After Sanya and the others had thoroughly explored the moon's craters, dusty plains, and silent valleys—jumping in low gravity, leaving footprints, and simply soaking in the breathtaking view of Earth hanging like a blue jewel in the black void—they finally returned to the same spot where the Abode of the Sky still hovered fifty meters above the surface.
Sanya landed lightly beside the Heart Clone, her cheeks flushed with excitement and a wide grin on her face.
"Brother, that was so much fun! Why don't we go to other planets now? Mars? Jupiter? Please!"
Kamal and Neelam smiled at her enthusiasm while Rudra bounced on his toes.
Astra settled beside them with a contented low rumble, her white fur dusted with lunar regolith.
The Heart Clone nodded calmly, his face betraying nothing but quiet warmth.
"Alright. Let's continue the journey."
With a gentle thought directed toward the control orb inside the fortress, the Abode of the Sky rose higher, turned smoothly in the vacuum, and prepared for the next series of space jumps.
****
Meanwhile, far below on Earth, panic had spread across every major nation's command centers and intelligence agencies.
Satellites, deep-space telescopes, and ground-based observatories had all detected the same anomaly: a series of unstable spatial ripples near Earth's orbit—brief, violent distortions in the fabric of space that appeared some time ago.
Though the disturbances were far enough from the planet to cause no immediate damage, the unknown nature of the phenomenon filled governments with unease.
They speculated wildly—alien activity? A failed weapon test? A new form of technology?
Some feared that if such instability could occur in space, it might one day tear open above cities, swallowing entire regions.
But before the world could spiral deeper into conspiracy and fear, attention shifted dramatically to a different crisis.
A shocking diplomatic scandal erupted from the Xing Nation.
India had attempted to poach Xinxuan—their most valuable asset, the prodigy who had single-handedly created a breathing technique and was now seen as the symbol of Xing's rise in the new era.
Leaked reports claimed Indian officials had used every backchannel, bribe, and diplomatic pressure to arrange a private meeting with Xinxuan, delivering him a mysterious letter.
The Xing government responded with fury, publicly accusing India of espionage and attempted defection, while privately ordering Xinxuan to reject the offer outright and humiliate the Indian side.
The political war between the two nations escalated quickly—sanctions threatened, borders tightened, and media on both sides launched vicious propaganda campaigns.
***
Some time earlier.
Xing Nation, capital, Behui City.
Inside a luxurious private hotel suite, Xinxuan paced back and forth across the thick carpet, his footsteps muffled by the soundproof flooring.
Every five seconds, his eyes flicked toward the sealed letter lying on the low table, as though it might vanish or explode if he looked away too long.
He muttered under his breath, voice low and conflicted.
"I know what this is—a poaching letter from India. I'm not interested. I already have everything here—resources, support, status. This is my country. I won't betray it."
But then his pace slowed, and he muttered even more quietly, almost to himself.
"But… what the ambassador said… 'This could be your opportunity to grow beyond your current level.' Is it really a mind-bending opportunity? Something that could push me further than even Xing can offer?"
He replayed the scene in his mind.
The Indian ambassador—after pulling every string, bribing officials, and using hidden connections—had finally secured a private audience.
Yet the man had said almost nothing.
He simply placed the letter on the table, looked Xinxuan in the eye with calm certainty, and spoke only one line before leaving:
"Read this letter carefully and think. I'll wait outside."
Xinxuan hadn't paid much attention to the ambassador's face at the time—too focused on the letter itself.
But those final words had lodged in his mind like a hook.
'This could be your opportunity to grow beyond your current level.'
Now, the ambassador still waited patiently outside the room, hours later.
Xinxuan was trapped in a storm of overthinking.
He was an obsessive reader of novels—every genre, every trope—and his mind raced through classic plots: hidden masters, unexpected heavenly gifts, secret inheritances, fateful encounters that changed everything.
Because of that, deep down, he believed he was the protagonist type—the one destined to lead humanity into a new cultivation era.