The term "Emanator"—just hearing it sends a chill through your bones, a glimpse at the might hidden behind such a title.
Within the vast cosmos, apart from Nanook casually obliterating star systems and Lan tirelessly hunting targets, the Aeons themselves rarely take direct action.
Thus, Emanators typically represent the highest combat power ordinary beings can encounter.
Take, for example, the smiling man standing before Tingyun. He appeared entirely ordinary, yet few present dared approach him casually.
Because his identity was none other than Jing Yuan, Divine Strategist General and one of the Seven Arbiter-Generals of the Hunt's Imperial Bow.
He was an Emanator of the Hunt.
Could anyone guess this by just looking at him?
Not at all.
Yet, provoke him, and perhaps before long, you'd find yourself greeting the Lightning-Lord personally.
Just imagining that scene made everyone's scalp tingle.
But even more terrifying was that the Lightning-Lord represented only his martial strength—his true pride lay in strategy and cunning.
Become his enemy, and if you lost half a tooth tripping on the road, you'd inevitably wonder if he had orchestrated it.
And now, unexpectedly, yet another Emanator-like existence appeared—a completely fresh face at that.
"I've never seen this face before."
The crowd's eyes lingered on Hoshigaki Sora, certain they'd never seen him anywhere before.
Neither on the Galactic Network nor in the intelligence archives of various known Emanators did his face appear.
Naturally, this unfamiliar presence attracted immediate attention.
But as people's gazes examined Sora more closely, their brows furrowed in confusion.
Because they discovered something off about his physical condition.
"His muscles are slack, and his strength is pitiful…" a mech-intelligence murmured after scanning Sora's body. Clearly, he wasn't in great shape.
Actually, he was borderline terrible. Could someone in such poor condition truly be an Emanator?
And this poor condition also implied something else:
The amount of Path energy in his body couldn't be high at all.
Path energy was practically universal power—coveted by countless factions across the cosmos.
A sluggish mech-intelligence could speed up its processes dramatically with Path energy!
If your body was too frail, a bit of Path energy could make you healthier instantly!
All things considered, anyone—human or mech—with significant Path energy would never have such a suboptimal physical state.
Sora's current state was, at best, sub-healthy.
It wasn't that people outright disbelieved his status as an Emanator; rather, their trust and confidence weren't particularly high.
Sitting there, Sora suddenly noticed many pairs of eyes drifting his way.
"What? Why are you all staring at me? Can I somehow stop the Swarm Disaster myself?"
Sora felt baffled. Wasn't the current topic supposed to be those Swarm Kings? Why stare at him? Could he possibly just end the disaster single-handedly?
Seriously, what exactly were these people thinking?
"Indeed, as this young brother said, our priority should be discussing how to effectively strike back against the Swarm Disaster."
Another voice chimed in, echoing Sora's thoughts.
Glancing over, Sora saw Jing Yuan nodding slightly in his direction.
Behind him, Tingyun waved gently with a smile.
Clearly, she'd already informed Jing Yuan of Sora's identity.
"Since the earlier strategy can't be readily implemented, does the IPC have a backup plan?" Jing Yuan turned toward the Interastral Peace Corporation's representative.
"This, well, this…" the representative stammered awkwardly.
Just moments ago, seeing everyone focusing on Sora, he'd thought he could divert the subject.
But unexpectedly, Jing Yuan had yanked it back firmly.
What to do now? Mishandling this could seriously damage the IPC's prestige.
Damn, what now?
The tense atmosphere from before returned. Jing Yuan was right—knowing Sora might possess Emanator-level power didn't solve the actual crisis.
After all, no one would seriously consider having an Emanator personally fight the swarm on the frontlines—that would just be embarrassing.
However, just as the representative scrambled for words, another figure stepped gracefully to his side.
"Due to the emergence of the Propagation Emanator, our backup plans are currently undergoing economic reassessment. Please allow us a little more time."
The speaker had violet hair and wore a mesmerizing smile, yet her serpentine gaze lent a dangerous edge to her charm.
"Jade?" someone immediately recognized her.
Indeed, it was Jade, one of the Stonehearts of the IPC's Strategic Investment Department!
"Please rest assured," Jade declared confidently. "The Interastral Peace Corporation takes this Swarm Disaster extremely seriously."
"These insects are one of the universe's greatest scourges. Having finally found such an opportunity, naturally we won't let it slip away. In fact…"
She paused briefly, then dropped a bombshell that stunned everyone present:
"Given the current situation, if these Propagation Emanators prove too formidable, Diamond may consider intervening personally."
Gasps filled the room instantly.
Diamond?
He was the most renowned Preservation Emanator known today.
After joining the IPC, he became the undisputed leader of the Stonehearts in the Strategic Investment Department.
The Stonehearts were renowned across the cosmos; each member possessed formidable combat power, yet even they bowed willingly to Diamond's command.
Clearly, Diamond's strength was unfathomably deep—not to mention his status as an Emanator of Preservation, perhaps the most esteemed Path.
So, when Jade invoked Diamond's name, chatter in the room immediately quieted down.
Everyone knew the Aeon of Propagation had fallen to a coalition of Aeons, though how many exactly joined that battle remained uncertain.
But if one had to name the most famous participant, everyone knew clearly:
Wasn't it the Aeon of Preservation who shattered Propagation in three hammer blows?
It was said the universe itself leaped three Amber Eras forward that very day.
No wonder the battle left such a deep impression.
Now, with Propagation Emanators appearing in the Swarm Disaster zone, having Preservation Emanators intervene suddenly seemed completely natural.
"Could this be destiny itself at work?" someone murmured, excitement bubbling up within the conference.
Aeon clashes were extremely rare—witnessing Emanator-level battles was just as thrilling.
Instantly, tension eased throughout the room.
Seeing the shift in atmosphere, Jade's venomous gaze flicked briefly toward her fellow IPC representative.
Looks like your faction has lost again.
Had Jade not appeared, the Company's dignity would certainly have taken a heavy blow today.
Her intervention salvaged their prestige, scoring another win for the Stonehearts in this internal political battle.
Now, it was time to smoothly end the conference and begin careful planning…
"So, when exactly will Diamond take action?"
An abrupt voice shattered Jade's smooth conclusion.
Everyone turned their heads, spotting that same troublemaker from earlier.
"You've said all this, yet somehow it sounds like empty promises." Sora stood, all traces of weakness now vanished, directly confronting Jade.
"Let me ask you clearly—since you say Diamond will intervene, when exactly will he do it?"
"Right now, that sector still has over a hundred planets teeming with life."
"If he doesn't move soon, are you just planning to let them all be overrun?"
Jade's eyes narrowed slightly, scrutinizing the man before her—the one who alone dared speak out when all others had fallen silent.
"And you are…?"
"Just someone passing by the Swarm Disaster area. Who I am doesn't matter—the people trapped inside that disaster do."
"Since you've organized this meeting, hurry up and propose an actionable solution instead of continually stalling. Every second you waste is another planet devoured by the swarm."
"How long exactly do you intend to wait?"
Such blunt, naked questioning undoubtedly caused everyone present to stare at Hoshigaki Sora in astonishment.
Even after the Company brought up Diamond's name as their trump card, someone actually dared to relentlessly press further.
In this moment, many silently began to respect Sora—whether or not you truly had Emanator-level strength, just your sheer guts made you worthy!
"Oh? Now this is interesting." Dr. Ratio, who had just yawned and planned to leave, suddenly found himself captivated by this scene.
Anyone with eyes could see that the IPC was just looking for a step to gracefully end the meeting.
But unexpectedly, a hothead jumped out and made things awkward for the Company.
Ratio had only one word for such a person: "Idiot."
But "idiot" didn't mean hopeless. Quite the contrary, sometimes Ratio even admired idiots like these.
Though these types often charged ahead in entirely the wrong direction, their determination was unmatched.
If that kind of determination could last, Ratio would actually hold them in higher regard.
Unfortunately, most backed down and chose compromise after recognizing reality.
Those people were the ones Ratio despised.
But this fellow in front of him now… he had that same scent of idiocy, forcing the Company into a difficult position at such a moment.
"Good thing I didn't leave earlier—I would've missed this show." Dr. Ratio removed the plaster from his head, locking his gaze onto Sora.
Let's see, idiot: will you charge straight to the bitter end, or retreat halfway through?
The atmosphere in the meeting had turned oppressive again. Sora's words plunged the previously easing mood back into freezing tension.
And his target was none other than the greatest power in the galaxy—the IPC.
"How long exactly do you intend to drag this out?"
"Our company has already mobilized all available resources to deal with this matter."
"You say Diamond will act, so why isn't he here himself? Why send you just to pass on his message?"
"Diamond has many factors to consider: resource allocation, personnel deployment… these things can't just happen overnight…"
Jade's hologram gradually approached until she stood just before Sora.
"Mr. Hoshigaki, not everyone is like you—utterly alone." She leaned in, whispering softly near his ear, "In this universe, there are many poor souls who will never find their salvation."
Sora's eyes widened at her words.
But Jade had already stepped back, addressing everyone else in the room again. "Such catastrophes are rare across millennia. Doing everything we can to address them—that's our strategy."
"Tomorrow at this time, another meeting concerning the Swarm Disaster will convene. I trust you will attend once more, Mr. Hoshigaki."
With that, Jade's image vanished.
Soon, the other factions also disconnected from the call, one by one.
Sora took a deep breath, struggling to contain the turmoil surging inside him.
He waved away the concerned gestures around him—after all, he was an adult and needed to learn to control his own emotions.
"If there really is another meeting tomorrow, it won't be these same faces," Robin spoke up at that moment.
"At the first meeting, everyone's giving face to the IPC. But next time, different representatives might take their place."
"Normal. Who doesn't know how to put on appearances?" A sudden voice drew Robin's attention behind her, where she saw the familiar owl emblem. "Doctor Ratio?"
But Ratio ignored Robin entirely, brushing past her straight to Sora.
"Did you know? Within the Genius Society, there's always been a very intriguing speculation about the IPC's Preservation."
"Are you talking to me?" Sora was confused—he didn't recall any connection to this person.
"Well, in this entire room, you're the only one radiating such a dense aura of idiocy."
Hearing this, Sora immediately choked up.
What the hell? Why had everyone suddenly taken to calling him an "idiot" recently?!
He was pretty smart, okay?!
"Guess what that speculation about the IPC is?"
"Uh, credits?" Sora offered the obvious answer. After all, the entire universal currency was issued by the IPC, and using currency to stabilize interstellar markets certainly counted as Preservation.
Ratio shook his head. "Within the Genius Society, there's a fascinating theory about 'what exactly the IPC's Preservation embodies.' That is: making people believe they're protected by the IPC."
Robin interjected, "You mean making those outside the IPC believe they're protected by it?"
"Incorrect. It's to make those already under the IPC's protection believe they're truly safe."
At this moment, Jing Yuan stepped forward to correct Robin's misunderstanding.
He then smiled warmly toward Sora. "I've heard Bu Yi speak of you before, Mr. Hoshigaki. After meeting today, I must say you more than live up to your reputation."
"I also wish to thank you for saving my people of Luofu from that Propagation Emanator." Jing Yuan expressed sincere gratitude to Sora. "Today's discussion has given me an even deeper understanding of you."
"Wait," Dr. Ratio suddenly interrupted their exchange, staring at Jing Yuan. "Are you saying he actually defeated a Propagation Emanator?!"
Everyone knew the Swarm could cause hallucinations.
Earlier, Ratio had assumed Jobs merely mistook Sora defeating some random bug for defeating a Propagation Emanator.
But now it seemed the situation wasn't quite what he'd imagined.
"Oh? Even the renowned Dr. Ratio isn't aware?" Jing Yuan showed genuine surprise.
"I truly wasn't informed of this matter. Could you elaborate?" Ratio's curiosity was exactly this straightforward.
Whenever he realized something he didn't know, he would immediately ask without shame.
Jing Yuan promptly recounted everything Tingyun had told him.
"…That planet-sized Deceiver Swarm King was utterly shattered by Mr. Hoshigaki within just three moves. I truly regret not being there to witness it personally." Jing Yuan sighed wistfully, wishing he had seen such a scene firsthand.
After hearing this, an unusual expression surfaced on Dr. Ratio's usually serene face.
Idiots charged relentlessly forward, stopping only when hitting a wall head-on.
But now here was an idiot with the power to shatter whatever obstacle stood before him—so how far could such an idiot actually go?
"I look forward to your future performance. Tomorrow, I'll attend the meeting again." Filled with anticipation, Dr. Ratio departed.
He was eager to see just what this idiot would choose next.
After Dr. Ratio left, only Sora and Jing Yuan remained, standing face to face.
"The long-silent Galaxy Rangers have unexpectedly gained a new member. If you ever visit Xianzhou Luofu, please allow me to show you the finest hospitality."
Jing Yuan immediately extended goodwill toward Sora.
"No need for formalities. Just call me by my name," Sora hastily replied, uncomfortable with Jing Yuan's respectful formality.
After all, this man was older than forty of him put together.
"Hahaha! If you insist, Brother Sora, then I shall gladly oblige." Jing Yuan quickly adjusted his tone, then revealed the real reason he'd sought Sora out.
"I could sense your convictions clearly in the earlier exchange. Indeed, you live up to the reputation of a Ranger."
"But Brother Sora, I suggest you rest here a little longer."
"But…" Would they just abandon those planets in the Swarm Disaster zone?
Jing Yuan quickly revealed his intentions. "All the Xianzhou ships are already en route here. Once assembled under Marshal Hua's leadership, the Swarm Disaster will undoubtedly be eradicated."
Right now, all seven Xianzhou were racing here at maximum speed.
"So, Brother Sora, waiting just a little while longer here is enough. Of course, it's merely my suggestion."
With that, Jing Yuan patted Sora's shoulder and departed.
Wait here for a while, huh?
Sora considered for a moment, then turned his attention to his system:
[Please initiate your next power extraction.]
Then let's gamble once more!