When Xueyi returned home, she found Jingliu carefully setting the table with dishes.
"Senior Xueyi."
"Congratulations on your victory. I... I'm not even ten years older than you. There's really no need to call me senior."
Having lived aboard the Xianzhou for over a decade, Xueyi still occasionally slipped back into the casual speech patterns of Cangcheng out of habit.
The Xianzhou differed greatly from Cangcheng. Thanks to its close partnership with the Interastral Peace Corporation, its everyday language came closest to modern vernacular among all the Xianzhou ships.
"Understood, Senior Xueyi." Jingliu gave a small nod.
"..."
Xueyi could only shake her head helplessly. She glanced around the house and, noticing that neither Kanzaki nor Hanya were present, immediately understood what they were likely doing.
Just as the thought crossed her mind, the two of them emerged from the corridor, one following the other.
Seeing the gentle, radiant smile on her younger sister's face and the soft, grateful look she directed toward Kanzaki's back, the situation became perfectly clear.
"Thank you for always looking after my little sister, Kanzaki."
"It's better to be on time than early. Let's eat." Kanzaki brushed off the formal gratitude without much fuss.
The sincerity and loyalty in Xueyi's actions ran far deeper than any words could express.
At the dinner table, Jingliu's gaze kept drifting toward Hanya through the corner of her eye.
Even in loose, comfortable loungewear, Hanya's full and alluring figure was impossible to hide. Her cheeks carried a faint flush, and her eyes sparkled with unmistakable vitality. She practically glowed.
It was as if she had been thoroughly nourished not long ago.
Fragments of knowledge about that particular subject, which Jingliu had once looked up through the Jade Sign, surfaced in her mind. A small pang of bitterness stirred within her.
Still, she told herself it was nothing.
Eating in silence had long become their unspoken family custom.
Only after everyone had finished their meal and set down their utensils did Jingliu finally speak.
"Master, I have accepted a new mission. I will be departing tomorrow for another patrol. This time the destination is quite distant... over eighty light-years away from the Xianzhou Yaoqing."
Kanzaki's eyes settled on Jingliu's face. He studied her quietly for a long moment, and a thought rose unbidden in his mind.
A young daughter of the family had finally grown up.
Jingliu was not his daughter by blood, yet ever since he had taken her as his disciple, he had raised her as a true member of the Tomomu family.
She was no longer the fragile girl who could only wait helplessly for death when facing the Abominations.
Although she had started her training later than most, she had endured brutal, hellish regimens, trading endless sweat and effort for astonishing progress.
By any measure in the long history of the Tomomu family, her achievements could only be called outstanding.
Yet how many equally talented descendants of the Tomomu line had perished before they could truly shine?
Small and medium-scale battles had seen their share of complete victories, but never a large-scale expedition.
Large-scale was a broad term, but certain truths remained unchanging.
Those who shared a meal with you today might never return tomorrow.
New recruits praised for their potential today might be gone by tomorrow.
Officers who argued with their adjutants or comrades today might disappear by tomorrow.
The soldiers who encouraged one another and fought at your side today might still be lost by tomorrow.
A large-scale battle was tens, sometimes hundreds of times more brutal than a medium-scale one. No matter how many times one experienced it, the cruelty always brought new and painful realizations.
It was never the sight of death itself that truly hardened the heart... but the pain of parting.
"You don't need to report every single mission to me," Kanzaki said, his voice calm and steady. "As long as you don't push yourself beyond your limits, you may go and slay Abominations whenever you wish."
Even as he spoke, Kanzaki felt a sharp sting of selfishness rising from deep within. The fear that had taken root in him ever since his mother first showed signs of mara-struck infection now resurfaced stronger than ever.
He was afraid... truly afraid of losing this one disciple he had carefully raised as his successor.
When had it come to this?
He had believed that after his mother's death and the fall of Cangcheng, there was nothing left in this universe that could make him feel such loss again.
Kanzaki fell silent.
Jingliu paid no mind to her master's flat tone. Instead, a faint, almost imperceptible smile touched the corners of her lips.
"Understood, Master."
As long as you don't push yourself beyond your limits... Those simple words carried his concern for her, didn't they?
That was more than enough.
Even if there was no room left in her master's heart for tenderness, as long as there was space for concern, she would be content.
For anything more... she would not ask for it. Not yet.
===
Time passed swiftly.
Before anyone realized, the star calendar had reached the year 6318.
Jingliu had already taken part in forty-nine medium-scale expeditionary battles, just one short of the goal Kanzaki had set for her years ago.
Completing all her daily training programs in a single day was now something she handled with ease.
Across the various military ports of the Xianzhou, the constant roar of expedition fleets launching and landing never ceased, day or night.
Dressed in the standard light combat armor of the Xianzhou, Jingliu stood on the observation deck of Zhen-class Port-88.
Her long, ice-colored hair swayed gently in the artificial winds created by ascending and descending star-skiffs. The youthful innocence had long since left her face, replaced by the sharp, battle-hardened edge earned through years of relentless combat.
"Reporting, Captain. Resupply is 97 percent complete." Her adjutant's voice crackled through the communicator.
"All personnel board the ship and await further orders," Jingliu commanded.
Over the years, her military accomplishments had been outstanding, earning her promotion to Captain of the Cloud Knights' 1753rd Frontline Detachment.
This mission targeted several Abominations of Abundance nests within a particular star system.
Five thousand detachment captains, each leading their own squad, formed a force totaling over five million Cloud Knights. They were being deployed to suppress the threat.
Recent intelligence showed unusually high activity from the Abominations in the area, with signs of rapid spread.
The mission carried a medium-to-high difficulty rating, and the Divination Commission's simulations indicated a degree of risk.
Jingliu had seen similar assessments many times before.
This time would likely be no different.
When the order finally came from the supreme commander, the majestic fleet of battlecruisers detached from the port, passed through the Xianzhou realm gate, and vanished into the vast expanse of the star sea.
For the following six months, the battle reports arriving every three days were overwhelmingly positive.
While Jingliu fought far from home, Kanzaki remained just as busy. He led the Cloud Knights in a sweeping campaign that completely eradicated hundreds of Abominations of Abundance species.
Unbeknownst to him, the majority of the surviving Cloud Knights who had originally come from Cangcheng had gradually fallen under his direct command.
His growing list of impressive military achievements had spread widely in recent years, both among the ordinary citizens of the Xianzhou and within the massive ranks of the Cloud Knights, which numbered in the hundreds of millions.
Many claimed that he was destined to one day take on the role of Cloud Knight Sword Master.
Yet every year the same prediction was made, and every year it failed to come true.
The position of Sword Champion remained empty. For reasons unknown, the General continued to withhold the appointment from Kanzaki.
"Welcome back, Kanzaki and the victorious army!!!"
Above the military port, countless battlecruisers streaked across the sky as thunderous cheers erupted from the welcoming crowd below.
Upon returning to the Cloud Knights' main base within the Grotto-Heaven, Kanzaki, still holding his helmet, led the entire army in a solemn salute to General Sha Feng.
"General, your subordinate has successfully completed the mission."
"Thank you for bringing good news," General Sha Feng replied. "However... I also have some bad news for you."
"Please speak."
"While you were returning to the Xianzhou, a team engaged in a medium-scale operation sent out a distress signal. Jingliu is among those in distress."
At those words, Kanzaki's eyes sharpened instantly.