"Waaah~" Bailu let out an excited cheer.
The snowy plains outside Belobog.
Looking left, then right, March saw nothing but endless white snowfields. Her Trailblaze energy was already kicking in.
Compared to the last time they came here, the place didn't seem much different at all. It was still completely buried under snow.
"This kind of environment really is suitable for training." Yanqing observed the freezing snowfield and nodded.
For ordinary people, this kind of extreme climate would be disastrous, but for him, it was actually a pretty decent training ground.
"It's already much warmer here now, actually." Nero stood beside Yanqing as he spoke.
"When we came last time, it was even colder than this. I checked Uncle Yang's monitoring records. Belobog's temperatures have already started rising."
Yanqing nodded while listening, then instinctively looked up toward the sky.
The next instant, his breathing stopped.
What he saw above Belobog was a scene so bizarre it bordered on unreal. Thick clouds churned overhead, and across the sky stretched an enormous crack that extended endlessly into the distance.
Sunlight poured down through it, and no wind, snow, rain, or storm could alter that terrifying opening in the heavens.
The massive, perfectly straight scar hanging across the sky looked like a horrifying canyon suspended upside down above the world itself.
It was difficult to imagine what kind of climate could possibly create such a breathtaking natural wonder.
So Yanqing immediately concluded that it absolutely was not natural.
He could sense a terrifying force lingering within it. On the surface, that power felt gentle, but deep inside it, Yanqing could still detect something else...
Something sharp like a sword edge, violent like a raging storm.
Just as Yanqing was about to ask what exactly this thing was, he heard Nero beside him say, "Oh! That sword mark is still here? I thought it would've disappeared ages ago."
"Belobog's development's been going really smoothly after all. Looks like it doesn't have any negative impact on the planet's ecosystem though."
Yanqing blinked slowly and turned his head toward Nero's profile. Thinking about the terrifying strength Nero possessed, along with the monstrous sword technique called "Heavenfall," a thought surfaced in his mind.
"This was… your doing?"
"Yep!" Nero nodded.
"Huh? Nero split the sky apart?" Qingque stared over in shock before Yanqing could say anything else.
"E-even the sky got split open… that's amazing…" Huohuo murmured.
"Hmph. This kid's got real skill. I saw through him a long time ago." Tail made a smug grumbling sound, seemingly not surprised at all by this revelation.
Maybe heliobi really could see things humans couldn't, just like how Master Tail had once nearly been blinded by Nero's brilliance.
Or perhaps the reason Tail had reached this conclusion was because, long ago, when Nero said he wanted to bless Huohuo, Tail had genuinely felt his own power become slightly stronger for a moment.
Noticing the questioning looks from Bailu and Qingque, Stelle and March nodded.
"It's true. He really did it," Stelle said.
March quickly chimed in too. "We were all there back then. Stelle and I saw it with our own eyes. Cocolia threw this gigantic thing down from the sky, and Nero just raised his hand, swung Black Cleaver with a 'swish,' and split the heavens open!"
As she explained, March even acted out Nero's reverse-handed sword swing from back then, creating an incredibly vivid image in the minds of the Xianzhou kids.
They could more or less imagine what kind of scene it had been.
Yanqing stood there blankly for a moment.
Nero hadn't even used Heavenfall to split the sky apart.
After witnessing Heavenfall and the feat of sending the Grandmaster flying with a single slap, Yanqing had already raised Nero's strength in his mind to an absurdly high level.
But now, it seemed he had still underestimated him.
He originally thought Nero was only a tiny bit stronger than himself.
Turns out it was more like an astronomical amount stronger.
"Speaking of which, we came here for the festival celebration, right? How do people who live in snowstorms celebrate festivals?"
March noticed the increasingly life-questioning expression on Yanqing's face and decided it was probably best not to continue this topic.
Even though she trusted Yanqing's confidence and ability to recover mentally, changing the subject still seemed like the better option.
As soon as March asked her question, Yanqing's attention really did shift away. After thinking briefly, he answered,
"Festival celebrations are naturally tied to customs, and customs are closely related to the living environment and history of intelligent lifeforms."
"I don't know much about this planet's history, but based on the current environment and what you've described, it's still possible to make some judgments."
"In a cold environment buried beneath snow and ice, sunlight and warmth are both scarce resources."
"So generally speaking, there should be decorations or totems related to the sun, or things meant to symbolize warmth."
March blinked at Yanqing. "Th-that was such a serious answer."
For a brief instant, she thought of Dan Heng.
Even though Dan Heng wasn't talkative, she felt like if he answered this question, it would probably sound a lot like Yanqing.
"It's definitely food!" Bailu declared. "How can a festival celebration not have delicious food? No matter what world it is, festivals always need good food!"
"Very true!" March gave Bailu a thumbs-up. On this point, the two of them were in complete agreement.
Right then, a small cloud of snow puffed up ahead of them, and immediately after, a tiny figure popped out.
It was a Trotter.
But not an ordinary Trotter.
It wore a perfectly fitted outfit, almost like a gold-trimmed tuxedo tailcoat. This little space pig was naturally Numby. Its nose twitched twice as it followed Nero's scent all the way here.
Then it looked up.
Numby's ears immediately perked up excitedly twice over.
That pretty and good-smelling human really was here.
The next second, it let out a happy cry and threw itself straight into Nero's arms, wiggling around energetically.
And just as everyone's attention was drawn toward the suddenly appearing Numby, Topaz appeared as well. The senior executive from the IPC looked at the group with a smile.
"Long time no see, you two from the Astral Express, and Nero too."
After speaking, Topaz walked forward and gave Nero a hug. Only afterward did she ask about the unfamiliar faces. Nero, Stelle, and March introduced the five friends from the Xianzhou Luofu one by one.
Huohuo instinctively shrank slightly behind Nero. After the introductions, she noticed Miss Topaz kept looking at her with a gaze she couldn't quite describe.
But what Topaz was actually looking at wasn't Huohuo.
It was Huohuo's tail.
And the thought in her mind was, 'A heliobus... what a strange pet.'