Six Years

Of course, Alex would not submit so easily. He had his own plans: first, he would use the Shi’ar Empire’s power to reach the Nova Empire, then slowly figure out what to do next. A living man would not be driven to death by a lack of options.

But a single sentence from Danger Bird shattered even that pitiful illusion in Alex’s heart. "Because of the war, the Kree and Skrull have sealed off the entire galaxy." As she spoke, Danger Bird turned to look at Alex, a fox-like, sinister smile on her beautiful face. "So only by preventing the war from breaking out can you possibly return to Earth."

At that point, Danger Bird suddenly paused, and the smile on her face became even more wicked. "Or you can wait until Earth is crushed beneath the Space Fleets of those two nations."

Alex leaned against the wall in dejection, turned to Danger Bird, and cursed through gritted teeth, "You win!"

"Before you go to the Nova Empire, I need you to undergo some specialized training—basic Cosmic Knowledge." Danger Bird paid no attention to Alex’s furious glare. With a dazzling smile, she pointed at Lilandra beside her, then turned and headed into the inner room. "I’ll leave this to Lilandra. She’ll guide you!"

Once Danger Bird disappeared around the corner, Alex immediately shed his previous despondency. He straightened up sharply, completely lacking the depressed, even despairing, look he had worn moments ago.

"You…" Lilandra stared at Alex in astonishment, unable to believe her eyes.

Alex waved a hand and said easily, "Things have come to this. Being upset won’t help, so why not be a little happier?"

Of course, the truth was not as easy as Alex made it sound. It was because he had discovered something extremely important: the Shi’ar Empire’s formidable technological capabilities. Trading a few years for technological strength that mutants—and even Earth—would be unable to attain for the next century or more gave Alex at least some comfort.

And so the matter was settled. For nearly the next year, Alex’s only daily task was studying all kinds of Cosmic Knowledge with Lilandra. Most importantly, he had to learn Alien Languages—Shi’ar Language, Kree Language, and dozens of others. Fortunately, Alex truly had an excellent memory, or even a year might not have been enough.

Of course, aside from studying Cosmic Knowledge and Alien Languages, Alex spent most of his time stealing Shi’ar technology. Unlike in his previous life, when he had simply crammed everything into his head, this time Alex had to thoroughly absorb and understand that knowledge. Otherwise, it would be useless even if he brought it back to Earth.

Shi’ar technology was nothing like the technology Alex had brought from his previous life. A gap of hundreds or even thousands of years was simply beyond the comprehension of modern Earthlings. In other words, at Earth’s current technological level, it would take at least two hundred years to digest this knowledge. That was clearly not what Alex wanted, so he had no choice but to do it himself.

Because of this, Alex had to remain on Planet Feather for another five years before he finally completed his studies and understanding of some alien technologies. Unfortunately, the technologies he wanted most—Interstellar Teleportation and FTL Starships—remained completely beyond his reach.

Over those six years, Alex gained far more than knowledge; his strength also rose dramatically. Speaking of which, he had Warlord to thank. Ever since their battle in the arena, Warlord had often come looking for Alex to spar.

Naturally, they did not fight in the arena, but on a Death Star not far from Planet Feather—at least by interstellar standards. That planet had exhausted its energy a thousand years ago, and not a single living thing remained upon it.

For six years, the two fought almost every so often. Such intense battles greatly benefited them both, improving not only their combat experience but also every other aspect of their abilities.

Alex did not know Warlord’s exact situation, but he was quite satisfied with his own. In six years, his combat power had increased by more than double. If he saw Mandarin again now, Alex was absolutely confident he could beat him badly.

Six years passed in the blink of an eye, and Alex finally reached the day he would leave the Shi’ar Empire for the Nova Empire. Just as he was packing his things, Warlord came looking for him again. "Alex, one more fight!"

"Okay, whatever you say!" Alex set down his luggage, shrugged, and vanished from where he stood in an instant.

Warlord’s face twitched unconsciously as he looked at the missing Alex. Somewhat annoyed, he muttered, "So what if you have Teleportation?" After grumbling, Warlord also turned into a streak of light. His figure flashed repeatedly, and in an instant he left Planet Feather. With a few rises and falls, he arrived at the Death Star where they had fought countless times over the past six years.

Just as Warlord landed on the dark brown ground of the Death Star, Alex leisurely emerged from behind a massive boulder, holding a glass of chilled liquor wreathed in wisps of cold mist.

After taking a small sip of the icy drink, Alex said smugly, "You took so long? I’ve already made several round trips!" Indeed, after six years of combat and training, Alex’s Teleportation had undergone a qualitative leap. He could now achieve Inter-star Transmission.

When he had first completed Inter-star Transmission, Alex had nearly gone mad with joy. For the following half year, he trained his Teleportation day and night, hoping to reach the level of Inter-galaxy Transmission. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, he could only teleport freely within a Star System. Beyond that, he simply could not go any farther, as though a thick barrier stood in his way.

"You’ll see soon enough!" Warlord rolled his eyes at Alex irritably, snatched the glass from his hand, and tilted his head back to drain it.

After six years of fighting side by side, Alex and Warlord had become extremely close. Alex glanced at his empty hand, shook his head with a light laugh, and said casually, "How many times have you said that? My ears are growing calluses!" As he spoke, Alex even pretended to dig at his ear, the provocation unmistakable.

Warlord snorted coldly. With a squeeze of one hand, the entire glass instantly turned to powder, and he shot toward Alex like lightning.

"An attack like that is useless against me!" Alex casually shook his head and raised a fist to meet Warlord’s incoming punch head-on. Over six years, Alex had elevated his Energy Absorption ability to an unimaginable level. He had once even entered Planet Feather’s star and actively absorbed its energy!

Just as their fists were about to collide, Warlord suddenly changed his fist into a claw and seized Alex’s wrist. Then, with an over-the-shoulder throw, he smashed Alex viciously into the ground.

Before Alex could recover, Warlord followed with another over-the-shoulder throw, then another, one after another without pause.

Alex was dazed from being thrown around. His body would not suffer any harm, but his pride certainly did!

"Warlord, you’re cheating!"