Dan Heng fell silent for a brief moment, then gave a soft "Mm."
He turned and stepped off the Astral Express.
Himeko watched his departing figure and smiled faintly.
That was right.
This reserved young man had bonds now.
As the third passenger to board the Express, Himeko's impression of Dan Heng was still frozen at the very beginning.
Back then, the train had docked at one of the Interastral Peace Corporation's supply stations.
At the time, the Express carried only Welt Yang—
and a blond man.
Welt always insisted that the blond man wasn't human,
but that never stopped Himeko from treating him like one.
Back then, Dan Heng had merely been a security contractor working for the Corporation.
He killed a starry sky behemoth with one hand—
And was promptly invited aboard the Express as security personnel.
He also took charge of data management and archival work.
Even March 7th had been fished out of space by him.
After traveling through countless worlds, blazing countless trails—
They had long since become companions who trusted one another with their lives.
If he really left…
It would sting, just a little.
But it was fine.
Himeko believed this taciturn young man wouldn't leave.
Xianzhou Luofu — Cloudford
Because Silver Wolf had already cracked the access gates,
Dan Heng was able to land at Cloudford with ease.
But the moment he pulled out his phone—
He realized he couldn't contact Evan or the others at all.
"…Strange."
"The network is restricted, but other functions still work?"
He put the phone away and finally took in his surroundings.
The Xianzhou Luofu—
A place both familiar and foreign.
Ever since his exile,
this was the first time Dan Heng had set foot on this land again.
The emotions of returning home surged instantly.
Dan Heng.
Dan Feng.
The Vidyadhara believed that reincarnation severed all ties to the past—
But Blade clearly didn't agree.
That Stellaron Hunter had been relentlessly pursuing him.
Blade's true identity—
Was Yingxing, one of the High-Cloud Quintet,
a native of the Zhuming Xianzhou,
and the most beloved disciple of Master Huaiyan.
The Imbibitor Lunae Rebellion had shattered everything.
Yingxing fell into mara after being tainted by Shuhu's flesh.
Dan Feng used the forbidden Dragon-Transmutation Art,
gathering Baiheng's remains to create a draconic abomination.
In the end—
Jingliu intervened.
Five are named.
Three must pay the price.
As Dan Heng drifted through memories—
Though strictly speaking, these matters no longer belonged to him—
A girl's voice suddenly rang out.
"Hey! Just stay back!"
"Leave rescuing people to the professionals!"
Dan Heng blinked and turned.
A greatsword-wielding girl and a blond man stood nearby.
The blond man aside—
The girl had excellent technique.
Her footing was a little unstable,
but she swung that greatsword and sent several Abundance abominations flying.
Impressive—
youth truly was something.
Then—
The Cloud-Piercer Spear left Dan Heng's side and pierced straight through the monsters.
The sudden appearance of Dan Heng clearly startled the girl.
She froze for a moment.
After she introduced herself,
Dan Heng finally understood what "Xianzhou illiteracy" meant.
…She was a Cloud Knight?
Seriously?
Had the Luofu's recruitment standards fallen this far since his exile?
Her name was Li Sushang,
a rookie Cloud Knight transferred from the Yaoqing Xianzhou.
She'd arrived not long ago—
And immediately ran into a Stellaron crisis.
She wielded a greatsword and practiced a family-inherited sword art called Taixu Sword.
At its peak, it could summon a divine bird known as Crimson Phoenix.
Of course—
Sushang couldn't do that.
At best, she could summon a fat chicken also called Crimson Phoenix.
As for the other man—
The traveling merchant who called himself Luocha.
Blond hair, blue eyes,
and a massive white coffin strapped to his back.
One glance was enough to tell he wasn't normal.
Who carries a coffin around?
The last guy Dan Heng remembered doing that was some martial-arts game character.
Well—
There was also that small girl carrying a cross.
Ah—right.
He should respectfully refer to her as Archbishop Theresa.
This merchant carried a coffin and wielded Abundance-aligned healing power.
Even someone as dense as Sushang could tell something was off.
But abnormality was relative.
Dan Heng himself wasn't exactly normal either.
An exile of the Xianzhou.
The former Dragon Sovereign.
Bearer of half of Imbibitor Lunae's authority and secret arts.
The key to opening the Primordial Sea of Scalegorge Waterscape.
Xianzhou Luofu — Sky-Faring Commission, Stellaron Palace
Jing Yuan's projection appeared once more.
At the same time—
Two exposed Sky-Faring Commission moles
were apprehended by the Cloud Knights.
"How did you know there were Sanctus Medicus spies in my commission?"
Yukong asked, utterly baffled.
She had suspected something was wrong for a long time.
The Huangzhong system had been tampered with.
Only high-ranking officials like her
could even access its backend.
She had seen the altered data—
But it had already been erased.
The strange thing was—
All investigation trails pointed toward that star skiff.
The Minghuo Commerce Guild's vessel.
Even before Tingyun's return, Yukong had sensed something off.
This Tingyun behaved exactly like Tingyun—
Yet as the person who knew her best,
Yukong felt something was wrong.
She was too normal.
After returning, Tingyun did only two things:
Comfort the victims' families.
Work at the Minghuo Commerce Guild.
Perfectly reasonable.
And precisely because of that—
It was suspicious.
She'd survived a Borisin beast-ship and Antimatter Legion attack.
Nearly didn't make it back.
And yet—
She didn't even visit the Alchemy Commission for a medical or psychological check?
Tingyun wasn't a combatant.
Despite her parents being Cloud Knights and pilots,
she'd never liked martial training.
At most, she knew basic self-defense.
And her enemies that day were the Borisin—
The most bloodthirsty Abundance race,
who especially delighted in Foxian blood.
Surviving that without trauma?
Unlikely.
"Shh. Trade secret,"
Jing Yuan said with a smile.
"I have my methods."
"Not just your commission."
"Alchemy, Artisanship, Artisanship, even the Cloud Knights—
there are moles everywhere."
"When the other side's performance begins…"
"That's when we uproot them all."
He narrowed his eyes slightly, smiling.
"You really do enjoy being mysterious, General,"
Fu Xuan complained, rubbing her forehead.
"Haha. That's not mystery."
"That's having everything under control."
"Fu Qing—if you want to be a general one day,
you'll need to learn this."
Seeing Jing Yuan's calm and Fu Xuan's frustration,
Yukong relaxed a little.
But then—
Her expression darkened again.
"Tingyun…"
"Are you real, or fake?"
"Or… are you alive, just taken away by someone?"
[Ding! You have joined the Simulated Universe Backup Assistance Group!]
[Ding! You have been mentioned!]
Xianzhou Luofu — Changletian, Cloud Knight Training Grounds
Today was supposed to be the test of Yanqing's mastery of Taixu Sword — Form Aspect.
But Yanqing hadn't arrived yet.
Bored, Evan checked his phone.
…Huh?
Simulated Universe Backup Assistance Group?
[Herta]: Evan, you're really enjoying being a hands-off boss, aren't you?
Where's your paper on the Plasma Spark Tower?
[Herta]: Also—Belobog's Research Institute finished the model.
Ignition was successful one system-hour ago.
[Herta]: Honestly, instead of calling it a "sun,"
you might as well call it Infinite Energy.
Wait—
The Luofu's communications are blocked by the Stellaron.
How are you messaging me?
Evan frowned.
[Evan]: Infinite Energy, sure—call it whatever you want.
[Evan]: In theory, once the construction method is mastered, it is endless energy.
[Evan]: Jarilo-VI's stellar system isn't dead—just insufficient for rapid transformation.
The plasma system fills that gap nicely.
[Evan]: Add a Dyson Sphere later, and Belobog's future is limitless.
[Herta]: Dyson Sphere? Such a low-tier solution.
[Screwllum]: Conclusion:
With Jarilo-VI's current technology, full utilization of the plasma-sun system
could restore the planet to interstellar-civilization standards.
Blue Void Sector — Lower Levels of Herta Space Station
A place so secretive that even Asta, the station's director,
couldn't enter.
At this moment—
A woman in an elegant cheongsam slowly stepped out of a laboratory.
At her feet—
Small, pastry-like lifeforms bounced cheerfully.
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