Thoughts swirling in his mind, Kevin Walker endured the searing pain that felt as if his body was being torn apart and set down the Heart-Guarding Pill, then desperately began to activate the Primal True Solution.

The pain—unbearable, excruciating agony—kept assaulting him, making Kevin Walker feel as if he was about to collapse. Even his sea of consciousness was churning from the intense pain, yet Little Tyler was rolling around inside, thoroughly enjoying itself.

No matter how much it hurt, even if he was about to lose consciousness, even if his sense of self was about to disappear, Kevin Walker kept the circulation path of the Primal True Solution firmly in mind, trying again and again to guide the power along that route. In fact, what Kevin Walker didn’t know was that he was already doing extremely well; it was only because his sea of consciousness had been unexpectedly opened that he hadn’t already succeeded in merging his faint spiritual power into the flow to guide it.

“Bang, bang, bang…” The power inside his body rampaged like a headless fly, crashing about chaotically. Finally, after repeated attempts at guidance, Kevin Walker unexpectedly seized a fleeting sensation, and the powerful, uncontrollable spiritual force was, for a split second, manipulated like a flash of inspiration.

“Boom…” In just that instant, it was as if a rocket had been strapped to a slow train, and the power instantly began circulating according to the Primal True Solution’s method. The speed was overwhelming, unstoppable; the wild primordial energy that had just been spilling out, surging, and injuring Kevin Walker’s body was instantly swept up, rapidly circulating under the guidance of his spiritual power.

This transformation was like the difference between zero and one—the pain from before quickly vanished.

Normally, the first full cycle of the Primal True Solution would take three to five hours, depending on the strength of one’s spiritual power, though the difference was usually not great. But once Kevin Walker got going, he completed his first full cycle in about an hour. Kevin Walker had previously tested himself: after years of foundational cultivation, his speed was 1.5 times the normal standard, ranking him among the top ten talents at the academy. For reference, the city’s top scholar’s speed was only 1.9 times the norm. Yet at this moment, he didn’t even notice how terrifyingly fast his cultivation was.

Having completed the first full cycle, just as Kevin Walker was considering whether to stop, Little Tyler’s cold, piercing voice sounded again.

“Aren’t you a man? Can’t you even last through one cycle?”

“Didn’t I just finish… Uh, wait, you mean this…”

Kevin Walker suddenly realized what Little Tyler was referring to. He looked down at his chest, then up at the cultivation method still projected in midair, which was more than ten times more complex than the Primal True Solution he was currently practicing.

At this moment, Kevin Walker could sense that if he completed a cycle of the officially issued Primal True Solution, he would miss something crucial. With things as they were, he directly guided his power to circulate according to the method in the air.

Just as Kevin Walker began cultivating after surviving his ordeal, massive changes were taking place on Mars. The primordial energy was intensifying; although the starry sky passage that the primordial star beast had come through was shattered, there were still some small cracks, and many smaller primordial beasts continued to pour through one after another.

The onrushing primordial energy also carried many plant seeds, which, after scattering onto Mars, quickly took root and began to grow at a rapid pace, becoming towering trees in the blink of an eye, as if the process were being fast-forwarded.

This power was beyond imagination. So even though humanity had obtained the civilizations of Atlantis and the Titans, the main cultivation method worldwide was still the Kunlun method first discovered by Huaxia.

On Mars’ orbit, aboard the flagship of Earth’s Fifth United Fleet, the first deputy captain, Bruce Ord, his golden hair and beard both trembling with excitement.

“That’s very likely a complete beast core of a primordial star beast. In the past, the primordial star beasts were almost blasted to pieces. Emily, this is our chance—we have to try.”

Emily Thompson, who had just been rescued back to the flagship, was wearing a colonel’s uniform. At twenty-four, she had become the youngest deputy captain in the history of the Primordial Era, setting a record: entering military school at thirteen, graduating at fifteen, and in nine years becoming the youngest colonel in military history.

“Bruce, this time the civilization ruins actually have a global defensive shield, and it’s a rune culture we don’t understand. If we attack rashly before the captain returns, what if the defense counterattacks? Are you confident you can handle the terrifying retaliation left by an ancient civilization? Also, there are hundreds of thousands of early-stage engineering personnel from dozens of countries on Mars—if we attack, who will be responsible for their safety?”

Despite her youth, Emily Thompson was unyielding. She had just dared to destroy her own warship at a critical moment, and now she could also judge the situation and refuse to attack the shield on Mars.

Bruce Ord pressed both hands on the command console, leaning forward, his massive virtual image almost pressing against Emily Thompson’s face. “Colonel, even though we’re both deputy captains, I’m a senior colonel. When the captain isn’t here, shouldn’t you obey military orders?”

“Bruce Senior… Colonel…” Emily Thompson deliberately emphasized the words “senior colonel,” but her tone remained icy and resolute: “I know the regulations better than you. I’m twenty-four, have been in the military for twelve years, and just now I prevented the primordial star beast from escaping Mars. As a fellow deputy captain, stationed on the flagship, unless I receive orders from military command or the captain, there’s only one thing you need to do: obey military orders.”