Today, the Central Starskiff Haven had never been this noisy, nor this crowded.
From the moment the first ray of morning sunlight pierced the heavens above the Luofu, streams of people had already begun pouring in from every direction.
Residents of the Exalting Sanctum. Healers from the Alchemy Commission. Diviners from the Divination Commission. Craftsmen from the Artisanship Commission…
They wore their most formal clothes and carried their heaviest hearts as they gathered in this harbor, which was usually bustling and lively.
Not because of a festival.
Not because of a market day.
And certainly not because of any joyous occasion.
Only because the time had come for the Luofu's welcoming ceremony.
And that ceremony was to be held in the Central Starskiff Haven.
No one shouted.
No one urged the others forward.
Tens of thousands of people stood across the plaza, packed so densely that the crowd stretched from one end to the other, yet the whole place was as silent as a sleeping sea.
Now and then, the wind would sweep through, setting sleeves and banners fluttering with a hunting rustle.
But that wasn't noise.
It was a sound of silence, solemnity, and some emotion too deep to put into words.
At that moment, Mobius stood upon the high platform at the center of the Starskiff Haven. Behind her were the four Divine Foresight Generals currently on the Luofu.
Jing Yuan. Feixiao. Huaiyan. Yaoguang.
And of course, Bailu—the Luofu's High Elder, the Healer Lady herself—was present as well.
Today she was dressed in a robe entirely unlike her usual attire, a deep blue ceremonial gown embroidered with intricate cloud and dragon motifs. Even the little dragon horns atop her head had clearly been polished with care.
Her expression was a little awkward. It was obvious she wasn't used to occasions this formal.
Below the high platform stood the delegations sent by the six Xianzhou ships.
The Yaoqing delegation wore black military dress, sabers hanging at their waists, every face solemn.
The Zhuiming delegation wore crimson robes and carried ceremonial staffs. Old General Huaiyan led them in person, and the murky old eyes he usually wore now held only gravity.
The Fanghu delegation wore water-colored garments, elegant and refined, each holding a jade flute—a very old instrument whose notes were said to pierce straight through the heart.
The Xuling delegation wore plain white robes and bamboo hats, with veils hanging from the brim to hide their faces.
The Yuque delegation wore dark robes and carried star charts, every gaze calm and sharp.
Six Xianzhou ships. Six colors. Six temperaments.
All gathered now in the Central Starskiff Haven, for one reason.
For one person.
And standing on the platform, Mobius swept her gaze across them and had only a single thought.
…Well.
The pomp and ceremony sure are impressive.
The corner of her mouth twitched for a brief instant, almost rising into a smile, but quickly flattened again.
Today, she could not smile.
What a pity. With a scene this grand, if she were free to perform properly, she could probably bring in another hundred thousand points or more with just a few lines.
But considering the plan that would follow afterward, Mobius forced herself to endure it.
Anyway, she still had more than a million points in reserve. She wasn't exactly desperate for a little more.
And besides…
Her gaze swept once more across the faces below the platform.
The people of the Luofu, the Cloud Knights, the ordinary citizens standing here today—after seeing the past Aha had dragged back into the light, they really did seem to be welcoming her from the bottom of their hearts.
"The auspicious hour has arrived…"
At the side of the platform, a herald from the Palace of Astrum rose and spoke in a powerful voice that carried through the entire Central Starskiff Haven.
He was a white-haired old man, dressed in the most formal ceremonial attire of the Palace, holding a yellowed scroll in both hands.
"Let the six ships sound as one…"
The instant the words fell, the sky above the Starskiff Haven lit up.
Six starships hanging high above the port answered at once.
They were enormous vessels, each sent from one of the six Xianzhou ships, hovering high above the square. The patterns along their hulls shimmered with different colors under the sunlight.
Then those six colors intertwined overhead, blanketing the entire plaza in a dreamlike radiance.
And then the cloud gongs sounded.
Dong…
That was the first strike.
Only the beginning.
Yet the sound was deep and resonant, as though it had come from the center of the earth—or fallen from the edge of heaven itself.
It passed through the plaza of the Central Starskiff Haven.
Through the countless people gathered there.
Through the generals on the platform.
Through Mobius's eardrums.
Straight into the heart.
Dong…
The second strike.
Mobius's fingers curled ever so slightly.
Dong…
The third.
Her breathing grew just a little lighter.
Dong…
The fourth.
The fifth.
The sixth.
…
One strike followed another, unhurried, steady, powerful.
Each one sounded less like celebration and more like a statement.
Five hundred and ninety-three years.
Everyone aboard Yuanqiao had lived on that isolated Xianzhou ship for five hundred and ninety-three years.
And then they had died.
No one had known they had lived.
No one had known they had died.
If not for Aha—if not for that bizarre broadcast that tore the truth loose—then the entire galaxy would never have known that somewhere in a forgotten corner, there had once been a Xianzhou ship called Yuanqiao, and that there had once been people aboard it who had paid such a price for the sake of the galaxy.
Dong…
The three-hundredth strike.
Dong…
The five-hundredth.
Somewhere in the crowd, someone's eyes turned red.
The Xianzhou civilians standing below, the ordinary people who had never seen war or experienced such partings, stood there in silence, listening to the cloud gongs, as though they could hear the voices of five hundred and ninety-three years ago.
Dong…
The five-hundred-and-ninety-third strike.
The cloud gongs stopped.
The Central Starskiff Haven fell into total silence.
Tens of thousands of people stopped breathing in the same instant, their chests filled by something so immense that there was no room left for air.
That silence lasted three seconds.
Then the wind rose.
Not a natural wind.
It was the current stirred by a thousand starskiffs taking flight.
A thousand starskiffs rose from every direction in the Central Starskiff Haven. Their silver hulls gleamed coldly in the sunlight as they lifted and arranged themselves into a shape.
A single character.
圆
Not in the simplified form.
Not in the standard script of today.
But in the ancient orthography of the Xianzhou Alliance's earliest days.
That ancient character hung square and solid in the sky, its strokes sharp and forceful, as though carved there with a blade.
Then a second wave of starskiffs rose.
They took shape beneath the first, forming another character.
峤
Yuanqiao.
The two ancient characters hung in the heavens above the Starskiff Haven, every line clear, every stroke precise.
At that moment, everyone raised their heads.
Those who knew ancient script recognized the two characters, their lips trembling as though they wanted to say something, yet unable to force out even a single word.
Those who did not recognize them saw the expressions of those around them and understood all the same.
Yuanqiao.
The ship that no longer existed had, in this way, appeared once more before everyone's eyes.
"Let grief be entrusted to the long sky. The rite is complete…"
The herald's voice rang out again, pulling Mobius back from the thoughts she had fallen into.
The two characters in the sky, formed by a thousand starskiffs, slowly broke apart. One by one, the starskiffs descended again, as though completing some sacred ritual.
Then the herald spoke once more.
"Let the Sixfold Dragon Seals be presented…"
Mobius's pupils contracted slightly.
Here it comes.
The Sixfold Dragon Seals.
She had already heard of them.
Apparently, the Xianzhou Alliance had specially prepared them for her. Each time she visited one ship, its general would personally present her with one.
One dragon seal represented the acknowledgment of a single ship.
Once all six were gathered, it would signify the recognition of the entire Alliance.
Though honestly… Mobius had no idea what practical use they were supposed to have.
Still half lost in thought, she saw Jing Yuan move.
He rose from the main seat on the platform and walked toward her with measured steps.
At his waist hung the token of the Divine Foresight General, gleaming with a steady golden light in the sun. But what he carried in both hands was something else entirely.
A dragon seal.
It was jade-green, about the size of an adult's fist. A lifelike dragon coiled around the body of the seal, its head lifted proudly, its claws spread wide, every scale carved in exquisite detail as if it might spring free at any moment.
The base of the seal was square, engraved with complex ancient characters—the oldest script of the Luofu Vidyadhara, bearing the authority and duty of a High Elder.
Jing Yuan stopped before Mobius.
He lowered his gaze to the small figure before him.
On that face, usually marked by easy indolence and lazy humor, there was now only solemnity.
"High Elder Mobius of Yuanqiao," he said.
"Today, by order of the Alliance, the Luofu presents its Vidyadhara Dragon Seal to Mobius, High Elder of Yuanqiao."
"This seal represents the Luofu's respect for Yuanqiao. It represents the Luofu's respect for General Chiyuan. And it represents the Luofu's respect for you."
"Let this seal stand as witness: Yuanqiao's will shall never be forgotten by the Luofu. Yuanqiao's suffering shall be remembered by the Luofu for all ages."
When his voice fell, he extended the dragon seal toward her with both hands.
"Please accept it."
Mobius lowered her gaze to the jade-green seal.
Below the platform, tens of thousands of eyes rested on her.
No one spoke.
No one urged her on.
The wind blew in from the port, stirring the loose strands of hair over her brow and rustling the plain white robes she wore.
She looked at the seal before her.
In her eyes, the green body of it glimmered like a pool frozen in place.
For a moment, she said nothing.
Then Mobius extended both hands and accepted it.
It was cool in her palms.
Heavier than she had expected.
She lowered her head and traced the dragon engraved on it with her fingertips.
Hmm…
After feeling it out for a moment, she could indeed sense a trace of the Path of Permanence inside it.
Though unfortunately, it was only a tiny amount.
It really was just a symbol, not some great artifact of power.
Then she lifted her head and looked at Jing Yuan.
"Thank you."
After saying that, she turned and faced the crowd below the platform.
Honestly, she wasn't particularly good at scenes like this.
After all, none of her personas had ever truly stood before a crowd amid a spectacle on this scale.
"I am Mobius," she said, "the Vidyadhara High Elder of the Xianzhou Yuanqiao."
"Xianzhou Alliance… I have returned."
Just those two lines.
No lengthy speech.
Only the simplest self-introduction, and the most direct declaration.
Soon enough, with none of the fancy extra steps people might have expected, the Luofu's welcoming ceremony came to an end.
Everything went smoothly.
Smoothly enough that it felt like a performance rehearsed countless times.
Which, in truth, it had been.
Ling Sha had drilled her on the ceremony for quite a while.
And so, after enduring yet another round of formal greetings and ceremonial procession, the exhausted Mobius finally returned to her quarters.
But getting any rest afterward was, as it turned out, impossible.
That very same evening, a message came from the Seat of Divine Foresight informing her that she needed to pack her things that night.
They would be departing immediately after.
Mobius: "..."
She was starting to suspect this wasn't some welcoming tour at all.
Though, tragically, she had no evidence.
And so—
The next day.
At the Luofu's Jade Gate, Mobius stood beneath the enormous open portal, looking up at it with a complicated expression.
She had only managed to lie down for half a day, and already she was setting out again.
She knew the Alliance intended to hold six ceremonies.
She knew not a single one of the six Xianzhou ships would be omitted.
She knew this was the Alliance's way of showing its regard—and its remorse.
But what she had not expected was for the six ceremonies to connect seamlessly, without giving her even a single breath in between.
Sigh…
Come to think of it, it had been a while since she had properly slept, hadn't it?
Ordinarily, with the physique of an Emanator—and as a max-level persona—Mobius didn't get tired very easily. Sleep and food, for the most part, were no longer necessities for her.
But still.
Still.
She was only a three-year-old child.
"Little Dragon Sovereign, it's time for us to depart."
Huaiyan's voice came from behind her, old and steady.
Mobius drew back her gaze and turned around.
The four Divine Foresight Generals still on the Luofu stood beneath the Jade Gate now—Jing Yuan, Feixiao, Huaiyan, and Yaoguang—each in a different color of general's robes, strikingly vivid beneath the starlight.
Mobius felt another headache coming on.
"General Huaiyan," Jing Yuan said first.
"I leave Miss Mobius in your care."
To be fair, Jing Yuan really did look rather like a parent sending off a child on a long journey.
Huaiyan nodded slightly. His aged voice came out low and unhurried.
"General Jing Yuan, rest easy. I've already had everything on Zhuiming prepared in advance."
He paused, then lowered his gaze to the small figure standing nearby.
"Once the Little Dragon Sovereign arrives on Zhuiming, she shall be our most honored guest. I guarantee in the name of the Xianzhou Zhuiming that no one will dare show her the slightest disrespect."
Jing Yuan nodded and said nothing more.
To be honest, he had only been exchanging formal courtesies to begin with. Given Huaiyan's seniority, he didn't need to specifically remind the man of such things.
But those words sounded rather different in Mobius's ears.
She chose not to bother with either of them and instead turned her eyes to the Zhuiming starship.
By now, the Zhuiming delegation had already boarded.
And among them, Mobius could clearly spot Yunli.
Yunli had not obediently gone back inside the ship at all. Instead, she was still plastered to the window, staring directly at Mobius.
Tsk…
Looks like she really had made quite the impression on her back in the Exalting Sanctum.
Mobius pulled her mind back in.
At that moment, Feixiao stepped forward.
"Little Dragon Sovereign, once Zhuiming's welcoming ceremony is over, your next stop will be the Yaoqing."
She paused, looking straight at Mobius.
Truthfully, because of what had happened with the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, Mobius had once had a brief awkward phase with her.
But after Aha's broadcast ended, General Feixiao's attitude had performed an immediate one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn.
It wasn't quite flattery…
But she was absolutely trying to raise her favorability.
How should she put it?
Mobius didn't actually dislike it.
Feixiao continued, "I'll make sure everything is prepared for you in advance. Yaoqing may not be as bustling as the Luofu, nor as prosperous as Zhuiming, but it has its own strengths."
"I believe you'll see them for yourself."
Mobius blinked, then nodded.
"In that case… thank you in advance, General Feixiao?"
As she spoke, her gaze drifted toward the outer port in the distance, to the starship belonging to the Yaoqing.
Like Zhuiming's ship, the Yaoqing delegation had already boarded.
But aboard that Yaoqing vessel, Mobius noticed something unusual.
A container.
It looked completely ordinary at first glance.
Pitch-black, not especially large—but its outer surface was plastered with layers upon layers of talismans, each glowing faintly gold, stacked one atop another as if the people who had sealed it were terrified whatever was inside might get out.
And what caught Mobius's attention most was the aura leaking through the talisman-covered shell.
Abundance.
It was the aura of Abundance—dense, pure, and carrying that instinctively unsettling vitality that made one's skin crawl.
Mobius's brows drew together slightly.
Oh.
She remembered whose aura that was.
Hoolay's.
Back in the Shackling Prison, one of Kallen's personas had even hesitated for a moment over whether to release him too.
But after thinking it through, Kallen had ultimately decided against it, and Hoolay had forever lost his chance to become one of Kallen's underlings.
After all, according to the original sequence of events surrounding the Martial Ceremony, the point of the Yaoqing delegation coming to the Luofu had been precisely to use Hoolay to treat Feixiao.
The "moon-rage" afflicting Feixiao was a curse left behind by the bloodline of the Borisin. Every flare-up brought immense pain, and each episode pushed her body closer to the brink of collapse.
By now, Feixiao was almost at the limit of what she could endure.
And Hoolay might well have been the only thing capable of easing—or even curing—that suffering.
So in order not to attract suspicion, Kallen had chosen not to take Hoolay away when she had the chance.
And honestly, given Hoolay's current value, if she had taken him, it would've felt like a bit of a waste.
"Little Dragon Sovereign, we should depart."
Mobius blinked and turned to Huaiyan.
Huaiyan continued, "I've already arranged everything on Zhuiming in advance."
"If you grow tired along the way, you may rest aboard the ship. Zhuiming is not far from the Luofu—at this vessel's speed, the journey will take roughly two days."
Mobius nodded without saying anything.
Huaiyan then turned to Jing Yuan, Feixiao, and Yaoguang.
"Then I shall take the Little Dragon Sovereign back to Zhuiming first."
Jing Yuan inclined his head. "Safe travels, General Huaiyan."
Feixiao nodded but said nothing.
Yaoguang, however, spoke. Her voice remained as warm and refined as ever.
"General Huaiyan, please take good care of the Little Dragon Sovereign along the way. If anything is needed, the Yuque is always within reach."
Hearing that, Huaiyan smiled faintly.
"General Yaoguang, be assured. As it happens, I do have a granddaughter of my own. Though she's a lively one—always swinging blades around and running wild."
"But she's close in age to the Little Dragon Sovereign. Once the Little Dragon Sovereign arrives at Zhuiming, with my granddaughter accompanying her, she should not feel too bored."
As he said this, that old face full of wrinkles softened with rare warmth.
"And of course, I will treat the Little Dragon Sovereign exactly as I would my own granddaughter."
"On that point, you may rest easy."
For a moment, the air grew quiet.
Yaoguang stood there to the side, still wearing that calm, jade-warm smile. But something in her quiet eyes shifted ever so slightly.
Then she looked at Mobius again.
Seeing this, Mobius's brow twitched.
From the first moment she had met Yaoguang, she had already noticed it.
This General of the Xianzhou Yuque was different from the others.
Her attitude toward Mobius was just a little too intense.
Sure, the other generals all wanted her to remain on their ship too.
But wanting something was one thing. None of them had tried too hard to force the matter.
Yaoguang, however, was different.
This woman's manner toward her had long since crossed into the suspiciously intimate. It was almost as if she was determined to make Mobius stay on the Yuque no matter what.
…No.
That wasn't just "a little suspicious."
On a scale of ten, this was a full one hundred percent suspicious.
And just as expected, Yaoguang began coaxing her again.
"Little Dragon Sovereign, once all the welcoming ceremonies are over, should you find yourself with spare time, perhaps you might remain on the Yuque for a while longer and look around."
Mobius had already prepared her response long ago.
"Yes. Once I reach the Yuque, I'll give it some careful thought."
Yaoguang's lips curved upward, and satisfaction appeared in that warm, refined face of hers.
As if Mobius's words had not been a polite brush-off…
But a promise.
Mobius took in that expression and felt a little numb inside.
Did this woman really think she could fool her with the same tricks she'd use on a three-year-old?
Still, it didn't matter.
According to the sequence of events she already had planned, forget making it to the Yuque—
she likely wouldn't even make it as far as Zhuiming.
But that was a matter for later.
After saying goodbye to the others one by one, Mobius finally boarded the Zhuiming starship together with Huaiyan.
Join here to read ahead.
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 180)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter260)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter135)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (This matter is completely finished.)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 240
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 210
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 280
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 260
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/40
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 130
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 155
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 120
Summoning an Evil God, but the 75
Supernatural Multiverse 135
My Harem Is Indescribable 105
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 110
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 67
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 110
Still playing traditional Honk 91
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 95
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 80
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 90
Checking In in Demon Slayer 95
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 105
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 95
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 80
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 100
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 95
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 85
Why did they assign me to Uma 80
MYGO Beauties 75
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 80
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 90
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 105
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 65
The Uma Musume Who Became 70
I'm Definitely Not the King of 85
After Maxing Out Every Class 85
Naruto: I'm Konoha's Local Men 44
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 70
I, the Elden Sword Saint 60
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 60
No One Knows Pokémon Better 55
I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 55
From Trilobites to Titans 55
Chainsaw Man: Contracted with 66
DanMachi: My Party Members Are 70
An Anime Heroine Darkened 60
Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duel Links 50
Honkai: The Fire Devil 30
Honkai Transformation Cards 35
Age of Heroes, I'm Just a Back 45
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin