The group followed Jing Yuan to the backstage of the ceremony venue.
"There are so many people...!"
Kiana looked at the sea of people surrounding the ceremony site, feeling a bit like backing out.
Being stared at by so many pairs of eyes at once felt a bit uncomfortable!
Kiana crossed her arms and shivered.
"This is still a small scene; the enemies you face on the battlefield are far more numerous than this."
"Feixiao, that's different!"
"Isn't it just pairs of eyes staring at you all the same?"
Feixiao spread her hands indifferently and raised an eyebrow.
"Idiot Kiana, why don't you just treat the audience as Homus?"
Bronya looked at Kiana with an "idiot" look and said.
"That's even creepier, Bronya!"
Just imagine a bunch of yellow plushies staring at you with those unchanging big eyes—wouldn't that be terrifying?!
"Kiana."
Raiden Mei took Kiana's hand, wrote a character on her palm with her index finger, then gently held her hand and said with a gentle squint:
"Are you still nervous? This is a method my mother taught me when I was very young, and I've been using it ever since..."
"!!!"
Thump-thump!
My Mei is so gentle!
Kiana's nostrils flared, and a puff of hot air escaped, as if she had been injected with hormones.
"I'm not nervous anymore! With Mei here, it's like having the strength of a hundred people!"
"It's not that exaggerated..."
Raiden Mei's face turned slightly red, and she spoke in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
"The Marshal of the Xianzhou has taken the stage. It's been a long time since the outside world has seen her appear..."
At this moment, Asta looked outside and spoke up to remind them.
Theresa followed Asta's gaze toward the center of the venue. After looking for a while, she seemed uncertain; she blinked, rubbed her eyes, and continued to look.
"Hiss... I must be seeing things. Why does she look so much like Fu Hua?"
Theresa's voice wasn't quiet, and everyone in the room could hear her.
Raiden Mei and Bronya glanced at each other and then looked over as well.
One look gave them both a shock. Fu Hua was their class monitor, and having seen her for several days in a row, they had long since memorized her appearance.
But—
How could the Marshal of the Xianzhou Alliance outside be carved from the same mold as Class Monitor Fu Hua!
Even that expression, as calm as an ancient well, was exactly the same!
Is she really not Class Monitor Fu Hua's sister from different parents?
"Exactly the same as Class Monitor Fu Hua..."
Raiden Mei's eyes were full of shock; there were actually two identical people in this world!
"According to Bronya's analysis, Class Monitor Fu Hua and this Marshal Hua have a 99.9% similarity. Even their names are almost the same, 'Hua'. Conclusion: perhaps another existence identical to oneself really does exist in the world."
Bronya used a computer she pulled out from who-knows-where to compare their features and reached a conclusion.
Kiana nodded. Although she hadn't seen Class Monitor Fu Hua since returning to St. Freya, she knew a bit about Fu Hua from her memories.
Those Taixu Celestial Memories—you couldn't just say they were identical; they were exactly the same!
I'm sure the two of them will get along great when they meet!
"Looking closely, it really is."
Theresa's brow furrowed, her pupils darkened slightly, and she rubbed her smooth little chin, speaking in a muffled voice.
Are there really two people who look exactly alike but have such vastly different identities...?balance
She had seen Fu Hua many times... Theresa's eyes widened slightly; she seemed to have discovered something extraordinary!
Fu Hua's eyes were as steady as a rock, and her behavior was even less like that of a young person.
Her entire being exuded a sense of world-weariness that didn't match her youthful appearance.
"..."
I'll pay more attention to her after we get back.
Theresa thought to herself.
"The Class Monitor Fu Hua you speak of must also be an excellent leader."
Jing Yuan looked at Marshal Hua outside and spoke softly.
A leader...?
Raiden Mei and Bronya thought of Fu Hua's usual gentle and considerate demeanor, like an elder, and how she actively helped students in difficulty, and they couldn't help but nod.
"She really is a responsible and good class monitor..."
Raiden Mei nodded, agreeing with Jing Yuan's statement.
Kiana seriously recalled Fu Hua's deeds from the game.
'Rather than a leader, she is more of a guardian who, because of a promise to a friend, has silently protected Shenzhou for thousands of years.'
After viewing this memory, Kiana deeply felt Fu Hua's thousands of years of loneliness, the gradual departure of her friends, and the desolation of being backstabbed by her disciples.
After going back, This Young Miss must become friends with Class Monitor Fu Hua.
Even if she's only approaching me now to complete the surveillance mission given by Otto, I will touch her heart with my sincerity!
Kiana said to herself.
"It's almost time for your appearance, Kiana."
Feixiao's fox ears twitched slightly as she patted Kiana, who was still dazed.
"Ah? Do I... do I need to pay attention to anything?"
"Keep a serious expression, listen to the Alliance Covenant, and then it'll probably be the formal reading of the oath to join the Alliance. After that, the Marshal will personally appoint you as the General Wangshu and petition the Reignbow Arbiter to bestow the Lightning-Lord?"
Feixiao said somewhat uncertainly.
This was the first time the Xianzhou Alliance was holding an induction ceremony and an appointment grand ceremony together, so she didn't know the specific process either.
"What Feixiao said is the gist of it. Kiana, there's no need to be nervous; just respond calmly. Our Marshal is not a rigid person either."
Jing Yuan encouraged her in a relaxed tone.
Kiana nodded and took a deep breath. If all else failed, she'd just go out there using Ultra Instinct!
But after thinking about it, she shook her head. If her body instinctively sensed danger and she accidentally smashed the venue, that would be bad.
Just then, Marshal Hua's voice rang out in her mind.
'General Kiana, you may take the stage.'
Upon hearing the voice, Kiana's body stiffened, and then a stiff smile appeared on her face as she walked out, her arms and legs moving in sync.
"This Young Miss is going!"
The others shook their heads, watching Kiana's back with amusement.
After walking out, Kiana's figure appeared under countless gazes.
Many Xianzhou people let out cheers, and some of them looked at Kiana with tears streaming down their faces.
Her original nervousness vanished, replaced by a look of confusion on her face.
'Those are the descendants of the survivors of Xianzhou Azure City. Hearing that their great vengeance has been avenged, they show such a mixture of grief and joy.'
Hearing this, Kiana showed a look of understanding, and then a gentle smile appeared on her face.
Soon, she reached Marshal Hua.
Marshal Hua nodded slightly to Kiana and then began to speak of the Xianzhou Alliance's covenant.
It was nothing more than helping each other in the same boat and acting as the arrowhead of The Hunt to take 'revenge' against the Alliance's primary enemy, 'Abundance'.
Once the covenant was read, Marshal Hua looked into Kiana's eyes, extended her palm toward Kiana, and smiled.
"On behalf of the Xianzhou Alliance, I formally invite Miss Kiana and Xianzhou Luofu to join the Xianzhou Alliance, with the privilege of autonomy."
"I, Kiana Kaslana, shall henceforth take the Abominations of Abundance as my beacon, and take the eradication of the pollution of immortality as my duty, patrolling the boundless starry fields!"