One Trait Draw Per Year Even Simulations Count

【”Don’t rush. Life is a marathon, not a sprint.”】

【”I want to get stronger faster—as strong as Uncle Chen! So I can slaughter every last one of those alien races!”】

【Seeing the burning obsession in the boy’s eyes, you ruffled his hair and said nothing more.】

【Now, when you internally examined your yuan core, you noticed that the surface of this primordial energy-gathering object was covered in countless markings.】

【These markings weren’t random; they were arranged in neat blocks that resembled some kind of script.】

【Or more accurately, they looked strikingly similar to divine marks.】

【In fact, this was the true origin of divine marks.】

【Shen Yifeng had told you that once you entered the Extreme Terrain Realm and comprehended a Divine Ability, constantly using it would leave increasingly clear imprints on your yuan core.】

【A single Divine Ability could leave multiple imprints, depending on how many Divine Arts the cultivator had derived from it.】

【These imprints on the yuan core were the prototypes of divine marks.】 【However, simply copying the Divine Ability imprints from the yuan core and drawing them out in the real world wouldn’t allow just anyone to replicate the power of a Divine Ability.】

【Divine marks were processed and corrected imprints. The specifics of how that was done were knowledge completely locked away from humanity.】

【After all, if divine marks could circulate among humans, even cultivators at the Qi Transformation realm could use them to fight against Extreme Terrain Realm experts.】

【But then again, divine marks could only be considered low-tier versions of Divine Arts. They were no match for genuine Divine Arts.】

【”Ah Dou, take these two Divine Arts. If you one day manage to cultivate to the Extreme Terrain Realm and try to comprehend the Divine Abilities behind them, you’ll be able to use Uncle Chen’s techniques.”】

【You had transcribed Light Speed Fist and Quantum Ghost Step into cultivation techniques and passed them to Ah Dou.】

【Ah Dou accepted the techniques, a hint of sadness creeping onto his face.】

【”Uncle Chen, we’re almost there, aren’t we?”】

【You turned your gaze to the view outside the porthole—that colossal, almost impossibly massive violet-red planet.】

【”We’re here.”】

【Though you had long heard of Vermilion Violet Star’s sheer size, seeing it up close still left you stunned.】

【It was absolutely enormous!】

【Even as you steadily approached, it felt like you were falling toward the planet’s surface, because it filled your entire field of vision.】

【On Fortune Star and Blazing Star, the seven-colored beams shooting from the Star Harbors stood out like antennas in space, incredibly prominent.】

【But on Vermilion Violet Star, comparing the height of a Star Harbor’s beam to the planet itself was like a single insignificant strand of hair sprouting from the earth.】

【And there were countless such strands.】

【Having a Star Harbor on Vermilion Violet Star wasn’t anything impressive. Any faction with even a bit of scale and a foothold on the planet had their own ”private Star Harbors.”】

【It was like rich people on Earth having private airports.】

【Outsiders were not allowed to use private Star Harbors without permission.】

【If you wanted to land, you had to use the public Star Harbors.】

【Racial discrimination still existed on Vermilion Violet Star—mainly against humans.】

【But the discrimination was more subtle here, not as blatant as on Blazing Star or Fortune Star.】

【Human treatment here mostly depended on one’s background.】

【Those with good backgrounds could live normal lives, cultivate normally, and even hold fairly high status.】

【After all, those alien races feared power, not virtue. If you had enough strength, they’d call you ”senior” just the same.】

【Those with poor backgrounds ended up as slaves to the alien races.】

【Compared to Fortune Star and Blazing Star, the situation for humans on Vermilion Violet Star was a world of difference.】

【So, you didn’t need to pretend to be anyone else. You could just walk right through a public Star Harbor and land openly.】

【You even saw that the identity verification officer at the exit was human.】

【But you couldn’t get cocky and start shouting, ”I’m sent by the Torch Society” here.】

【Shen Yifeng had told you that the Torch Society was also classified as a reactionary organization on Vermilion Violet Star.】

【Even the humans on Vermilion Violet Star openly opposed the Torch Society.】

【There was no helping it. The alien races still held the upper hand. Any human faction that openly opposed the alien races’ critical interests would be targeted, and the outcome went without saying.】

【So, you either supported them outright or paid lip service while secretly going your own way.】

【”No residence permit, right?”】

【”I want to settle here. How do I get one?”】

【”Unless you were born on Vermilion Violet Star, your options are either to join a faction and have them sponsor your permit, or to get married here.”】

【”Get married? Me?”】

【”Oh, you’re a man. Then you can marry someone with a residence permit and get a short-term one. Maintain the marriage for over ten years, and you can get a permanent permit.”】

【”Thank you.”】

【The officials working on this planet were much more reasonable and had much better attitudes.】

【What a beacon of civilization!】

【The inspector handed you a temporary residence permit, valid for one year.】

【”Why does this residence permit look so strange?”】

【The permit in your hand wasn’t a card or a booklet—it was a compass.】

【You could immediately see that it was covered in all sorts of formations, so complex that even you, a third-grade Formation Master, felt your scalp tingle.】

【The compass itself was also a magical artifact with a myriad of functions.】

【The inspector could tell at a glance that you were from some backwater and had never seen ”high-end stuff.”】

【”You haven’t tried cultivating yet, have you?”】

【”I haven’t had the chance.”】

【”Try it.”】

【You attempted to circulate your cultivation technique.】

【It was very strange.】

【The surrounding Immortal Qi was clearly very abundant, yet instead of being absorbed from all directions into your body, it all had to pass through this ”residence permit” in your hand before entering.】

【”This—”】

【Not only that, but you soon noticed a line of text appearing above the compass.】

【”Free quota exhausted. Please visit a nearby Immortal Qi station to purchase additional quota.”】

【”What the—”】

【Immortal Qi on Vermilion Violet Star actually cost money!】

【This was no different from charging for air on Earth!】

【The inspector chuckled.】

【”So, you see, if you want to settle on Vermilion Violet Star, you can’t pull any tricks. Hiding out in some deep mountain forest—at best, you’d live like a savage. Cultivation? Not a chance.”】

【The smile on this human inspector’s face seemed to see right through you.】

【And indeed, you had just been thinking exactly that.】

【Because that’s exactly what you did on Blazing Star.】

【”Where are the Immortal Qi stations?”】

【”Every city has one.”】

【The inspector glanced at Ah Dou but didn’t check him thoroughly or ask any questions. He just waved his hand and told you to go.】

【You sensed something was off but kept a straight face and left.】

【”Uncle Chen, what’s wrong?”】

【Ah Dou caught the subtle change in your expression.】

【”That guy just now... might be from the Torch Society too.”】

【”Really? Should we ask him where to make contact?”】

【”He’s keeping a low profile for a reason. Don’t approach him on your own, or you might cause trouble for him.”】