waah, I'm scared! Honey!" At that moment, the blood-red titan in space turned around, sweeping a massive hand forward. The star near Can Star was instantly seized in his grip. A vast voice boomed at that instant, echoing not only on Arch Star and Can Star, but also across the image projected by the shadow-recording stone in the Origin Land: "Do you understand the weight of being the reigning champion of seventy-six consecutive Martial Arts Tournaments? "How dare you invade Arch Star and cancel the Martial Arts Tournament!" On Can Star, countless people were terrified. Being so close, they could not see Qi Yuan's face at all; they could only glimpse the tip of the terrifying titan's iceberg. The princess's face was pale with terror as Fang Hun's words echoed in her mind. Fang Hun had said there was a powerhouse on Arch Star—a very strong one. She had known he was strong, but never imagined he would be *this* strong! In the Origin Land, all the Martial Lords were completely dumbfounded. Martial Lord Heilu's eyes went wide, filled with disbelief. "This is... Qi Yuan?" He could not comprehend it; it defied all imagination. That terrifying physique could crush the entire Origin Land under a single foot! A Martial God? Back on Arch Star... Countless people were dazed, and then overwhelmed with excitement. "Mr. Qi! It's Mr. Qi! Hahahaha!" The king burst into laughter, which quickly turned into tears of joy. Gongyi Qing also knelt on the ground, staring up at that terrifying silhouette, bowing repeatedly in reverence. Qi Yuan's wife had destroyed the Eye of the Sky. They had originally assumed Mr. Qi was weaker than his wife. With Can Star invading, they feared Mr. Qi might struggle to hold them off. Now... how could this be called "struggling to hold them off"? This was utterly horrifying! Incomprehensible—truly beyond all understanding! How could such a being exist in this world, with a single fist the size of a sun? Didn't that mean that if he wished, a single strand of hair could crush Arch Star into dust? Atop a tall building, a seventeen-year-old youth looked at his white-haired grandfather. "Grandpa... weren't you the runner-up in the Martial Arts Tournament?" He looked at his grandfather, his eyes brimming with excitement and fervor. If the champion was this strong, then no matter how weak the runner-up was... he couldn't be that weak, right? Meanwhile, in Jun'an Community, the bodysuit-clad woman swallowed hard. Xie Xinsu's eyes went wide as she shivered uncontrollably, terrified to make the slightest move. Standing upstairs, Wu Qi's eyes were filled with awe and worship. *Was I really that bold back then?* She suddenly remembered how she had tried to seduce Mr. Qi while wearing nothing underneath. Mr. Qi was this massive... how could her tiny body have ever endured that? The young man who had just replied to Qi Yuan on the forum was also stunned. "Bro... you were for real?!" At this moment, everyone's gaze was fixed on that terrifying blood-red figure. Then, the colossal blood-red titan moved. He reached out a hand of unimaginable proportions and plucked the star of Can Star's stellar system right out of space. A murmur echoed: "Having grown this big, I've never eaten a star before." He raised the star and shoved it into his mouth. *Crunch.* Sparks and explosions erupted inside his mouth. Qi Yuan savored the taste. "Not bad. Tastes just like deep-water popping candy. Makes my mouth a little numb." After finishing off the sun, the colossal entity could not help but cast a glance at the sun of Arch Star's system, a flicker of greed flashing in his eyes. He swallowed his saliva. In the end, he overcame his appetite through sheer willpower. He turned his gaze back toward Can Star, his voice booming like thunder: "I'm about thirty percent full. Come on, let's continue our talk. Are you surrendering... or resisting?" Qi Yuan's voice echoed across every corner of Can Star. On this day, all of humanity truly bore witness to history.