Li Yao was creeped out by his stare. He frowned and asked, "Is there a problem?"
"No.
”
Gao Tieyi coughed and soon calmed down. He took back the virtual contracts of the other six Cultivators and said solemnly, "Alright. Now that you've all signed the contract, you are now an official member of Occult Orbs Fellowship. In Occult Orbs Fellowship, we call ourselves … Orb Patrollers!
"However, becoming an Orb Patroller does not mean that you are allowed to explore the Occult Orbs.
"Every exploration of the Occult Orbs will consume a lot of manpower and resources. They are also full of fatal threats.
"We don't want to waste half of the cost of a crystal warship and send some rookies thousands of lightyears away to die for nothing!
"Therefore, the competition in Occult Orbs Fellowship is very fierce. Many people are eliminated every month. Some of them can't even enter the Occult Orbs after a year and a half.
"Are you ready for the challenge?"
The seven of them looked at each other and smiled confidently at the same time.
Those who were qualified to sign the contract and become 'Orb Patrollers' were not scared of any challenges. They even considered challenges to be the greatest pleasure in their lives.
"Let's do it then!"
Gao Tieyi's phantom slowly floated out of the crystal airship.
Li Yao and the rest of the Cultivators walked out and followed him.
In front of him was a boundless wilderness. Other than a few scattered oases, there was nothing else. Not far away, a giant pillar rose from the ground. It was crystal clear and colorful. It was dozens of meters tall and three to five meters in diameter. It was particularly eye-catching in the wilderness.
On the surface of the seven-colored giant pillar, lines of large characters were engraved in a flamboyant and flamboyant manner.
The pillar was colorful, and so were the words. Logically speaking, they should have been mottled and blurred.
However, although he was dozens of meters away, Li Yao could see everything clearly. It seemed that a mysterious force was transmitting the information contained in the words directly into their heads.
Besides …
The words that were deeply engraved into the giant pillar could actually move and change. They were like the virtual runes on the light beam.
Li Yao's curiosity was greatly aroused. He observed carefully and found that on the top of the pillar, there were three brilliant words with spiritual energy surging out.
Rank of Stars!
Below them were names, followed by a series of numbers.
"Team Thunder Soul!"
"Team Phantom Ocean!"
"Dark Feather Battle Squad!"
A total of a hundred team names were densely engraved on the giant pillar.
"Senior Gao, what does this Star List mean? Was it a list of the strongest experts in Occult Orbs Fellowship? However, why were there so many names of Battle Teams? But no one? "
Li Yao asked.
"The Rank of Stars is indeed a ranking of the strength of Occult Orbs Fellowship. But not on an individual basis, because in the exploration of the Occult Orbs, it is very rare for a person to act alone. Most of the time, it is in teams.
Gao Tieyi explained, "In hundreds of years of exploration, we have gradually concluded that it is best for an exploration team to be composed of four to six people."
"If there are too few people, they won't be able to deal with all kinds of unexpected situations. If there are too many people, it will be easy to trigger restrictions and cause chaos. The weak will even become a burden."
"As for a Foundation Establishment cultivator who is a lone ranger? It will be even harder for them to survive in the Occult Orbs.
"Therefore, the Orb Patrollers heading to the Occult Orbs should form 'Star Teams' of four to six people. If there are too many or too few of them, the risk factor will be greatly increased.
"This Ranking of Stars is based on the strength of the Star Battle Teams. Only those who are in the top hundred of the Ranking of Stars are qualified to enter the Occult Orbs.
"Note that it is just a possibility. If two Star Battle Teams want to enter the same Occult Orb but the conditions do not allow it, they may have a competition between them. The final winner will be decided through a duel. "
"The so-called 'strength' is calculated according to a series of complicated conditions such as their past achievements, the combat ability of their teammates, and the winning rate of the competition with other Star Battle Teams.
"Dangers lurk everywhere in the Occult Orbs. The casualty rate of the Star Battle Teams is very high.
"Some Orb Patrollers can't bear the pressure and choose to quit.
"Because of all kinds of reasons, there will be a lot of vacancies and new recruits will be needed. You can choose between the Star Battle Teams and the Star Battle Teams. As long as you are chosen by a Star Battle Team, you will have a chance to enter the Occult Orbs."
Li Yao nodded. He pondered for a moment and asked again,
"Only by joining a Star Battle Team can I enter the Occult Orbs. But if I don't find a partner that I like among the hundred Star Battle Teams, will I lose my chance?"
Gao Tieyi smiled and replied,
"Many arrogant and unruly young experts have asked this question before."
"If you think you are strong enough, you are free to form your own Star Battle Team.
"In the last three days of every month, the ten Star Battle Teams ranked below the 90th place will accept challenges from those who are not in the top hundred. As long as you defeat them, you will be able to enter the Occult Orbs in their place.
"But I advise you not to waste your time. The Star Battle Teams that have trained in the Occult Orbs are all very strong. They are not easy to deal with. You'd better behave and wait to be recruited."
Li Yao thought for a moment and asked again,
"Which Star Battle Team was the scarred young man Yan Jun and the Children of Occult Orbs we saw just now?"
Gao Tieyi replied,
"The Battle Team System is only suitable for Building Foundation Stage Cultivators. It is not suitable for Jin Dan and Yuanying. Therefore, only Battle Teams of Building Foundation Stage Cultivators are listed in the Rank of Stars.
"Although Yan Jun is only at the high level of the Building Foundation Stage, he is decisive and dauntless. His survival ability in the foreign world is very high. The Thunder Soul Battle Team led by him is currently ranked first on the Rank of Stars."
Ranked first on the Rank of Stars!
Thunder Soul Battle Team!
Li Yao's eyes seemed to have been stung by a needle. He narrowed his eyes, craned his neck, and glanced at the top of the Rank of Stars solemnly.
"Let's go to the city!"
Bypassing the Rank of Stars, there was an enormous teleportation array on the empty ground. The teleportation array was complicated and colorful. It seemed to be much more advanced than the teleportation arrays commonly used in the Tian Yuan Realm.
Li Yao and his teammates stood on the teleportation array. They felt a breeze blowing on their faces and heard noises and laughter.
The seven of them appeared in a huge square in the center of a bustling, brightly lit town!
"This is …"
Looking at the skyscrapers around, everybody felt dazzled.
Li Yao was the only one who was deep in thought. He raised his head. The blue sky and the white clouds were so vivid that they were somewhat unnatural, as if they were being displayed on a super high-resolution light beam.
It was an artificial dome.
They should be deep below the launch base.
It was an underground ghost market.
The technology here was a hundred times more advanced than that of normal ghost markets. At the very least, Li Yao was sniffing the fresh air that was filled with the fragrance of soil. He felt warm moisture on his skin and a cool breeze blowing on his face.
"We are now one thousand meters below the ground of the Grand Desolate Plateau. This is Empyrean Star City, which has been built with the technologies of the Occult Orbs. It is arguably the most advanced town in the entire Federation!"
Gao Tieyi said proudly, "In this place, you can taste the seafood that has just been caught in the South Sea. You can enjoy the best seafood delivered by teleportation arrays at the fastest speed. You can also drink the best wine that has been treasured for decades and that even the Speaker of the Federation may not have a chance to taste. You can enjoy all kinds of luxuries. Everything is available here.
"For Cultivators, there are training rooms built with the magical equipment from the Occult Orbs here, too. Some of the training rooms are even dismantled from the crystal warships of the Star Ocean Imperium and moved to this place!
"All in all, everything you want is here. Whether you want to enjoy yourself or train yourself crazily, you will be completely satisfied!
"Exploration of the Occult Orbs is a risky endeavor. The pressure on the Orb Patrollers is enormous. It is very easy for them to be mentally deranged or bewildered by demons.
"In order to relieve the pressure and allow the Orb Patrollers to recover as soon as possible, Occult Orbs Fellowship spent hundreds of years building Empyrean Star City.
"On the other hand, this place is also an experimental base. It is used to test the civil magical equipment and techniques excavated from the Occult Orbs. When the conditions are right, it will be opened to other towns on a large scale.
"Many of the powerful techniques that you have seen in your hometown may have originated from Empyrean Star City."
Li Yao observed the passersby on the street without blinking. He was somewhat surprised. "The residents here are all very intimidating."
The ratio of Cultivators to ordinary people in Empyrean Star City was about one to one. The ratio was almost one to one, which was much higher than that of the outside world.
Gao Tieyi smiled.
"Some of the residents of Empyrean Star City are the families of the staff of Occult Orbs Fellowship, some of them are the descendants of the Orb Patrollers who have been sacrificed in the past hundreds of years, and most of them are Orb Patrollers themselves.
"You will be living here for a while, too."
While talking, Gao Tieyi pointed at the center of the square. The giant light ball on which countless light beams were blinking said:
"At the center of the square is the mainframe crystal processor of Empyrean Star City. Its computational ability is unbelievably high. If you have any questions, feel free to ask it.
"There are countless arenas for training and competition in Empyrean Star City. Your next mission is to find a place to live and train and compete as you please. Also, input the videos that you are most satisfied with into the mainframe crystal processor.
"The teams that need new members will look for them here. If they are satisfied with your performance, they will send you an invitation.
"You can also check the basic information and battle videos of the teams through the mainframe crystal processor. If you feel that they are not your style, you are free to turn them down, too.
"However, there is one thing you should know. The key facilities in Empyrean Star City, such as the training rooms and the arenas, do not accept the legal currency of the Federation. They only accept 'contribution points'.
"The seven of you are all new members. According to your past achievements and your capability, the mainframe crystal processor will allocate some 'basic contribution points' to you automatically, which should be enough for you to live in Empyrean Star City for a month and start your daily training.
"Use the time to train yourself and prove your capability to the top hundred teams!
"Of course, the seven of you can also form a team and challenge the bottom ten teams at the end of the month.
"If you run out of contribution points and no team in the top hundred is willing to recruit you, you will be eliminated, too.
"Either way, good luck to you!"
It's been a long time since I last posted a third update. Is there going to be a fourth update later?
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