Astral Express, Parlor Car.
The warp ended with a yelp of pain from March 7th as she fell, but everyone's gaze was immediately drawn to the massive Xianzhou ship.
"Whoa!" March 7th dusted herself off. "Is this the Xianzhou? It looks even bigger than Jarilo-VI!"
Dan Heng, the one most familiar with the Xianzhou among them, explained, "To the Xianzhou natives, this ship is their [planet]."
"The earth is the indispensable cradle for the survival and development of civilization. However, some civilizations are able to leave their childhood behind, piloting starships to cruise through the void... The Xianzhou Alliance is one such case."
"I've only seen it a few times, but... it remains just as magnificent..."
At the mention of the Xianzhou, scenes from the past replayed in Dan Heng's eyes, his tone filled with emotion.
"What is up with you anyway? You look all nostalgic and lonely."
A sigh escaped Dan Heng's lips and dissipated into the car, making March 7th even more curious.
Himeko was attempting to contact the administration at the Jade Gate: "This is the Astral Express, I repeat, this is the Astral Express. I have arrived in Xianzhou airspace and am requesting landing permission from the ground... or perhaps I should say the [deck]."
The signal from the comms came through: "Welcome to the [Luofu] delve. The Jade Gate is opening. On behalf of the [Xianzhou Alliance: Luofu], I welcome our guests from afar. Please follow the guidance to dock in an orderly fashion to prevent stampedes..."
"Huh, that went smoothly? Don't horror movies usually start with a spaceship arriving at an empty spaceport, and then..."
"Don't let your imagination run wild." Dan Heng also wanted to retort—what on earth was "prevent stampedes" supposed to mean? Were they worried about traffic accidents in space?
Recalling the scene when Adrian boarded the Express, Dan Heng felt more and more that this slogan wasn't simple; surely, a faction other than theirs had intervened.
Not far away, Kafka checked her stopwatch and whispered a compliment: "Right on time, Silver Wolf."
"The signal cut out. The other side didn't say anything."
Everyone began their pre-departure preparations. Kafka tactfully didn't eavesdrop on their discussion. Now that there were changes in the [script], whatever happened would have to be left to fate.
Whatever... Elio didn't say anything anyway, so there's no need for her to worry too much.
Stelle started chatting with March 7th first: "The second stop on our [Trailblazing Journey]. I hope it entertains me."
"Oho~ You're pretty confident in your strength, aren't you?"
"The universe is so big, yet we just happened to run into the specific Xianzhou ship that Dan Heng and Adrian stayed on. This must be destiny! When we go to the Xianzhou this time, let's take the chance to ask around about those two, okay?"
"They both look like they have mysterious pasts. Now that we've coincidentally bumped into the Luofu, we have to get to the bottom of it!"
"Absolutely!"
"Hehe, I knew it! No one compares to you when it comes to gossip! Should we rename the Galactic Baseballer to the Galactic Gossiper?"
Stelle fell silent for a moment; this girl seemed to have completely forgotten they were going down there to execute a mission.
"Enough talk, I'm gonna go pack my bags!" Watching March 7th leave, Stelle then found Himeko:
"This time, you'll get to witness [Mr. Yang's] skills. Haha, with him acting alongside you, I'm very relieved."
"Don't worry, I'll protect him and March... and Dan Heng too." After the battle with Cocolia, Stelle clearly felt her strength had taken a qualitative leap.
The Galactic Baseballer, empowered by multiple Paths, is invincible!
Thinking about the Express crew, Stelle realized she didn't know much about Adrian and Welt. "So, can you tell me more about Mr. Yang's story?"
"He rarely tells anyone his story. When you ask him, he just says he works in animation."
"Actually, it's far from that simple. His experiences are much more exciting than mine." Himeko kept it vague for now; it would be more interesting for Stelle to investigate these questions herself.
...
Xianzhou [Luofu], Cloudford.
Sitting atop a small hill made of countless Mara-Struck Soldiers, the Aeon of [Eternity] once again began to ponder the philosophy of godly life.
After rushing about for days, traveling between the [Herta] Space Station and Jarilo-VI, HE finally returned here.
Along the way, cooperating with the Knights of the Church of Eternity to clear out some Fragmentum creations, he harvested a full pile of Church specialties: soap and laundry detergent.
"May [Eternity] protect you, friend." The leading cavalryman performed a standard knightly salute to Adrian. He could feel the energy surging within Adrian, combined with his performance in battle just now...
Come to think of it... this must be a powerful [Eternity] Pathstrider. His combat power is in no way inferior to our Grand Master.
Thinking of this, the cavalry captain nudged the knight beside him.
"Cough... Benefactor!" The silver-helmeted knight removed his helmet, revealing a slightly immature face. It looked like a rookie who had just joined the Knights recently.
"Since you already walk on the Path of [Eternity], why not join the Church and walk with us?"
The knight brother beside him was giving a frantic thumbs-up in his heart. Way to go! The training these past few days wasn't in vain!
Under Blake's arrangement, the Knights of the Church of Eternity not only had to undergo ten full hours of physical exercise every day, but during rest periods, there were also special training classes to exercise the knights' eloquence.
It served to promote the virtues of [Eternity] and had a chance of recruiting people into the Church.
Incidentally, aside from the Grand Master who is an orthodox Pathstrider of [Eternity], the rest, including the Vice Master, are just ordinary residents with somewhat special physiques.
That ordinary people can go to the battlefield is thanks to the Church's technological level, which is both advanced and primitive. To this day, they still use the most ordinary lances for combat, without even a single long-range crossbowman.
To explain it in their words: In battle, one must let the enemy feel the flesh-to-flesh [Eternity], so they all engage in close-quarters combat with the enemy.
And their armor was improved via the black holes Adrian had thrown, so enemy attacks are completely absorbed and can't hurt them at all.
Seeing the Church's knights so enthusiastic, Adrian revealed a gratified smile.
"Where is your Grand Master... is he not here?"
"Ah, it seems he was put in confinement by Pontiff Blake..."
Smack!
The leading cavalry captain kicked the rookie knight's butt hard.
"Don't wash dirty linen in public! Saying that now... what will this guest think of our Church!"
Adrian: ...
Whatever, as long as they're happy.
Returning to the present, having declined the cavalry captain's invitation, they gave Adrian a large bag of Church specialties to express their sincerest gratitude.
However, Adrian had no use for these things. How to deal with these specialties became a problem.
Let them gather dust in his milk tea shop? Definitely not.
Then... regift them to someone in need? Works for me!
No sooner said than done. Adrian picked up the large bag of Church specialties. After curing those soldiers of the symptom known as [Mara-Struck], he prepared to set off for the [Sleepless Earl] teahouse to gift the soap and laundry detergent to Mengming.
Just as he reached a bespoke intersection, he heard a lively voice calling out to HIM:
"Hey! You there, young man! Come help me out~"
Ah, it seems something interesting is about to happen...