After that, Rora Starsea exchanged with Evergreen for a translator and carefully gave a few instructions to the python before finally letting Liam Zhao and his four companions leave.
Watching the five men and two snakes disappear into the distance, she checked the time. Seeing that it was still early, she went to the transport ship's nutrient dumping area and managed to snatch quite a bit of leftover nutrient fluid. Only then did she head home, walking in the warm glow of the setting sun.
As soon as she stepped through the door, she saw Xuanxi sitting on the sofa, fiddling with his wristband.
Hearing her footsteps, Xuanxi turned his head and said, "I've finished the design plan for this settlement. Take a look and see if there's anything that needs to be changed."
Though he said that, his tone carried quiet confidence — he clearly didn't think any part of it needed modification.
Rora Starsea's wristband chimed. She opened the file Xuanxi had sent her and found a detailed architectural plan. From the center — where her settlement stood — the planet's entire landmass was covered with elegant black-tiled, white-walled buildings nestled amid lush greenery. The overall scene was stunning.
"Well? What do you think?" Xuanxi looked at her, unable to hide the pride shining in his eyes.
Rora Starsea glanced at him, hesitated for a moment, then said, "Uh… I only asked you to design the layout for thissettlement. Why did you go ahead and design everything else too?"
Xuanxi coughed lightly, pretending to be casual. "I had some free time anyway, so I figured — why not just design the whole thing?"
Out of the corner of his eye, he secretly waited to see a look of delight on her face.Instead, he saw her brows knit together slightly, her expression troubled. His confidence wavered.Did I do something wrong?
Thinking that, he asked nervously, "Do you not like something about it? Tell me, and I'll fix it."
Rora Starsea's gaze drifted, a little embarrassed. "Actually… I was planning to use a different style of architecture for the other regions. I just… didn't expect you to have finished designing all of them already."
As she spoke, she awkwardly rubbed her nose.
Xuanxi froze in place. A faint blush crept up the tips of his ears as his eyes darted anywhere but at her.He hadn't expected that what he thought was a grand gesture of help would turn out to be… completely unnecessary.
"It's fine," Xuanxi said calmly. "Just send me the architectural styles you have in mind for the other regions, and I'll make the changes. It's simple."
His eyes stayed fixed on the holographic screen before him, pretending to study something important—though in truth, the screen was completely blank.
Rora Starsea let out a quiet sigh of relief. "Okay. I'll use the virtual helmet to model the structures right now."
Following the same process as before, she began constructing the building designs she remembered from her past. It was then that she realized—her memory had become unusually sharp. Even scenes she had only glimpsed once appeared in her mind with crystal clarity.
Still, that was a blessing rather than a burden.
Before long, she sent the completed design files to Xuanxi.
"These can wait," she said. "The settlement layout is enough for now. What I really want to know is—how can I control the power inside my body?"
After all, power that refused to obey her was too dangerous. If her eyes suddenly changed again in front of others, she couldn't exactly silence witnesses just to keep her secret.Even if she could… she wouldn't want to.
Xuanxi turned off the holographic screen, his expression becoming serious. "So, you've sensed the power within you?"
Rora Starsea nodded. "Yes."
Xuanxi frowned, folding his arms thoughtfully. After a long pause, he said, "Normally, a Star Master can only perceive that inner force after reaching Level 1. You're still Level 0—by all logic, it shouldn't be possible yet."
"All Star Masters only sense it at Level 1?" she asked.
Xuanxi hesitated. His theories were solid, but even so, there could always be rare exceptions—cases where a Level 0 Star Master achieved something others couldn't until Level 1.And right now, one such exception was standing right in front of him.
"Alright," he said finally. "Maybe it depends on talent. In that case, your aptitude must be quite remarkable."He gave her an approving look before continuing, "But as for controlling that energy… that's something you'll have to figure out on your own. I can't give you a guaranteed method. From what I've gathered in reports from other Star Masters, the flow of power inside each person's body is unique. There's no universal technique."
Rora Starsea's shoulders slumped slightly. She had hoped there would be some kind of cultivation method, like in the xianxia novels she'd read—some structured way to channel the energy.But reality, as always, was far less convenient than fiction.
Seeing the disappointment on her face, Xuanxi chuckled softly. "Only the path you create yourself will truly suit you. Besides, do you really trust the techniques shared by other Star Masters?"
Rora Starsea's expression froze. A moment later, she remembered what Han Hu had told her before—that Star Masters below Level 0 could be freely hunted and killed.
"Why would those at Level 1 or above want to kill Level 0 Star Masters?" she asked quietly.
At that, the smile vanished from Xuanxi's face. His eyes grew cold, glacially so.
"There are many reasons," he said evenly. "For example—when a Star Master appears on a planet, the planet's inhabitants begin to awaken special abilities. That means the supply of cheap labor drops drastically.
Once a Star Master dies, the people of their planet become 'abandoned citizens,' and the planet itself falls into decline. In the worst cases, the planet destabilizes—sometimes even nears explosion.
When that happens, other planets' Star Masters often offer to 'accept' those abandoned citizens. That way, their own planets gain fresh labor and resources, solving their shortages."
He paused for a moment, his tone deepening.
"Another reason is competition. When a Star Master's planet reaches a prosperity level of ten thousand, it enters the Interstellar Star Ranking—and starts sharing resources that would otherwise belong to the higher-ranked worlds.
But those reasons are minor compared to the real one."
He turned his gaze toward Rora, eyes dark and unreadable.
"The biggest reason is this: when a Star Master above Level 1 kills a Level 0 Star Master, they can absorb the unrefined energy that still lies dormant within that lower-level host. That energy can dramatically accelerate their advancement—far more than the resources the Star Ranking could ever provide."
Xuanxi's look grew meaningful. "In short, to higher-level Star Masters… a Level 0 like you is a rare and valuable resource."
Rora Starsea's face darkened, her expression tightening with silent resolve. She had already known Level 0 Star Masters lived in danger—but hearing it laid out so plainly made the reality sink in like ice water.
"By the way," Xuanxi suddenly said, brightening a little, "aside from your eyes, have you noticed any other changes in your body?"
Rora thought for a while, then shook her head. "No. Everything else feels normal."
The hopeful gleam in Xuanxi's eyes faded, though his lips still curved into an easy smile. "That's alright. The fusion between a Star Master's body and their star spirit's energy takes time. The change in your eyes is only the beginning. There's no rush."
Rora gave him a speechless look. She certainly wasn't in a hurry—but from the look of it, he was.
She reached up to brush the loose strands of hair from her forehead, but as her fingers grazed a certain spot, a sharp jolt of pain twisted across her face.
"Hiss—"
Xuanxi immediately tensed, his voice filled with concern. "What happened? Are you hurt somewhere?"
Rora Starsea waited until the pain subsided before replying, "It's nothing. I just bumped my head a few days ago. It should be fine in a couple of days."
After that, she told Xuanxi about the brutal scene she had witnessed right after she'd first crossed into this interstellar era.
Xuanxi didn't interrupt or comment, but from her tone, he could sense her deep loathing toward the transport ship from Muyuan Planet. After a brief silence, he suggested, "How about I check the planetary network to see if anyone recorded what happened that day? If we find any footage, we can upload it to the StarNet. The captain of that transport ship should face punishment."
Even though many people privately looked down on weak planets like the so-called "Garbage Worlds," and cared little about the lives of their citizens, things were different when such acts were exposed publicly. Once uploaded to the StarNet, public outrage would force the authorities of Muyuan Planet to make an example out of that ship's captain to calm the storm.
Rora's eyes lit up. "Good idea!"
The sudden sparkle in her crystal-clear eyes caught Xuanxi off guard. He hadn't expected her to react so happily over something so small. But through that simple moment, he began to understand the kind of person she was—and what lines he shouldn't cross in the future.
He raised his hand and tapped his wristband, quickly searching through the planetary network archives for any recordings from that time. Within moments, he found several blurry clips, then merged and edited them into a single coherent video.
"All done. Take a look—see if this works."
Rora Starsea watched the video from start to finish. The cruel images she had tried so hard to bury surged back into her mind. Anger flared in her chest, hot and unstoppable, and as it built up, the black-and-white clarity of her eyes slowly turned to shimmering gold.
Sitting opposite her, Xuanxi instantly noticed the change. He closed the StarNet window, switched his device to record mode, and fixed his intense gaze on her eyes—observing, fascinated, as the transformation unfolded.
Meanwhile, Rora was oblivious to his actions. The fury pounding in her chest sent sharp, throbbing pain through her head, making her temples pulse harder with every heartbeat.
Fortunately, the video soon ended. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and forcing herself to exhale the rage clogging her chest. Slowly, the tension began to fade, and she felt a bit better.
None of them noticed that beneath Rora Starsea's hair, at the corner of her eye, a faint streak of bluish-green light flickered and vanished.
"Alright," she said firmly, "I'll upload this video to the StarNet right now."
Xuanxi tried to stop her, but she was too quick. He sighed helplessly. "Why are you in such a rush? Let me handle the upload. If I post it, no one will be able to trace the source. But if you do it yourself, it'll be easy for them to locate you."
As he spoke, he began to test his own theory—using his high-level technical access, he locked onto the video Rora had just uploaded and attempted to trace the location of the user who had posted it.
Yet, to his surprise, no matter how deep he dug, the signal returned nothing. Even with his top-tier ranking among system analysts, he couldn't find her trace.
Rora Starsea, however, didn't take his warning too seriously. "Even if they can't find out exactly who posted it, they'll still blame this planet anyway."
Xuanxi looked at her in disbelief. "Aren't you worried that people from Muyuan Planet will come looking for trouble?"
Rora's lips curved into a calm, confident smile. "Not in the short term. By the time the storm dies down—if they do come for me—it'll be hard to say who's the hunter and who's the prey."
Xuanxi watched the unwavering confidence on her face, and after a moment of silence, the realization dawned on him—she wasn't just being reckless. She already had her own plan.