"What remarkable spirit," Lumina remarked, watching Yanqing's retreating figure.
"It's a pity his strength doesn't quite match his spirit," Jing Yuan replied with a smile, seeming to hint at something to Lumina.
As Yanqing's figure receded, Lumina smiled at Jing Yuan, her expression hinting at something deeper.
"Indeed," Jing Yuan nodded. "He still needs to grow. He needs time to temper his temperament."
Jing Yuan understood Lumina's meaning perfectly, nodding in agreement.
"Hmm... Sister Lumina, is this some kind of coded communication?" March 7th asked, a confused expression spreading across her face as she listened to Lumina and Jing Yuan's exchange.
She could understand each word individually, but when strung together, the meaning remained elusive.
What does Yanqing's spirit have to do with his strength? March 7th pondered, but her efforts yielded nothing.
Forget it. I'm hungry now...
"Idiot!" Stelle snapped, her hands on her hips. "They mean Yanqing's Spirit Power cultivation is terrible! It's completely out of sync with his physical strength!"
"Oh, I see! I never knew people on the Xianzhou practiced Spirit Power cultivation too!" March 7th exclaimed, her face lighting up with realization. She accepted Stelle's explanation without a hint of doubt.
"The Xianzhou is vast and full of wonders. A little Spirit Power cultivation is nothing special!" Stelle grinned, continuing to bluff confidently.
Looking at her expression, it was hard to tell if she was deliberately playing along for March 7th's sake or genuinely clueless about the true meaning behind Lumina and Jing Yuan's earlier conversation.
Lumina, Jing Yuan, and Dan Heng: ...
The trio fell into stunned silence.
"Sigh..." Dan Heng sighed, pressing a hand to his forehead, his face etched with worry.
Having only March 7th around before had been barely tolerable... but now Stelle had joined the mix, two clueless chatterboxes who would be babbling endlessly by his side...
One March 7th was already more than he could handle; now there was another "March 7th" on top of that...
Dan Heng felt his future stretching out before him, shrouded in darkness...
"Hmm?" Having understood the encrypted conversation between her Sister Lumina and General Jing Yuan, March 7th reverted to her usual lively self.
"Why did you all suddenly go quiet? Were you intimidated by my brilliance?"
But seeing the silent, puzzled expressions on Lumina, Jing Yuan, and Dan Heng's faces, confusion once again spread across her face.
A moment later, the endearingly clueless March 7th seemed to have an epiphany. She planted her hands on her hips, fixed her gaze on her Sister Lumina, and adopted a look that practically screamed, "Praise me, praise me!"
It was as if she were hinting, "Sister Lumina, I, March 7th, am so clever! Why aren't you praising me?"
"Absolutely brilliant..." Lumina muttered under her breath.
Though Lumina wasn't exactly a "brainiac," she could pretty much guess what March 7th was thinking just by looking at her.
A slight twitch at the corner of her mouth betrayed her amusement. With March 7th's guileless nature, if I ever had malicious intentions toward her, she'd probably let me deceive her willingly...
And after it was all over, she'd thank me with genuine sincerity and gratitude...
Lumina didn't dwell on it. Though March 7th was so naive she might as well be an Aeon, Lumina still cherished her.
After all... fools often stumble into good fortune, don't they?
So, with a warm smile, Lumina shook her head and said, "You did great, March! It would be even better if you could guess right next time."
"Hehe... Hmm? Wait a minute!" March 7th grinned sheepishly at Lumina's praise, lowering her head in embarrassment. But she quickly snapped her head up, realizing something was amiss. "I was wrong? No... Stelle was wrong?"
March 7th's reaction was lightning-fast. Upon realizing her mistake, she immediately shifted the blame onto Stelle.
Stelle: ?
Hearing March 7th's words and suddenly feeling her body weigh considerably more, a question mark materialized above Stelle's head.
But as a Stellaron incarnate, Stelle quickly recovered.
Just a clueless March 7th. As the Galactic Baseballer, how could I possibly let her gain the upper hand?
Stelle shook her head coldly and sneered, "I merely spun a tale. I never imagined you'd actually believe it."
"And not just believe it, but deeply believe it. I knew you were naive, but I never imagined you'd be this gullible."
Stelle's indifferent demeanor suggested she wasn't lying in the slightest.
"Y-you... you were tricking me?" Upon hearing this, March 7th didn't doubt for a moment. In fact, it almost made sense to her.
"What else could it be? This story was so absurd; I never thought you'd fall for it." Stelle shrugged, adopting an innocent, almost childlike expression.
This was a lie. When Stelle first arrived on the Xianzhou Luofu, she had read some cultivation novels. During Lumina and Jing Yuan's conversation, the concept of "soul cultivation" had immediately come to mind.
And with the Xianzhou—what a perfect place for cultivation! That's how Stelle had arrived at her conclusion.
Well, if things aren't going as planned, they're not going as planned. Whatever. ¯_( ̄Д ̄)_/¯
As for March 7th... screw you!
I admit I misspoke, but aren't you at fault too, for blindly believing my words?
And you even tried to shift the blame onto me, wanting me to bear the responsibility alone.
Since that's the case, don't blame me for not reciprocating the camaraderie of the Astral Express.
"Ugh... fine then/(ㄒoㄒ)/~~" Hearing this, March 7th finally realized she'd suddenly acted foolishly...
She couldn't quite explain it. Ever since arriving on the Xianzhou, her brain had been seizing up at random moments...
"I wonder what's causing this..."
March 7th muttered to herself, completely baffled and unable to comprehend the situation.
Perhaps even March 7th herself hadn't realized she'd never truly changed...
It was only because someone she deeply cared about had appeared on the Xianzhou that she began noticing the foolishness she'd never seen in herself before...