On a planet in some unknown star system, all that met the eye was utterly barren ruins. The sunset sun hung high in the sky, scorching the earth.
Suddenly, a massive sound broke the silence of the sky and the ground. An incomparably violent slash instantly cut the entire planet in half. The powerful force was enough to counteract gravity, forcibly separating the entire planet.
From distant outer space, one could see the planet, cleaved into two halves, slowly drawing together and merging again due to gravity.
On a piece of ruin inside the planet, a white-haired man sheathed the long blade in his hand. A faint crimson light flashed across the bright surface of the blade.
He closed his eyes as if sensing something, then turned to look toward the depths of the starry sky.
"The Milky Way?"
_____
This universe's vastness and immensity exceeded imagination. For the simplest comparison, the Sun's volume is 1.3 million times that of Earth, and there are hundreds of billions of stars like the Sun in the Milky Way. And in the entire universe, there are countless galaxies like the Milky Way, numerous as the sands of the Ganges.
Blue Star and human civilization are merely insignificant dust particles in this vast ocean. Beyond them, there exist many other races and civilizations in the universe.
Some races excel at scientific research and technology, while others are skilled at applying various energies in the cosmos, capable of unleashing immense combat power relying only on flesh and blood.
The old man said: "The existence of the beacon is too ancient to trace back. Killing the individual who holds a beacon allows you to gain the beacon and points. With enough points, you can purchase everything you desire in the Beacon Store, whether it is power or knowledge."
The existence of the beacon had always been a secret, but only to the vast majority of people in the universe. The beacon's existence had long been rumored among the strong, which led not only to beacon holders fighting each other to gain points but also to powerhouses across the universe hunting down beacon holders.
The good news was that only when they got close enough could beacon holders sense each other. Powerhouses without a beacon could not easily find them.
The bad news was that some individuals holding beacons could be unimaginably powerful. If you didn't quickly become strong, someone else might pass by one day and easily 'harvest' you.
This was an extremely cruel cosmic hunting game. Roy had already obtained a beacon. Even if he didn't hunt others, other beacon holders would come to hunt him.
This was why the knight immediately attacked after hearing his question; because both he and the old man were beacon holders. Once Roy knew about the beacon's existence, there was a high possibility he would kill them to seize their beacon and points, as no powerhouse doesn't crave power.
"We never cared about destroying any civilization, because countless civilizations and planets are destroyed every moment in the universe. We merely followed the beacon's sensation here."
The old man's words were this cold and cruel.
At this point, Roy roughly understood the cause of the Blue Star civilization's destruction. It was simply that a certain beacon holder arrived at Blue Star, and then others from the universe followed the sensation and arrived.
Or even simpler, some unfortunate soul on Blue Star, who knows whether lucky or unlucky, obtained a beacon, and was then eliminated by a beacon holder from the universe. Subsequently, more and more cosmic beings descended upon Blue Star, and the Blue Star civilization, caught in a chaotic battle, was destroyed just like that.
It's truly hard to survive.
Roy could only sigh like this.
"Sir, this is all I know."
"Hmm."
Roy acknowledged him, and then the old man immediately exploded into a mist of blood. If not for these people, Roy would currently be sitting in his apartment playing games with the air conditioning on, instead of fighting on these ruins.
Indeed, these people brought him the beacon, but Roy acquired the beacon through his own strength; it wasn't handed to him. There was no need for him to feel gratitude.
He had no intention of sparing any of these aliens.
The Beacon Store notification flashed by.
[ Points acquired: 3000 ]
[ Remaining points balance: 6000 ]
Roy sat on the ruins. Controlling with his mind, the Beacon Store opened, displaying countless goods. The variety was vast, ranging from food and entertainment to technology, and even weapons and human enhancement categories. One could even find transactions for populations and planets on it.
It literally had everything imaginable. Even resurrecting the dead was not an issue.
If he wanted to quickly become strong, he could directly purchase abilities, genetic lineages, and the like from here. The only drawback was that the prices were a bit steep.
Roy had 6000 points, so he couldn't buy much. He deliberately searched and found that the Telekinesis powerful enough to crush a planet was priced at 1 million points!
Comparing this to the Apocalypse Space's grading of abilities and equipment. Rank 1 destructive power was comparable to conventional firearms. Rank 2 destructive power could destroy a modern city. Rank 3 was a surface-level catastrophe, and Rank 4 was planetary destruction level.
Roy's points could, at most, only purchase Rank 2 goods in the Beacon Store. Thinking back to the Apocalypse Space, he quickly realized a problem.
Abilities and items obtained from the Apocalypse Space could be brought back to the Blue Star world. But could abilities and items purchased from the Beacon Store be taken into the Apocalypse Space?
If not, it would mean that to maximize the utility of his points, Roy couldn't directly purchase abilities and items, or it would be a waste.
On one side was the Apocalypse Space, and on the other was the Beacon Store. Roy knew this was an incredible opportunity. If utilized well, he could constantly leverage both sides and soar to great heights.
"A test will tell the answer."
There was no time to delay.
Roy immediately purchased the two cheapest items in the Beacon Store: one utterly useless ability and one practically useless piece of equipment.
[ 200 Points consumed ]
[ Remaining Points balance: 5800 ]
Placing the equipment into his personal space, Roy immediately returned to the Apocalypse Space.
The facts proved his speculation was correct. After entering the Apocalypse Space, the ability he bought in the Beacon Store was gone, the piece of equipment in his personal space had also vanished without a trace, and he couldn't even open the Beacon Store interface.
Returning to Blue Star, the purchased ability and equipment reappeared. If concepts like "hypostasis" existed, it seemed the hypostasis of the Apocalypse Space was above that of the Beacon Store.
The Blue Star universe was a world anchored by the Apocalypse Space, and the Apocalypse Space couldn't possibly be unaware of the Beacon Store's existence. Since the Apocalypse Space allowed it to exist, Roy could freely use it.
After his speculation was confirmed, Roy also figured out the best way to utilize the points: using them to develop his existing abilities, or purchasing knowledge.
His abilities were originally obtained in the Apocalypse Space. Merely utilizing the techniques purchased from the Beacon Store to deeply develop them shouldn't be an issue.
Just then, as Roy was thinking about how to use the Beacon Store to maximize his benefits, a streak of light descended from the sky, accurately striking Roy.
Boom!
The dazzling light flashed like the sun, and slowly rose into the sky.