Chapter 4043  A Life Beyond Gaia

Pioneer I slowly moved through the vacuum of outer space in Serun I, carefully scanning its immediate surroundings for objects that could impede its path or damage its sides and its hull. The omni-ship was equipped with extra-hull plating to make it extremely durable and able to resist external bombardment. Since the ship relied on nanotechnology to an extent for much of its internal architecture, it needed a strong external frame that would serve as the boundaries of the shifting internal architecture.

"Preliminary scans reveal little presence in outer space." One analyst sitting at a station quietly revealed. "No gas, no asteroids, or space debris. Minor amounts of dust detected."

"Short-range scans complete. No immediate signs of danger."

"Commencing medium and long-range scans."

The omni-ship began conducting a deep scan of the entire star system, trying to gather more information on the entire star system. The star system was massive, of course, so it wasn't something that could be done easily or quickly. However, the omni-ship began spreading radiowaves across the entire solar system, radiowaves that could bounce off objects far away and return to the ship, gathering information on the entire star system. Once it gained an understanding of the structure of the Serun I star system, it would begin conducting more thorough surveys and gathering samples of all major objects within the solar system to create a profile to send home. It was undoubtedly going to be a long and boring process.

"Maybe I should have thought about that when I chose to move to a different world." Sage Gurren yawned as he remained seated in an exo-Martial suit meant to facilitate smooth combat in outer space.

He was among the Martial Sages who had volunteered to travel to a new world on a more permanent basis. Having gained a fascination for outer space and the cosmos many years ago. Rui had given him a technique that effectively allowed him to create a telescopic domain, allowing him to peer into the depths of the cosmos. It had only increased his desire to explore the cosmos, rather than to be stuck in Gaia. The recent events of the past month, in which Gaia had been invaded by two extraterrestrial forces, had only reinforced his longing for such a thing. The romance of the cosmos and of the stars was not something that could be hampered merely by a sense of danger.

If anything, it made things more interesting, as far as Sage Gurren was concerned. There was no sense of adventure without a little bit of a sense of danger. Compared to even the more mundane aspects of the scans and surveys of Serun I, Sage Gurren found Gaia to be far too boring.

With Martial Sages infesting the Panama Continent in the past six years, only the tight grip of the Emperor of Water kept the entire continent stable. Sage Gurren hadn't even been surprised that the man had broken through to the Transcendent Realm; it had always been a matter of time, as far as he was concerned. However, it also made Gaia extremely boring. There was no sense of freedom, of the unknown, and of adventure. Even the Beast Domain had been tamed by the indomitable Authority of Alpha of the emperor.

Thus, he had sought to go to another world, applying for one of the many missions planned into interstellar space to conquer and uncover the cosmos. BZZZT

The heads-up display within his astronaut suit featured the live feed of his handler in the Pioneer I omni-ship, something each Martial Sage had. A woman who looked to be in her thirties, wearing spectacles and a uniform featuring the crest of the Panamic Space Organization embroidered on the chest.

"Your Sagehood, you have been assigned to your first mission," she began with a perfunctory formal tone. "You will be conducting a ground survey of Serun Planera B, a planet orbiting the red dwarf star Serun Solara A of this star system. Dispatch will commence soon. Please board the surveyor spacecraft indicated in your mission tracker."

Sage Gurren grew excited at those words. "Will do, Miss Sara." He quickly headed towards the spacecraft he had been assigned to within the omni-ship. The omni-ship was a massive ship, spanning several kilometers along each of its dimensions. It was so large that it could host a large number of frigates and spacecrafts that could perform many such tasks.

He arrived at his spacecraft, about the size of a large room in its occupancy volume. It contained several seats at the back with a seat at the very forefront of the craft for the pilot who would conduct the scan of the Serun I planet.

Within the craft were several other Martial Sages clad in the same spacesuit that he was.

Each of them was markedly young. While Sage Gurren's hair and beard where graying, they looked to be in their late twenties and had a shallowness and brittleness to them that he had associated with Martial Sages of the post-cheat era. Something that referred to the era where Martial Masters could cheat their way to the Sage Realm by using artificial intelligence to discover who they were, rather than going on a journey of self-discovery as Martial Sages before them had.

"Gurren." He introduced himself to them. "Looking forward to working with you."

"Don't hold us back, old man," one of them said in a tone devoid of deference, and tightened his armor. "This isn't going to be like Gaia."

"Don't be mean," a woman beside him chided him, even if she smirked.

"Good to have you, senior," the third one among them smiled at him courteously.

The fourth one didn't even bother responding.

Sage Gurren could only mourn what felt like a complete deterioration in the quality and class of Martial Sages in the Panamic Civilization. Back in the day, being a Martial Sage used to mean something. It was an exceedingly difficult rank to reach, and it took effort, it took introspection, it took experience and wisdom. Martial Artists who had achieved Enlightenment of Self were given a lot of respect.

But in the past six years, that had largely gone out of the window as the number of Martial Artists who had 'achieved' Enlightenment of Self had exploded in number, making it a worthless achievement.