*Rumble!*
As Lucian was still reminiscing about his moment with Jing Yuan, the roar of combat starskiff engines suddenly rang out, pulling him back to the present.
Evidently, the starskiff pilots of the Xianzhou Yaoqing had already begun to take off, heading into the skies to scout and seize air superiority.
"It's starting."
Jingliu stood from the sofa, observing the situation with a serious expression.
Lucian also stood up, following her lead.
Clearly, Jingliu intended to make her move when both sides appeared at the same time—only then could she truly make an entrance, doing maximum aura farming.
Knowing this, Lucian felt helpless.
Back then, he had casually humored her, never expecting she would take this 'aura' thing seriously for a thousand years.
Just then, a starskiff, with smoke trailing behind it, broke from the formation, then veered sharply, charging straight toward the two of them.
"How did it crash the moment it started?"
Lucian muttered speechlessly, feeling utterly baffled since he had never seen any combat starskiff of the Xianzhou Yaoqing, famous for their ace pilots, behave this ridiculously.
Just taking off and already crashing?
Even worse, it was flying straight at him.
"Master, there's still a pilot on board. I'll—"
Before Jingliu could finish and move to save the pilot inside the damaged starskiff, Lucian was already using Absolute Hit, teleporting inside the cockpit.
Inside, he saw a young foxian woman with pale purple hair frantically trying to pull up the starskiff's lever.
"Oh no! Oh no! Why is someone there?!"
"Turn! Turn! Please turn!"
"I don't wanna crash into innocent people!"
Needless to say, the woman was so focused she didn't even notice someone had appeared behind her.
Seeing this, Lucian rolled his eyes, stepped forward, grabbed the woman's arm, and teleported her straight onto the sofa behind Jingliu with Absolute Hit. Immediately after, he teleported himself with Absolute Hit as well, returning to Jingliu's side.
All of this took only a few seconds.
Meanwhile, sitting on the sofa, the woman was stunned and frozen.
'Where am I?'
'Where's my starskiff?'
'Oh... Crashed... It's crashing into me right now...'
As she thought to herself, trying to figure out what had just happened, the woman's wide, beautiful eyes locked onto the smoke-trailing starskiff falling toward her.
Nearby, Jingliu summoned an ice sword in her hand and, with a casual upward slash, unleashed a burst of frost.
*Swish!*
In the next second, the starskiff froze midair, suspended by a pillar of ice, creating a breathtaking scene.
Jingliu, her composure unshaken and her breathing as steady as ever, hadn't moved an inch—it was truly quite the show.
Seeing the suspended starskiff, Lucian nodded, then turned to the foxian woman seated on the sofa.
Her face, her hair color, and her identity as a Yaoqing starskiff pilot—he could recognize the foxian woman instantly.
Needless to say, any player who played the game and enjoyed the lore of the Xianzhou Alliance would instantly know that she was none other than one of the High-Cloud Quintet, Baiheng, the group's darling and cherished beauty.
"Master, you know her?" Jingliu asked calmly, glancing at the dazed foxian.
"Yeah, somewhat..." Lucian nodded calmly. "If I'm right, she's an ace pilot of the Yaoqing, Baiheng."
Hearing her name mentioned, Baiheng finally snapped out of it and took a good look at the two people before her.
"Y-You're the Azure Sword Immortal recorded in the Xianzhou Alliance's war archives! General Lucian! I've seen your portrait!"
Baiheng pointed at Lucian, her eyes and mouth wide open, then shifted her finger toward Jingliu.
"A-And you're his disciple, Moonlight Sword Immortal Jingliu! I know you too!"
"Wow~! I grew up listening to your stories! I can't believe you actually know me!"
Baiheng quickly stood and stepped up to them, her gaze full of excitement, as if greeting old friends after years apart, looking like she'd completely forgotten about the crash.
Lucian's first impression of Baiheng was 'upbeat,' the second was 'peppy,' and the third, unmistakably, was 'beautiful.'
Especially her long purple hair and the cute fox ears atop her head—he truly wanted to pat them. Even though he already had Feixiao and Yueyu, he couldn't help but appreciate the charm of another 'kemonomimi.'
Done with the upper part, his gaze shifted lower.
A modest but shapely chest, a slender waist, fair legs, and a fluffy fox tail—combined with her upbeat and peppy personality, it was hard for anyone not to like her.
Yet no one wanted to partner with her, simply because her comrades always ended up dead or crippled.
"I've heard a rumor—there's an ace pilot known as the 'Starskiff Killer' in the Yaoqing." Lucian smiled, teasing the foxian woman before him. "She's someone who crashes on every mission, leaves her teammates dead or crippled, and yet she herself somehow survives every time. It's you, isn't it?"
Judging by Baiheng's youthful appearance, she was likely only 40 or 50 years old—still considered young for a foxian, whose average lifespan ranged from 250 to 450 years.
"A-Ahahaha... Well... It's not just a rumor, actually..." Baiheng scratched her head awkwardly before continuing. "Just now too... I honestly don't even know what happened. I mean, the engine suddenly failed, the instruments went haywire, and the controls jammed. If you two hadn't saved me, I'd have died for sure."
Right after saying this, she bowed deeply to Lucian and Jingliu, expressing heartfelt gratitude for saving her life.
"Hmm, quite a remarkable woman." Jingliu remarked with interest. "Surviving to this age with such terrible luck."
For a thousand years, she had seen all kinds of people survive, but never anyone who could survive this much.
Needless to say, a body that looked so fragile, yet had endured over a hundred crashes, was clearly absurd.
"So, what do you plan to do now?" Lucian asked softly.
Baiheng glanced at her frozen starskiff, then at him.
"Can I... come with you...?" Baiheng asked shyly, but then, as if that shyness never existed, her eyes suddenly sparkled. "I mean, you're my idol! No, you two are my idols! I want to see your heroics up close! Like that super cool sword strike just now, freezing a starskiff in an instant!"
Hearing the praise heaped on them, Jingliu's lips twitched before turning to Lucian.
"Master, without her starskiff, she's weak." Jingliu said calmly. "Should we really bring her along?"
Lucian knew exactly what his disciple was actually thinking—she was clearly flattered by Baiheng's praises, or else, she wouldn't have even bothered to ask such a question.
"Sure." Lucian nodded with a smile. "Honestly, I'd like to see if you can kill me by accident."
"Hey! Don't say stuff like that!" Baiheng grabbed his arm and pouted. "It's a jinx! I don't want anything to happen to you!"
Upon seeing this, Jingliu was stunned—her eyes locked on Lucian's arm, where another woman's hands now rested.
Bad!
A foxian seductress!
How could she have misjudged this foxian?
In an instant, all expression vanished from Jingliu's face, leaving her cold and distant—an ice-cold beauty personified.
"It's a shame my starskiff's busted, or I could've guided you from the air..." Baiheng said bitterly, then pulled out a bow. "But it's fine! I'm decent with a bow. I can still help—at least a little."
Lucian, finding her behavior adorable, couldn't help but chuckle.
In the end, not wanting Baiheng to take a risk, Lucian shattered the ice encasing her damaged starskiff, brought it down, and then wrapped it with a bandage created by Godly Bandage.
"Why are you wrapping my starskiff with a bandage?" Baiheng asked in confusion.
Before Lucian could answer, Jingliu spoke first.
"My master's methods are beyond your understanding, woman." Jingliu, crossing her arms, said coldly. "Damage like this—he can fix it with just a flick of his fingers."
"Really? Wow, your master's amazing!" Baiheng clapped her hands, her eyes sparkling.
Seeing her genuine awe, heartfelt praise, and earnest gaze, Jingliu couldn't help but feel speechless—it felt like she was punching into cotton.
Watching their interaction, Lucian wanted to laugh but held back, not wanting to embarrass his disciple, so he stayed quiet and focused instead on repairing Baiheng's starskiff.
Soon, as the bandage unfolded, the once smoking and scratched starskiff now gleamed, looking brand new.
"Wow~! It's really fixed!" Baiheng exclaimed, rushing over, hugging her starskiff, and rubbing her delighted face against its hull. "It's exactly the same as before! No, it's even shinier!"
Right after saying this, she suddenly ran to Lucian, grabbed his hands, and swung them up and down.
"Brother Lucian, you're incredible! You really can do anything! Men who can do everything are the coolest!"
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
[Support me and read next chapters early at: patreon.com/VALRRR]