Chapter 181: Blade: He Hasn't Arrived Yet?
"Hundreds of years ago, a certain Emanator of Abundance led an army to the Luofu, intent on seizing the Ambrosial Arbor. The conflict that followed nearly destroyed half the ship's realms and resulted in a massacre that left barely one in ten Cloud Knights standing."
"To the long-lived species," Tingyun continued, her voice steady as her gaze swept over the smoldering ruins before them, "a past like that isn't even 'history.'Calling it'yesterday' would hardly be an exaggeration." She paused, a faint, professional smile gracing her lips. "Compared to that… what we see here is merely a minor squabble."
"Wow… who comforts people like that?" March 7th couldn't help but mutter under her breath.
Welt shook his head slightly, his expression thoughtful. "I wonder if the Grand Diviner won or lost this battle."
"It must have been a crushing victory!" Stelle declared, puffing out her chest with absolute certainty.
"Exactly, exactly!" March 7th chimed in, quickly agreeing as she pointed toward several Cloud Knights reorganizing in the distance. "I don't see many fallen soldiers; the Xianzhou must have fought this battle beautifully!"
"Not necessarily…" Welt mused, his experienced eyes scanning the area. "If it were truly a major victory, they would typically leave behind outposts and troops to secure the rear. But here… I see no such arrangements."
"Maybe it's because these creatures of the Abundance were too weak?" a familiar, laughing voice suddenly drifted from around a nearby corner.
"Whoa! Big brother! You're here!" Stelle's eyes lit up, and she immediately waved at the newcomer.
Leon strolled out from behind a massive pillar, his posture utterly relaxed. He had just returned from Ruan Mei's space station. A night had quietly passed, and he had already compartmentalized the subtle, lingering emotions from their encounter. Calculating the time, he figured it was just about right for 'that famous scene' to unfold. He had to be there to record it personally; it would be a great gift to show the real Tingyun in the future.
"Zixuan, you're here." Welt stepped forward, lowering his voice. "The situation over there…"
"Don't worry," Leon said, understanding the unspoken question. He offered a slight, reassuring smile. "They are all being very 'well-behaved' and won't be causing any trouble."
His gaze drifted casually toward the distant sky, his tone as relaxed as if he were discussing the weather. "Even the most 'dangerous' one is just watching the show for now. He's also quite interested to see how his followers… will actually perform."
Welt's pupils contracted slightly. Leon was, of course, referring to Nanook.
'And 'his followers'…'Welt's voice deepened.'In other words, there really is a follower of the Destruction who has infiltrated the Luofu?' He was careful not to look directly at Tingyun, his gaze instead sweeping naturally over the surrounding ruins. If the suspect was truly a Lord Ravager, they couldn't afford to alert the enemy.
"What kind of riddles are you two talking in? I don't get it," Serval said, shaking her head. Her perception of the undercurrents moving at the level of Aeons was still hazy.
As for Phantylia, the entity currently wearing Tingyun's form, she didn't fully grasp the deeper meaning of their exchange, but she couldn't be bothered to care. A burning anticipation blazed in her heart. The body of the Ambrosial Arbor was about to be hers, and with it, the combined authorities of Abundance and Destruction would converge within her. When that moment came, what would these insignificant 'noises' before her even matter?
"Dan Heng, you're still here?" Leon asked, turning to him with a curious smile.
"Shouldn't I be?" Dan Heng replied, taken aback by the question.
"No, I just thought you'd have arrived at Scalegorge Waterscape by now," Leon chuckled. If he remembered correctly, the original script had Kafka and Blade waiting for Dan Heng's grand entrance right about now.
However, because Welt had met up with Dan Heng ahead of schedule, he had been traveling with the Astral Express crew this whole time…
Meanwhile, at Scalegorge Waterscape, the air was thick with ancient silence.
Kafka leaned against a damaged jade pillar, her composed gaze fixed on the ceaseless, churning tides. Blade stood beside her, his hand resting on his sword, his entire body coiled with the tension of a blade just waiting to be unsheathed.
"He hasn't come yet," Blade's voice was a low growl, a dangerous edge of anxiety creeping into his tone.
"If this were the original script," Kafka replied softly, her voice a silken murmur against the roar of the water, "it should… indeed be about time."
"So now," Blade looked up, a faint, dark red light flashing in his eyes, "even you don't know when he will arrive?" He let out a short, sharp breath. "I've… grown a bit impatient waiting."
"It can't be helped. Who was the one who told a variable to intervene?" Kafka let out a soft chuckle and shrugged, a gesture of elegant resignation.
Blade fell silent. Leon's appearance had twisted the script into a tangled mess… but Elio's prophecy remained unchanged: the outcome would still be a good one.
"Then… I'll head to Scalegorge Waterscape first."
After his brief, cryptic conversation with Leon, Dan Heng finally decided to act alone. A vague but powerful pull had begun to emerge from the depths of his memory, urging him toward that land eternally washed by the tides.
"We'll come find you soon!" March 7th, Stelle, Caelus, and Serval waved their goodbyes.
With Dan Heng gone, the remaining members of the Astral Express crew continued forward with 'Tingyun' leading the way. Before long, they spotted Fu Xuan standing ahead.
"Grand Diviner!" March 7th waved from a distance.
"It's you." Fu Xuan looked up at the sound of her voice. Her expression was as stern as ever, but a nearly imperceptible trace of relief flickered in her eyes.
"The war seems to be at a disadvantage, yet the Grand Diviner still leads from the front to investigate the enemy situation personally. Truly admirable," Leon commented with a smile, his tone as natural as if they were discussing trivial matters.
"That—that's nothing… Divination requires the diviner to be present to obtain first-hand information. Only then can I deduce the correct result…" Fu Xuan responded subconsciously, but the tips of her ears grew slightly hot.
'Wait… who was that who just praised me?'she thought, her mind catching up.'Leon? That existence suspected to be Akivili?'Fu Xuan's heart gave a little tremble, but she forced herself to remain outwardly calm. "Ahem," she cleared her throat, reassuming her dignified air as the Grand Diviner. "And who said the war is unfavorable? Although the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus have plotted for a long time and used treacherous means, our army has not shown any signs of being at a disadvantage. Where does this'unfavorable' talk come from?"
Even if he was Akivili, he couldn't just pass judgment on the state of a battle at will.
"So, you waiting for us here… means you 'need something'again, right?" Stelle crossed her arms, wearing an expression that said,'I saw through you long ago.'
"It seems you all came prepared as well." Fu Xuan offered a faint chuckle, her gaze sweeping over everyone before lingering for an extra moment on Leon. Seeing that he had no intention of interfering, she felt a sliver of relief and then spoke with renewed seriousness.
"When you first met Madam Yukong of the Sky-Faring Commission, she said something quite well: 'If it is a Xianzhou internal affair, we need not trouble you all.'"
March 7th perfectly mimicked Yukong's formal tone before breaking into a complaint. "But how come in the blink of an eye, all the dirty work gets shoved onto us? Even the IPC isn't as good at bossing people around as you guys!" She blinked, leaning in closer with a conspiratorial grin. "Let me guess, what do you plan to have us do this time? It wouldn't be acting as the vanguard and charging in with the Cloud Knights, would it? Oh, no way, this lady gets dizzy in big scenes!"
"Sigh," Fu Xuan massaged her forehead, a flicker of helplessness crossing her face. "Who said I was going to send you to the battlefield?"
"Eh? You're not?" March 7th exchanged a surprised glance with her companions.
"General Jing Yuan instructed that you are all 'reinforcements brought by fate'," Fu Xuan explained, clasping her hands behind her back. She looked toward the distant battlefield, still shrouded in the smoke of conflict. "'Reinforcements'rely on the element of surprise. The Cloud Knights' frontal assault just now was to'confront the enemy with direct force.'The'time for a surprise attack'… is now."
She turned, her long sleeves fluttering lightly in the breeze. "Everyone, please follow me."
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