"Good morning, Eden!"
In the dining hall, Elysia greeted Eden, looking full of energy.
"Good morning, Ely. It seems you're in excellent spirits today."
"Mhm, and Eden, you look even more radiant than yesterday."
"Ehehe... Hehe, I slept soundly last night~" Noticing Jiang Qiao's arrival, Elysia immediately started showing off, a smug, satisfied smile on her face. "Aponia is so soft..."
"Not just there, but her tummy too~ Eden, Eden, let me tell you, Aponia's tummy is round and soft, so comfortable to touch, just like a little water balloon filled with water."
"Water balloon?" Eden, hearing this description, looked puzzled and glanced at Aponia sitting with Elysia.
Because of their close relationship, she and Aponia inevitably had some physical contact... Softness was nothing new, but like a water balloon...
She subconsciously looked at the nun's lower abdomen, concealed by black silk, but before she could get a good look, Miss Nun covered it with her hand, her expression utterly natural, solemn, and serious as she explained:
"Elysia, I merely carry too many mistakes..."
"Ehehe~ Aponia's way of speaking is always so hard to understand, but I get it~ It must be because you ate a lot here and gained weight~"
"There's so much delicious food here~ Yesterday, when I was traveling with Bad Jiang Qiao, I tried so many things~"
Eden pondered for a moment, then looked at Jiang Qiao. Seeing his uncomfortable appearance, she seemed thoughtful.
"I see."
"...The Xianzhou is holding the Luminary Wardance, do you want to go check it out?" Mr. Jiang, the victim, felt a little helpless but still took this opportunity to bring up the main topic and briefly explained the Jade Talisman's message.
"Ooh... a martial arts tournament for long-lived species? Sounds interesting. It would be a shame to miss it!"
Given Elysia's personality, she definitely wouldn't miss such a lively event.
Vill-V also seemed excited:
"This is the perfect moment to showcase Vill-V's spectacular magic to the people of the universe."
Not only did she want to watch, she even wanted to participate and register.
"If you want to participate, hmm... you can try later."
"I won't be going," Mobius stated.
"Eh—Mobius, you're not going?"
"Mhm, compared to watching a spectacle or something, I naturally prefer to research things worth researching~ The environment here is good, and I'm very interested in that woman called Ruan Mei, so..."
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity..."
Elysia tried to tempt her, but Miss Snake remained unmoved, showing a hint of disdain.
Wouldn't watching the broadcast be enough?
Or even, if she wanted to be more involved... Mobius's gaze fell on Jiang Qiao, licking her lips.
Wouldn't just one bite be enough?
Just like how the memory entities in the Elysian Realm could communicate directly through memories, for her, this was also a more efficient and intuitive method.
It would even be a first-person perspective!
Since Mobius didn't want to go, Elysia naturally couldn't force her.
Fortunately, both Eden and Aponia were willing to go.
Although Eden had some business to attend to, compared to the rare Luminary Wardance, postponing it a bit wouldn't hurt.
And Aponia...
Although she considered staying at the Glamoth Cathedral to pray devoutly, as she wasn't the type to run around, after glancing at Jiang Qiao... the reason of 'there are still mistakes that need correcting' clearly became the decisive factor.
The 'Great Her Majesty the Empress' still had many faults. As a loyal believer, she naturally needed to assist him at all times, correcting those 'sins'.
Furthermore, Aponia already had new ideas about how to 'atone' and better help Jiang Qiao rectify his errors.
---||---
Aboard the Glamoth Empire's interstellar cruiser, a warship built using the most advanced technology from both the Glamoth Empire and the Interstellar Peace Corporation, the vessel might not be exceptionally powerful in terms of offensive capabilities, but its speed was unparalleled in the universe.
Even the starships produced by the Xianzhou Alliance, known for their speed, couldn't match it.
"We're here already?"
Elysia, who had been thinking about how to spend her time on the starship, looked at the changing starfield with surprise.
"This is thanks to the Star Rail Network left by Akivili," Jiang Qiao explained.
Due to the unique nature of this world, each universe (or solar system at least) was separated by Imaginary energy, making normal faster-than-light travel difficult, or at least extremely time-consuming even if possible.
But thanks to Akivili's power, with the assistance of the Star Rail Network, interstellar travel, as long as one followed these convenient routes, could complete jumps between several or even hundreds of star regions in an instant.
Akivili had connected countless worlds, and this was precisely the foundation of the worlds' communication and prosperity.
"Wow, Jiang Qiao, Eden, look, such a big ship!" Elysia exclaimed excitedly, peering out the window as if she had discovered something amazing.
Through the starship's windows, two incredibly massive vessels could be seen arrayed against the dark, star-dusted night sky.
One of them was the Xianzhou Luofu.
As for the other... it wasn't unfamiliar to Jiang Qiao either.
After all, during the Mars calamity decades ago, he had glimpsed this Xianzhou through [Qingque]'s body—the Xianzhou Yaoqing, renowned for its unyielding strength, the most martial and vigorous ship in the Xianzhou Alliance.
Both Xianzhou ships were comparable in size to many planets in the universe.
Following standard procedures, they were received at the docking platform and entered through the Jade Gate. Despite having seen the sights of Glamoth, the largest interstellar power, Miss Pink Elf still displayed a 'naive', awestruck appearance after arriving at the Xianzhou Luofu, tugging on Jiang Qiao and asking him about everything.
He felt a little helpless—but also genuinely intrigued. After all, while he had been here as [Qingque], and was even extremely familiar with the Luofu due to Qingque, this was his first time setting foot here in his current form.
Furthermore, the Xianzhou's ancient, simple style evoked a sense of nostalgia for things from the very beginning, things worth cherishing.
At the Flowcloud Ferry, they boarded a Star Skiff and arrived at the Star Skiff Haven's central hub. Disembarking, a small figure immediately caught their eye.
"Finally..."
"Finally...!"
The moment their eyes met, the brown-haired, twin-tailed girl with dark circles under her eyes didn't hesitate for a moment, charging over as if by instinct—bringing Mr. Jiang into close contact with her slender, pale arms.
"I've caught you!" Her voice was incredibly excited, laced with a hint of gnashing teeth—drawing strange looks from the tourists coming and going around the Star Skiff Haven.
Like a pendant, Miss Qingque clung tightly to Jiang Qiao's throat, prematurely demonstrating the symptoms of a Xianzhou citizen undergoing Mara-struck madness. Fortunately, there were no Ten-Lords Commission officers present; otherwise, a trip to the Confinement Realm would have been inevitable.
"You pay for my Diviner position! Pay for my vacation! I'm not finished with you! Aaaah!" For those familiar with Miss Qingque, it would be hard to imagine the usually easygoing slacker displaying such rage.
But for those in the know...'helping Miss Qingque climb the corporate ladder and achieve greatness', 'keeping her away from useless vacations'—'Vacation? What vacation? Only useless people for the Xianzhou take vacations!' This series of actions had undoubtedly created a bitter feud between them.
Even if she were Mara-struck, Miss Qingque would probably still constantly lament Jiang Qiao's egregious offenses—or rather, he might be the main cause of her Mara-struck episodes in the first place.
Fortunately, Miss Qingque cared about her image. Perhaps noticing the presence of others, especially since this was a public place and there were many outworlders present due to the Luminary Wardance, she quickly jumped down and coughed twice:
"Ahem... Apologies, everyone, I lost my composure for a moment."
Polite and incredibly composed, she was completely different from just moments ago when she seemed ready to devour Jiang Qiao, making it hard to connect the two states.
Jiang Qiao looked at the current Qingque, slightly surprised.
Compared to the lazy appearance in his memory, though Qingque still had a languid air about her, it wasn't the laziness of a slacker, but more akin to Jing Yuan's unhurried demeanor.
Although her aura was peaceful, seeming approachable and actually being easy to approach, she was no longer easy to underestimate.
As the saying went, "Inner light concealed, wisdom self-evident."
Come to think of it, Firefly had also undergone a similar change. At least the current Firefly, although still quite tender and girlish, wasn't as 'one-dimensional' as she was during her Stellaron Hunter days.
"You've changed a lot compared to before."
"...Whose fault do you think that is?!" Miss Qingque didn't look happy at all hearing this, rolling her eyes.
You selfish man, I, Que'er, will never forgive you!
Noticing Elysia and the others, she nodded knowingly:
"Uh... oh, this is the group from the chat, and the one beside you is... And these are... Firefly told me about you all. Right, I'll take you to the inn."
She skillfully led them to the Dustswept Inn, located in the central hub of the Star Skiff Haven.
This five-hundred-year-old inn was the most famous lodging on the Xianzhou Luofu, and also the most suitable place to accommodate outworlders.
"Because the Luminary Wardance is approaching, the Xianzhou's security might be a bit tighter recently, and some areas will be more strictly controlled. Please understand."
"Also... Jiang Qiao, come with me for a moment."
"Eh?"
Elysia, who had originally planned to drag Jiang Qiao along to explore the Xianzhou Luofu, looked at Qingque with surprise.
"Apologies, I need to borrow him for a bit."
"No problem."
Although a bit disappointed, at least she wasn't alone. Holding the Xianzhou travel guide, Elysia glanced at Aponia and Eden, then scratched her head and nodded.
As for Bad Jiang Qiao... Hmph, who told him to always do bad things? Being subjected to justice is nothing strange.
---||---
"Alright, it's just the two of us now."
"...While this is a good time to collect my debts, official business is more important."
"Did something happen?" Jiang Qiao asked.
"Did you see that?"
"You mean the Xianzhou Yaoqing? It's kind of hard to miss."
"Did something happen on the Yaoqing?"
"How could it? The Luminary Wardance is just around the corner. If something really happened, wouldn't that make us a laughingstock?... Besides, how could those killers on the Yaoqing run into trouble? The only time was that incident over a decade ago... Hehe." As she spoke, Miss Qingque glanced at Jiang Qiao with a strained smile.
"It turned out alright in the end, right?"
"It did turn out well... Then about me being transferred to the Seat of Divine Foresight, do you have any clues?"
"I don't have a pig's head."
"Don't be cheeky!" Qingque scolded, dissatisfied, then looked towards the distant Yaoqing and sighed.
"Actually, I'm not entirely clear on the specifics..."
"Not just me, General Jing Yuan... even those on the Yaoqing... and even the Yuque, aren't quite sure."
"?"
"General Jing Yuan originally intended to use this Luminary Wardance to separate the wheat from the chaff, to provoke those with ulterior motives within the Luofu. But because of this divination result... everything has become somewhat unpredictable."
Qingque handed a Jade Talisman to Jiang Qiao, who glanced at it—it was a divination result from the Divination Commission... but not from the Xianzhou Luofu or the Yaoqing, but from the Yuque.
"Kan hexagram trapped in Dui, Geng hexagram's Gate of Life closed... This hexagram..."
Having learned divination from Qingque, Jiang Qiao looked at the string of extremely ominous signs. The divination report's meaning was essentially one thing—the Alliance was about to face a great calamity.
No escape, no transformation possible...
He recalled the divination results Qingque had shown him before, concerning the Three Calamities Era and even several wars, and found that this hexagram's danger level was on par with the Third Abundance War... no, perhaps even worse.
Definitely a dead end.
"How's the situation with the Abundance Denizens?"
"According to scout reports, the Abundance Denizens' main Borisin force is still engaged in internal conflict... No signs of Borisin gathering elsewhere either."
"What about the Antimatter Legion?"
"You know those crazed destroyers' style."
Jiang Qiao understood. The Antimatter Legion had always been known for its purity.
There was usually only one outcome when encountering them—destruction.
It was impossible to plant spies in such an extreme faction. They could only be observed from afar by scouts.
But even Glamoth had a hard time gathering intel on the Antimatter Legion, let alone the Xianzhou Alliance, which had little interaction with them.
"So, what's Jing Yuan's plan?"
"The Luminary Wardance will proceed as planned."
"The General's idea is to pacify internal strife before fighting external threats."
"And what about your idea?"
"Me?"
Qingque smiled, pouncing fiercely on the unsuspecting Jiang Qiao, shouting:
"My idea is, hand over your body!"