The Divine Martial Stars

The solar system.

The nine planets continued circulating the sun, as though containing an infinite amount of mysteries.

At a distance very close to the moon, in the dark vacuum, suddenly a shot of very strange dark cyan light flashed by. Something seemed to have abruptly ripped the space apart as a black shadow appeared. And then ripples circulated, and a white aircraft emerged from the shadow, like a giant whale coming out of the water.

"It's the moon!"

"That blue planet is… Earth!"

"We're back."

"God, I'm not dreaming, am I?"

"We truly got back!"

When they saw the familiar moon and the blue planet that they had been dreaming about all along, all the members of the "Vanguard" roared with exultation.

They could no longer hold back their emotions and tears burst out of their eyes wildly!

"It's Earth! It's really Earth!"

Song Changlin, a man from the northwest of China, also found his eyes moist and cried out loud.

Beside him, Su Cuo covered her eyes with both hands and slowly squatted down. She was sobbing silently, tears trickling out between her fingers.

All of that felt like a dream.

Meanwhile, Li Mu was standing in front of the window of the commanding cabin, looking at the planet ahead that was getting closer and clearer. He, too, could not help but feel very excited.

Finally, he came back. Really came back.

Having left Earth for nearly five years, after experiencing the magnificent upsurges that ordinary people could not imagine, he finally came back home.

Although the "Vanguard" was still about 400,000 kilometers away from Earth at that time, compared with the 39 light-years in the Brilliance Immortal Star Region, it was almost like he had already stepped on Earth. That distance was practically negligible.

After feeling the great excitement, the members of the science team began to force themselves to calm down. They went back to steer the "Vanguard" away from the moon's gravity circle and continued approaching Earth.

At the same time, radio signals were fired out through all kinds of channels as they began to contact Earth.

···

···

September 27, 2022, autumn.

In NASA, Washington, the United States.

At 3:35 a.m., local time.

Howard, who napping in front of the monitor during his night shift, was suddenly awakened by a strange and bizarre signal. He looked at the monitor blankly and then opened his mouth wide, saliva dripping down his chin without him noticing.

"Vanguard… What the heck is… Oh, my God, is it that Vanguard?"

As a senior researcher, Howard had heard much about the classified operation 30 years ago. He shuddered at the signal, and his sleepiness disappeared all of a sudden. He immediately realized something and quickly picked up the line to report to his superior.

In less than three minutes, Charles, Director of NASA, was startled by the news.

Soon, the communication and command room was full of high-level officials and experts from NASA.

Everyone listened to the voice from the communication device in disbelief.

"Earth, Earth, this is the Vanguard. This is the Vanguard. We are on the return trip. I am Captain Andrew. No matter who you are, after hearing this signal, please answer me…"

The "Vanguard" that had mysteriously vanished for 30 years had come back!

That was incredible.

Initially, the "Vanguard" was equipped with enough fuel to support long-distance space travel. Nonetheless, the fuel could by no means power the aircraft for 30 years.

30 years ago, when the Vanguard disappeared mysteriously, NASA and the other countries that had participated in that operation came to the same conclusion after a thorough investigation— the spaceship had a power failure. For some reason, it drifted out of the solar system and eventually disappeared into the cosmic void, and it was impossible for it to return.

But now, it had come back?

"A video signal is received," announced a researcher in a slightly trembling voice, "it's from the Vanguard."

"Quick, put it through."

Charles, Director of NASA, said in a quavering voice.

When the video came in, everyone held their breath because they knew that what was happening was really weird. What kind of secret did the Vanguard bring back after 30 years?

"Good heavens!"

"It's Andrew. How could he look so young?"

"It's them…"

There was a flurry of exclamations in the communication hall.

···

···

In Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China, 2022.

It was 4:00 pm in Beijing.

"Two hours ago, we received a signal from the Vanguard and it was sent by Su Cuo and Song Changlin."

The words of Lu Bing, a lieutenant general in charge of the low-ranking officials, stirred up a heated discussion.

"The 'Vanguard' that mysteriously disappeared 30 years ago?"

"What's going on?"

"Is it possible that this radio is from 30 years ago, which just arrived on Earth after crossing a long distance?"

"Haven't we stopped monitoring the radio signal on the Vanguard?"

The researchers, military experts, and generals present were all shocked.

Lu Bing gently knocked on the table, and the room immediately quieted down. He then clarified, "It's not a radio from 30 years ago, but the present time… According to the description of Comrade Su Cuo, they are on the return trip and have already passed through the moon. In another four hours, they will enter Earth's atmosphere and land."

"What?"

"Gosh, what's happening?"

"No way! It's the spaceship that launched 30 years ago. Didn't you say that the mission has failed? At that time, the hibernation cabin hadn't been invented. But Su Cuo and the others… are still alive?"

The meeting room was filled with exclamation again.

Things were getting more and more inconceivable.

Lu Bing himself could hardly believe it. No matter how he looked at it, the Vanguard did not have the possibility of returning to Earth after 30 years had passed. But that seemed to be what was happening, which made him feel quite incredulous.

After clearing his throat to attract everyone's attention, Lu Bing said, "Everyone, now is not the time to be amazed. Among those present, some have participated in the Vanguard operation 30 years ago, and some are the most famous aerospace experts in our country. Moreover, the leaders of the strategic support department and experts from the other two satellite bases are rushing here as fast as they can… According to the information provided by Comrade Su Cuo, the Vanguard will land in China's Gansu province four hours later. The landing spot is less than 100 miles away from our base. So, what do you say?"

···

···

Similar events happened one after another in the aerospace and military bureaus in Germany, France, the UK, and Russia.

Several major countries all received the radio signals from their members on the Vanguard and confirmed the information.

As a result, among the big countries, a tense deployment and a fierce contest that generated no smoke of gunpowder were staged immediately.

Having realized the significance of the Vanguard's returning to the Earth, no one dared to relax at all. It was very likely that it would be an underground contest to change the power structure of Earth. Now almost all the major countries were certain that there were huge secrets and opportunities on the Vanguard.

The only problem they had was that the landing spot of the Vanguard was in the territory of China, a super large country, instead of in the public seas or other ungoverned areas. That made it immensely more difficult for them to fight for the secrets and resources of the Vanguard.

Rumble!

The Vanguard had undergone a transformation before embarking on the return journey. That made sure its safety during the process of entering the atmosphere and the final landing.

Well, it was Li Mu who suggested landing within China.

That was kind of caused by his self-interest as a Chinese.

That spaceship traveling from the Divine Land carried a large number of rare mineral resources, a wide range of technologies combined by witchcraft and science, and a load of information and files that would astonish the whole world. If the spaceship landed in China, China would have a head start, for the resources were first come first served.

That was also sort of gift Li Mu brought to China and Earth.

Only after going out to the vast universe could one understand what kind of dangerous situation Earth was facing in that galaxy. It was not only surrounded by powerful and terrible martial arts forces, but also was regarded as the Sinned Star, and every Earth resident was a sinner to be killed.

If it weren't for the fact that there was a mysterious power in the solar system that had isolated and destroyed outsiders, Earth would probably have been carved up and wiped out by those martial art forces long ago.

Li Mu hoped that what the Vanguard brought back would play the role of catalyst in the development of Earth and push Earth to enter a brand new era.

As for that request of Li Mu's, the 21 members, of course, had no second opinion.

Because Li Mu was their savior. Without Li Mu, they could not be able to come back at all. They could only age and die on that alien planet. Moreover, in the last month that they spent in that world, the members roughly learned about Li Mu's strength, status, and fame. So, when Li Mu asked them to land in China, they certainly had no nerve to show any disrespect to Li Mu.

Violent quakes were felt.

The Vanguard, like a fireball, finally broke into the atmosphere.

"I'll leave the rest to you guys. I've got to go now." Li Mu called Su Cuo and Song Changlin into a private conference room and said, "The present world may be different from what it was 30 years ago. Take your time to get used to it. In the foreseeable future, you will be terribly busy, so busy that you will feel like being knocked out. Well, I wish you good luck."

"Aren't you going with us?" Song Changlin asked in surprise.

Li Mu smiled and answered, "No, I've done everything I should do. Next, I'm going to look for some friends on Earth. I enjoy freedom, and I don't like being told what to do or not."

Su Cuo suddenly said, "Mu, have you ever considered working for our country? You are almost as powerful as an immortal. If you are willing to contribute to our country, then…"

Li Mu shook his head and said, "Not that for the time being. I have some things to do on Earth. If something really needs to be sorted out, I will definitely show up."

Su Cuo nodded, then, asked once more, "Can we tell the country the truth about you?"

Li Mu smiled and said, "Of course you can. It's not a secret at all. Otherwise, I might just erase your memories by magic."

Su Cuo nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. Then, the beautiful woman smiled, walked over, and gently hugged Li Mu. She remarked, "Thank you, Mu."

Thousands of words and all kinds of gratitude were all included in that "thank you".

Song Changlin also came to hug Li Mu.

At last, before the Vanguard landed, Li Mu secretly left before the landing.

Boom!

The Vanguard landed in the boundless desert at the foot of the Qilian mountain. The huge vibration almost knocked out the members in the cabin.

The cabin door swung open.

Familiar air blew in their faces.

Su Cuo and Song Changlin were the first to walk out of the cabin door. They quickly inhaled mouthfuls of the air of their hometown.

In a distance, on the horizon, the sun was almost setting. A few kilometers away, a fleet of armored vehicles sent by the military created a long streak of smoke and dust on the desert and quickly drew near to them. They rapidly surrounded the Vanguard and intensified their vigilance.

After that, all kinds of inspections and tests were carried out to confirm the identities of those on board. The most stringent quarantine and disinfection were conducted as well.

Then, all 21 members were picked up by the Chinese military.

The Vanguard was also taken away by the military as quickly as they could.

At the same time, Li Mu showed up in Jade Gate City that was hundreds of miles away.

He walked into a restaurant serving Lanzhou beef noodles.

He decided to have a bowl of beef noodles first.