Volume One: The Meteor Sacrifice

Chapter One: Ethan Brooks

"No... Since there is a problem with the light variation period, then there must be some discrepancy in the breadth... Now that both luminosity and brightness have clear data, the calculated distance theoretically shouldn't be wrong. However, the distance derived from this formula still can't establish a usable connection with the 'Azure Dragon' star. It's still not easy to temporarily borrow the power of this star..."

In a secluded and quiet courtyard, a young man who appeared to be about twenty-one or twenty-two years old was holding a slender branch in one hand, continuously drawing arc after arc in a patch of sand on the ground. Alongside the arcs were numerous spherical shapes and countless mathematical formulas.

Even the most learned scholars of the entire Great Qi Dynasty, if they came here and saw these patterns covering the whole courtyard, would think they were just the idle doodles of a bored person. Because, whether it was the patterns in the sand or the annotations beside them, none belonged to the Great Qi Dynasty, nor had they ever appeared on this continent. It seemed to be the first time they had appeared in the world, carrying an unfathomable and mysterious depth that proclaimed their existence to the great scholars of the continent.

The young man carved for a while in the courtyard, then suddenly stepped forward a few paces and added a few more strokes to a pattern some distance away!

"According to the law, the gravitational force between objects is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them, and directly proportional to the product of their masses... Positive particles correspond to antiparticles... Hm? The orbit of the eastern 'Azure Dragon' star is still normal, which means that in seven hundred and ninety-one days, it will indeed overlap with the sub-star 'Shadow Dragon', causing a tidal effect on the star I am currently standing on..."

At this point, a thoughtful look appeared on the young man's face, which, though not handsome, was quite distinguished: "Two stars overlapping, even adding my natal star and the star I'm currently on, that's only four stars. The star power fluctuations emitted still can't reach the minimum threshold to leave this star... Three years ago, I fell from Earth onto this giant star, and it was only possible because of the once-in-a-century nine-star alignment..."

"Nine-star alignment, the star power of nine overlapping stars..." The young man raised his head, gazing at the sky not yet fully shrouded in night, his eyes falling on a certain star. Even though the sky was not yet completely dark, the brilliant starlight of that star was still so dazzling and captivating.

"I spent three years calculating the orbits of countless stars, and only by relying on the balance point of gravitational forces between stars was I able to guide the 'Divine Moon', a small asteroid two hundred kilometers in diameter, into the sky above this star... If I can't calculate a fifth planet from which to borrow star power within six hundred and eighty-two days, the 'Divine Moon' will enter the gravitational orbit of the Azure Dragon star and become its satellite. At that time... with the star power cultivated from the second level of my 'Stellar Attraction', it will be impossible to correct the orbit of the 'Divine Moon' again."

Once the "Divine Moon" is out of control and unable to gather the star power of a five-star alignment, he can forget about leaving this star again for at least several decades.

Troubled by this problem that had persisted for three years, the young man frowned slightly, looking at the countless gravitational formulas of stars carved on the ground, his mind calculating at a terrifying speed.

Just as he was fully immersed in these calculations, the patterns and formulas before him were suddenly all slashed through by a gleaming sword. The previously neat formulas, the chaotic yet clear results, were all wiped out by a few strokes of the sword.

The young man looked up and saw a lively and pretty girl of about seventeen or eighteen standing before him.

Noticing his gaze, the girl stuck out her tongue playfully. "It's not my fault, Miss told me to do it." With that, she ran over to the arched gate at the side of the courtyard and stopped in front of a tall woman with a sword at her waist.

Seeing the young man look over, the woman's expression remained unchanged, her tone slightly cold as if she were stating the most ordinary thing: "I remember telling you, every time I see you scribbling these pointless things, I have the right to have someone destroy them."

The man called Ethan Brooks gave a light laugh, nodded at the girl who had messed up his formulas, and said nothing more, standing there as he pondered the unresolved problem from before.

Seeing the son-in-law nod at her, the girl edged a little closer to the tall woman beside her. "Miss, every time the son-in-law looks at me like that, do you think he's keeping all these things in mind?"