The next morning, Ding Meng's group left the villa area early in the morning.
Cultivators who had reached the War Sovereign level and above basically didn't need to sleep much.
This time, Ai Le led them back to the plaza. There were much fewer people in the plaza today. Apart from the Water Cherry Society's upper echelons and staff, there were only about thirty or so people left.
A small transport ship was already waiting on the tarmac outside. It looked like it was preparing to transport everyone to another star ring.
Sure enough, Ai Le gestured to Ding Meng. "Mr. Ting, Miss Jun, please board the ship!"
This ship was a typical sightseeing ship. Apart from the cockpit at the front of the ship, there was a large hall in the middle where one could enjoy the scenery. The cabin wasn't made of alloy steel but instead of glass. The view of the star ring outside was clearly visible to the naked eye.
The thirty or so people who boarded the ship were divided into six groups. They were actually the representatives of the six great sects. The Water Cherry Society's upper echelons, led by Lin Aoxue, were all present.
The Crusade Army had a total of five people. Sheng Tianming was the leader, while the other four were all old fellows. However, Ding Meng had already learned from Ai Le that the shortest and most sinister-looking of the four old fellows was Ying Tianlong.
Perhaps it was because Lin Aoxue was present, but Sheng Tianming's group didn't make a big fuss. They obediently sat in the booth and enjoyed their breakfast.
The Blood War Temple had sent out a group of six. The leader was a young couple. According to Ai Le, this couple was a very famous young talent in the Alliance. The man was called Kun Ran, and the woman was called He Qian. The two of them looked like a perfect match.
Ding Meng could sense that this couple was very low-key. They were completely controlling their Origin Energy and didn't even release a trace of it.
Qian Huanyu had sent out a total of four people. The leader was an old man with white hair and a pair of low-light glasses. Looking at their attire and the anti-gravity toolbox at their waist, Ding Meng wondered if Qian Huanyu's people were involved in some kind of technological research.
The last group was naturally from the Blue Light Group. There were six people in total, and they didn't look very young. They were probably in their fifties, and they were all dressed in suits and leather shoes. However, one of them was staring at Ding Meng's group.
"I've heard a lot about you, Mr. Ding Meng. I finally get to meet you in person." The handsome man took the initiative to greet him.
Ding Meng secretly raised his guard because he knew who this person was. This person's name was Bo Zhi, and he was the brother of Bo Ting, the commander of the First Fleet. Bo Ting was first punished by Kardega, and when he landed on Azure Tree Planet, he was sent into the endless abyss of the universe by a super life form.
The other sects probably didn't know what had happened on Azure Tree Planet, but the Blue Light Group definitely knew. After all, Jiang Ning had survived, and Ding Meng was on Kardega's side. One could imagine that even if this Bo Zhi wasn't Ding Meng's enemy, he was definitely not an ally.
"Hello!" Ding Meng calmly greeted him.
Bo Zhi smiled. "Mr. Ting is younger than I thought. You're really young and promising."
Ding Meng calmly replied, "I'm really young, but I don't dare claim that I'm promising."
Bo Zhi smiled and said, "That's not necessarily true. Even Zhiyan's team was defeated by Mr. Ting. Is there anything that Mr. Ting doesn't dare to do?"
When Bo Zhi spoke with such a fake smile, Ding Meng and the others quickly raised their guard and turned to stare at Bo Zhi.
At this time, someone in the booth was eating porridge. When he heard this, he suddenly raised his head and looked at Bo Zhi indifferently. Bo Zhi's expression changed, and he actually cowered. He smiled awkwardly and said, "I won't disturb Mr. Ting. Enjoy your meal."
Ding Meng turned his head and saw that the person in the booth next to him was the young man who had eaten noodles in the banquet hall last night. The young man was still as thin, and his attitude was still as indifferent. Even when he was eating porridge, he still looked unhurried. However, Ding Meng already knew this person's information. This person's name was Dan Teng, and he didn't belong to the Six Major Sects. He was a newcomer who had just entered Starlink through the arena.
Dan Teng's first impression was that he didn't like to talk much. He gave off a cold and unapproachable vibe. However, what was interesting was that the person eating and drinking across from him was actually Elephant. Moreover, Elephant seemed to treat him quite well, inviting him to eat and drink together. Dan Teng neither refused nor responded. He just silently ate his porridge. Judging from his indifferent expression, it was as if he was telling everyone around him that only Elephant was qualified to sit across from him, and that everyone else should stay away from him.
Ding Meng couldn't help but smile. There were quite a few experts gathered for this operation. So far, it seemed that none of them were weak newbies.
The transport ship quickly rose into the air and flew toward the Inner Rim.
At this time, Lin Aoxue led a group of beautiful women to the center of the hall and greeted the people from the Six Major Sects in a friendly manner.
In truth, she wasn't interested in Ding Meng, Sheng Tianming, or Kun Ran. She was mainly talking to the old man who was leading Qian Huanyu's group.
"Mister Ming, you're old but vigorous. I didn't expect you to personally lead the team," Lin Aoxue greeted with a smile.
Mister Ming's real name was Ming Huazhi, and he was the most authoritative appraiser in the entire Alliance. This was one of the most respected professions in the God Wars Star Zone.
It was common knowledge that the God Wars Star Zone didn't have many resources. Most of the resources were controlled by the Alliance and provided for the operation of Starlink. Thus, when people obtained something good, they would often find a professional to appraise it. Gradually, the profession of appraiser was born.
Appraisers were Origin Energy Users themselves, and they were well-versed in various fields of knowledge. There was almost nothing they didn't know. For Ming Huazhi to be called a master, it was obvious that Qian Huanyu had sent this group of people for a reason.
Ming Huazhi replied politely, "Boss Lin, you must be joking. I'm just bringing a few students out to broaden their horizons."
Lin Aoxue smiled. "Mister Ming, I'm afraid you're not simply here to broaden your horizons, are you?
You must have some opinions about us using the Long Voyage Alliance's newly developed starships, right? "
Ming Huazhi sighed. "I did suggest using a method with lower risks, but since Boss Lin insisted, I had no choice but to comply …"
It was difficult for outsiders to understand their conversation, but fortunately, Lu Qing, who was standing behind Lin Aoxue, had secretly established a telepathic link with Ding Meng. She transmitted a telepathic message, and Ding Meng immediately knew what they were talking about.
For a long time, energy had been the most discussed topic in the Alliance. Because the Water Sakura Association controlled most of the energy, it received the most attention.
In the past decade, many people had noticed that the Long Voyage Alliance's investment in starship research had been increasing like a rolling snowball. The speed of research and development had been accelerating, and the frequency of the Water Sakura Association's exploration had also increased correspondingly. The size of the fleet they used was also increasing. Many people had thought of a problem. The Godly War Starring had been running on such a large scale for hundreds of years. Was the supply of energy running out?
Lin Aoxue never gave an answer to this question, but everyone had a guess in this regard. The supply of energy should be very tight. Once the Starring could not keep up with the supply of energy, although it would not stop running, the Starring's normal operation was related to the future of the entire Godly War Starfield.
The message from Lu Qing also specifically stated that the God War Starfield was not a complete starfield hundreds of years ago. This was a battlefield where several different civilizations had fought. In the end, each of them had suffered great losses. Only the remaining human world had managed to survive. They had stayed in this starfield after the war and were struggling at death's door.
In other words, the Godly War Starfield was not a place to live for long. The appearance and development of the Starring had only delayed the decline of the Godly War Starfield. Because the resources would be exhausted sooner or later, the Alliance had always attached great importance to the issue of energy.
The higher-ups and insightful people above them had a more long-term vision. Many of them were already thinking about the future of the human world in the Godly War Starfield.
On this issue, the Alliance was divided into two factions. One faction's view was that they should continue to develop technology, explore other galaxies, and search for new energy sources for the development of the Starring.
This faction was led by the Water Sakura Association, which had the support of the Long Voyage Alliance and the Blue Light Group. The person who held this view was Lin Aoxue.
The other faction was the opposing faction. They believed that this was not a long-term solution. They should take the initiative to explore green galaxies, find habitable planets, and establish colonies. After long-term development, they would develop a highly developed human world in the future.
This faction was led by the Holy War Army, which had the support of the Blood War Temple and Qian Huanyu. The opposing faction's representative was Ming Huazhi.
In short, it was impossible to determine which of the two factions was right. This issue had been debated for many years. As the Long Voyage Alliance continued to build fleets capable of interstellar voyages, everyone put their views into practice. Of course, as the Water Sakura Association continued to transport various kinds of energy sources, more and more people supported Lin Aoxue.
For example, this reconnaissance operation was approved by the higher-ups of the Alliance through a unanimous vote. Ming Huazhi could not object. However, since he wanted to come along, Lin Aoxue had to take him seriously.
"Elder Ming, you're an authority and a well-known figure. In fact, I'm not afraid to say …" Lin Aoxue paused and finally said something shocking. "Based on the current scale of the Godly War Starring, if we don't continue to expand, the Starring will continue to operate for no more than 72 years."
This was the first time she had directly answered the question of energy sources in public.
Xi Wen, who had been silent all this time, spoke up. "The exact time is 72 years, 8 months, 9 days, 12 hours, 3 minutes, and 50 seconds later. The energy storage value will reach zero."
For a moment, the entire hall was so quiet that everyone could hear their own heartbeats. This time period might not be a concept for outsiders like Ding Meng and the others, but for those who had lived on the Starring for a long time, everyone knew what this meant.
This meant that the Starring's lifespan was less than 72 years. Once the energy source was exhausted, the Starring would fall into eternal darkness. The entire Godly War Starring would return to the chaotic era of hundreds of years ago. The end was imminent.