Adrian's starship continued its journey through the intergalactic void, unaware of the pirate vessel closing in on them. The ship's detection systems showed nothing unusual, operating as they always had throughout the journey.
It was only when the pirate ship drew closer that Adrian sensed it.
A subtle disturbance brushed against his perception, faint but deliberate. His senses reached outward instinctively, and he detected the presence of another starship approaching them from an oblique angle. What troubled him was not just its proximity but the fact that the vessel remained completely invisible to the starship's detection systems.
That alone was enough to make Adrian wary.
Their sensors had functioned flawlessly for months. If something could bypass them so completely, it was almost certainly intentional. And intention, in situations like this, rarely meant anything good.
Adrian kept his perception focused outward, tracking the approaching vessel's trajectory. It moved with purpose, adjusting course to match theirs perfectly. This was not the behaviour of a passing ship.
As he focused further, a sharp alert rang out from the UNI-OS, which was currently linked to the starship through the void navigation system.
› Stellar Suppression Field Detected…
The effect was immediate. Everyone aboard felt it at once, a crushing pressure descending upon them like an invisible weight. The ability to circulate mana became sluggish, and domains that could once be summoned instinctively were now completely inaccessible.
Kael jerked upright, his hand flying to his chest, "What the—"
"Something's wrong." Selena raised one hand, attempting to manifest gravity essence, but nothing responded. Her fingers trembled slightly.
Elara moved to the viewport, pressing one palm against the transparent surface. Her gaze swept the void beyond, searching. "We're being suppressed."
Adrian was already in the command deck, and within moments, everyone else converged there as well, drawn by the sudden suppression. Aerin appeared at Aurelia's side, her small face scrunched in confusion.
"Mama, I can't feel space anymore," the child whispered.
Aurelia pulled Aerin close, "Stay beside me."
When they arrived, the main projection displayed an interstellar vessel positioned directly opposite their starship.
Adrian activated the Stage Detection System.
› Detected Multiple Divine Cultivators…
› 7 Early Rule Stage — Mid-Tier Divine Concepts Detected…
The projection updated, overlaying the pirate vessel with glowing markers indicating the cultivators within.
Adrian's gaze hardened slightly as he processed the information. Early Rule Stage cultivators wielding mid-tier divine concepts would typically possess around seventeen percent authority. The system had not yet displayed the authority estimate, but Adrian did not need it. He could infer that much on his own.
The main problem now was that Adrian had no clear measure of how much mana or willforce it would cost him to erase an Early Rule Stage being wielding Mid-Tier Divine concept outright. These beings were a little stronger than Arcton, but there were seven of them. Acting blindly was never wise, especially now that others depended on him. Still, he was not concerned. He had anticipated scenarios like this long ago and had prepared a solution specifically for them.
For the moment, he waited. He wanted to confirm whether these newcomers were truly hostile.
The others aboard were far from calm. Being suppressed so completely, unable to even summon their domains, made them feel powerless, and that helplessness ignited anger in many of them.
"This is absurd," Max growled, his usual lazy demeanour replaced with barely restrained fury, "We're sitting ducks."
"Stay calm," Adrian said, his tone even, "Don't do anything reckless."
Soon, two humanoid figures emerged from the pirate vessel. Their appearances were similar to Kraeth's, elongated limbs and faintly unnatural proportions marking them clearly as non-human. They floated forward through the void, closing the distance between the two ships.
One of them spoke, his voice transmitted clearly through the UNI-OS translation system, "Little kids, surrender now. Don't try to make any plays."
The meaning was unmistakable. Space pirates.
Even within the Milky Way, such beings existed, but Adrian had never directly crossed paths with them before. He studied the two figures through the viewport, noting their casual arrogance, the way they drifted forward without caution. They genuinely believed this would be easy.
Adrian turned slightly and spoke calmly, "Remain here. I'll be back shortly."
Concern flashed across the faces around him. Elara stepped forward, "Adrian, you can't just—"
"I'll handle this," Adrian interrupted, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Thomas reached out as if to stop him, but hesitated, "Be careful."
Aurelia's grip on Aerin tightened, "Don't take unnecessary risks."
Adrian met their gazes, his expression unreadable, "I won't."
In the next instant, Adrian blinked out of the starship.
Spatial essence folded around him, carrying him across the void in a heartbeat. The suppression field pressed against his power, attempting to smother it, but Adrian's Source essence moved through the interference as though it didn't exist. The field was designed to suppress domains and mana circulation, but it had no authority over Source.
He materialised outside the starship, floating in the empty void between the two vessels.
The two pirates froze mid-approach, their eyes widened in visible shock.
"What—" one of them started, his voice crackling through the translation device.
Seeing him blink and use his power didn't surprise the crew watching from within the starship. Adrian had already explained the cultivation stages in the universe to them, and since he couldn't reveal anything about his Source, he'd mentioned that he had already comprehended a divine concept.
But to the pirates, this scene was impossible. They clearly hadn't detected a divine cultivator aboard that ship. Their scanners had shown nothing but mortals. So how could this being just blink like this?
One of the two floating figures activated a communication device embedded in his wrist, his voice tense. "Boss, this kid just blinked. He's still using power somehow."
Static crackled for a moment before Kraeth's reply came, "It's probably a deflection device. Don't overthink it. He's just a mortal. Finish the job quickly."
Reassured, the two pirates turned their attention fully to Adrian, who now floated calmly before the massive starship. Their initial shock faded, replaced by sneers.
"Nice trick, kid," one of the pirates said, his voice dripping with disdain, "But toys won't save you."
Adrian floated motionless, his robes barely stirring in the airless void. The suppression field pressed against everything around him, yet he remained utterly still, as if the crushing weight meant nothing.
"It's been a while since someone called me a kid," Adrian said, his tone relaxed.
The Universal Translation System conveyed his words flawlessly, the meaning transmitting through both pirates' devices without delay.
The pirates burst into laughter. They had seen this countless times before, mortals from isolated civilizations who believed themselves powerful, unaware of how insignificant they truly were in the universe. Without a Rule Stage escort, Adrian was obviously from a backwater world, at least in their eyes.
The first pirate gestured dismissively, "Look at him. Still talking."
His companion sneered, leaning forward slightly, "Let me give you some advice, kid. Even if you've got some device to bypass suppression, whatever little power you think you have won't do a damn thing to us."
Adrian met their gaze directly, "You have it backwards," he replied.
"You think you're explaining reality to me," Adrian continued, "but from where I stand, you're the ones who look like kids."
One pirate burst into laughter, doubling over as if Adrian had delivered the finest joke he'd heard in years, "Hear that? He still doesn't get it."
The other mocked him openly, "You should be grateful. Most mortals don't even get to speak before they're subdued."
"We're being nice," the first added, his tone patronising, "You could be in chains already."
Adrian said nothing more. Instead, he activated his Source Domain.
The change was instantaneous.
A sphere of white-grey radiance unfurled around Adrian, expanding outward in a perfect thirty-metre radius. The void itself seemed to shudder as reality bent to acknowledge his presence. The suppression field pressing down on everything in the area flickered, then collapsed entirely within the sphere's boundaries.
Inside the pirate ship, alarms erupted as every sensor screamed at once. Displays flickered wildly, struggling to process the readings flooding through their systems.
› Detected 1 Peak Rule Stage — Ultimate-Tier Divine Concept
› Divine Concept: Unknown
› Estimated Authority Range: 85–90%
The numbers burned themselves into Kraeth's vision. His third eye snapped fully open, its pupil constricting violently as raw information flooded his perception.
"Peak Rule Stage…?" someone whispered in disbelief, their voice barely audible over the blaring alarms.
Another crew member stammered, "Ultimate-tier… that's impossible. We scanned them. There was nothing—"
"Shut up!" Kraeth snarled, his hands gripping the command console hard enough to crack its surface.
Peak Rule Stage beings were sect-master-level existences. Legends whose names alone could make lesser cultivators flee. Worse still, this one wielded an Ultimate-tier Divine Concept, placing him at the absolute pinnacle of Rule Stage cultivation.
Kraeth knew with certainty that even the sects within the Andromeda Galaxy did not possess someone of this calibre. The strongest he'd ever heard of was a High-tier Divine Concept wielder at Peak Rule Stage.
Then why had none of their scans detected him? Even if he hid his cultivation with advanced concealment methods, why was someone of this level travelling like a mortal in a basic starship?
Fear flooded Kraeth's mind. His eighteen percent authority meant nothing before someone wielding close to ninety.
"Full retreat!" he roared, his voice cracking, "NOW!"
The crew scrambled, fingers flying across consoles as they desperately attempted to disengage the suppression field and activate their void drives.
Outside, the two pirates floating in the void felt the crushing weight of Adrian's divine concept's tier.
The first pirate's eyes widened in terror, "No… this can't—"
The second tried to retreat, his body jerking backward instinctively, "Boss! BOSS!"
Standing against this pressure, they knew this was not a deception or a trick from a hidden device. They were facing someone vastly beyond them, someone whose divine concept crushed theirs as easily as a stellar cultivator would dominate a mortal.
"I told you," Adrian said calmly, his voice steady and unhurried, "from where I stand… you're the kids."
The void itself seemed to agree.