That enormous gate looked rather ancient—almost like an old earthen-brick structure from ancient Earth.
The only thing that looked remotely technological was the spatial vortex at its center, surrounded by a pale-blue energy matrix that resembled a formation.
"Benefactor, we've entered the Air Harbor. This is the Xianzhou's artificial interior space. It simulates a normal sky so people won't stare at endless black cosmic void for too long and develop depression or fear."
Tingyun's fox ears flicked lightly as she explained with a gentle smile.
"I see… Long-term space travel does require extra attention to psychological well-being."
Nolan nodded thoughtfully.
For a vessel like the Xianzhou—where people actually live their whole lives—this feature was essential.
Otherwise, for ordinary people who didn't leave the ship often, seeing only the pitch-black universe from birth to adulthood would be mentally unbearable.
Especially for Xianzhou natives, who accumulate negative emotions easily and risk falling into Mara—this was something they absolutely had to manage.
He himself didn't need to worry—he had the Wonderland space and could teleport back to Teyvat whenever he wanted.
Even once he built his own star-faring vessel, he wouldn't need to bother with simulated environments.
Most small spacecraft didn't have such simulation systems anyway.
Unlike the Xianzhou, people didn't live on them permanently, and installing one would just increase costs.
"We're about to pass through the Jade Gate. Gravity will shift—please prepare yourself."
As the Minghuo aka their spaceship approached the gate, Tingyun gently reminded him.
"Thank you, I'll be careful."
Nolan nodded politely.
The wooden Minghuo entered the spatial opening of the Jade Gate. Nolan felt his body lighten for a moment before gravity settled again.
It felt similar to a spacecraft performing a warp—brief gravitational instability.
When he himself teleported, he didn't feel anything—his mass was too small compared to a giant ship, like a speck of dust. Whatever effects occurred were far less noticeable.
Within a second or two, they had passed through.
A vast sky spread before them, and countless vessels of all shapes and sizes gathered nearby—like when he first arrived at Liyue Harbor and saw thousands of ships crowding the docks.
Only now, the "harbor" was in the sky.
The sensation of seeing something new was the same familiar excitement.
This was clearly the Air Harbor's docking platform—many starships followed guidance lights into various open-air berths.
"Inside the Luofu, only our special Xianzhou transport craft—the Starskiffs—are allowed to fly.
"All foreign vessels can only dock here at the Air Harbor.
"Once the Minghuo finishes docking, we'll take a Starskiff to the Palace of Astrum to meet Lord Yukong, the Helmswoman."
Tingyun explained as the Minghuo slowly followed guidance markers toward a berth.
"The Helmswoman… meaning the one who actually 'steers' the entire Xianzhou? She must be an incredible person. I'm looking forward to it."
Nolan did not forget—he escorted Tingyun and her caravan home, and Lord Yukong would provide commission payment.
His Credit Points were nearly depleted after purchasing large quantities of forging materials.
Getting his commission reward would help refill his pockets.
Otherwise, walking around the Xianzhou with an empty wallet felt embarrassing.
Speaking of materials, the logistics message from the Interastral Peace Company said the shipment had arrived at a place called Stargazer Navalia.
Perfect. After meeting the Helmswoman, he could ask her to guide him there.
"Hehe, Lord Yukong is the Luofu's most skilled ace navigator.
"Only someone of her caliber can properly steer a vessel as massive as the Xianzhou."
Tingyun said this with obvious admiration.
It made sense—planet-sized ships had enormous mass. Traveling through space, if they weren't careful, they could accidentally pull small asteroids into their gravity well.
Small debris wasn't a problem—energy shields took care of that.
The real danger was being caught by a planet's gravity.
If that happened, crashing into the planet would be catastrophic.
Though the Xianzhou had powerful engines and wouldn't let itself crash, escaping a planet's gravity well with such massive weight would burn ridiculous amounts of fuel.
Do it a few times and the Xianzhou would spend more time refueling than traveling.
Thus, the Xianzhou had to stay in empty space, maintaining careful distance from any large celestial body.
And only an excellent Helmswoman could maintain such perfect trajectory control.
No doubt, Nolan thought, anyone sitting in that unique position must be the best of the best.
Soon, the Minghuo finished docking.
Tingyun issued a few instructions regarding unloading, then led Nolan down the ramp.
The harbor bustled with people—both Xianzhou natives and foreigners.
Ah yes—when searching information on the "Xianzhou Alliance" through the Interastral Peace Network, he'd seen it.
Xianzhou people called outsiders "Outworlders".
He himself was, at the moment, also an Outworlder.
"This is the Starskiff Sea Hub. The Palace of Astrum is also located here, but it's quite far.
"It's fastest to take a Starskiff."
Tingyun glanced at the sky—it was almost noon.
If they went too late, the Palace of Astrum would be off-duty.
Although she knew Lord Yukong would still be there working overtime—
Official business should still be handled during working hours.
Commission payments had proper procedures and records.
The Helmswoman didn't manage finances; she couldn't process commissions casually outside of office hours.
"All right. Miss Tingyun knows this place better than anyone—please lead the way."
Nolan looked curiously at the Starskiffs flying overhead.
They resembled the Minghuo, but were much smaller—like little private skiffs that seated only three or four people.
"Please follow me."
Tingyun smiled lightly and led him to the Starskiff boarding area.
They boarded an auto-piloted Starskiff, which lifted into the sky and carried them toward the Palace of Astrum.
Nolan sat inside the Starskiff, watching this grown—not manufactured—creation pilot itself like a technological craft.
It felt strangely fascinating.
After roughly ten minutes of flight, they arrived at the Palace of Astrum's landing platform.
Tingyun continued to lead him forward, and soon they reached a building with a distinctly ancient architectural style, guarded on both sides by armored soldiers.
This was clearly the place.
"When we were still on the Starskiff, I already sent a message to Lord Yukong. She informed the guards ahead of time—so they won't stop us. We can just go straight in."
Tingyun's snow-white legs swayed lightly as she walked, explaining to Nolan along the way.
"Mm."
To have the Helmswoman's personal phone number…
Nolan couldn't help thinking that Tingyun's status within the Xianzhou Alliance must be quite high.
He casually glanced at the soldiers. Immediately, Fischl's and Yae Miko's affection-skill feedback appeared:
[Level: 45]
[Cloud Knights: Soldiers of the Luofu Xianzhou's Cloud Knights. Their will is firm, combat training excellent, and overall strength impressive.]
Tsk. As expected of the Xianzhou—an ordinary soldier was already this strong, two to three times the average Teyvat soldier.
It made sense.
The Xianzhou Alliance was a top-tier interstellar civilization with abundant resources for enhancing strength.
And despite Tingyun's delicate demeanor, the information returned by the affection skills revealed the truth—
This "fragile young lady" was actually a Pathstrider with Level 78 strength.
The guards opened the Palace of Astrum doors for them.
Nolan and Tingyun stepped inside and saw a staircase about five or six meters long.
At the top, many workers bustled about.
This was the headquarters of the Sky-Faring Commission—everyone here was involved in managing the Xianzhou's navigation and travel affairs.
Busy was normal.
Carefully avoiding the holographic potted plants, Nolan followed Tingyun to the rear office section where the Helmswoman worked.
Waiting there already was a tall woman with fox ears like Tingyun's.
She wore a short, tabard-style qipao with open front and trailing hem, mainly in cyan-blue and white, decorated with elegant cloud patterns.
The chest and waist held cut-out designs revealing snowy skin. Her long legs were bare, and her black high heels with cloud motifs gave her a mature, composed allure.
"Tingyun. I'm glad to see you return safely."
Yukong let out a relieved breath—the worry she carried since hearing of the caravan's attack finally eased.
"Thank you for your concern, Lord Yukong," Tingyun said with a gentle smile.
Then she turned toward Nolan. "This is Mr. Nolan—the one who saved both the Baihuang Star and our caravan. He is a security consultant for the Herta Space Station."
"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Yukong."
Nolan smiled politely.
Unsure of Xianzhou customs, he refrained from extending his hand.
Hearing Tingyun's introduction, Yukong turned her gaze to the young man beside her.
He appeared utterly ordinary—no imposing presence, no aura of power… just a gentle, approachable figure.
But as someone who had forced a Messanger to retreat, and a consultant of the Herta Station, Yukong definitely didn't underestimate him.
General Jing Yuan also looked perfectly ordinary, and yet…
Perhaps this young man wasn't far off from the general in true capability.
Yukong nodded, her expression softer than her usual stern demeanor.
"Hello, Mr. Nolan. I am Yukong, Helmswoman of the Sky-Faring Commission. Thank you for your service to the Xianzhou."
[Yukong Has Developed Good feelings Towards You, Obtained 460 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.3 (160/300).]
Seeing the panel notification, Nolan felt pleasantly surprised.
The Helmswoman was certainly a major figure on the Xianzhou—earning her affection meant he'd likely be free to stay on the Luofu as long as he wished.
Stay long enough, meet her occasionally, build some rapport…
Max affection and another new skill wouldn't be far away!
Nolan responded courteously:
"At the time, I was on Miss Tingyun's ship as well—I naturally couldn't stand by and do nothing.
"And truly, I didn't do much. My only strength is in mental-force techniques. That Heliobus's attack failed, so she must have mistaken my strength as being equal to hers and chose to retreat to avoid complications."
"Regardless, your help to the Xianzhou is real."
Yukong nodded.
She knew a bit about Heliobus, Phantylia—cunning, rarely fighting in her true form, most of her known victories achieved after possessing others.
Avoiding opponents of similar strength was typical behavior.
With that in mind, Yukong produced something tangible—a formal token of gratitude.
"Please leave your messaging ID. I will complete the necessary procedures and have the commission payment transferred to you directly."
"No problem."
Nolan took out his phone and shared his number.
He couldn't help but admire the Interastral Peace Company—its network operated smoothly even inside another top-tier interstellar power like the Xianzhou Alliance.
Such was the advantage of technological monopoly.
Many civilizations could establish planetary or system-wide networks.
But super-distance remote sensing?
Only the IPC could do that.
For instant communication anywhere in the universe, even the Xianzhou had to cooperate with the Company—it was simply too convenient.
Of course, truly sensitive documents wouldn't be uploaded to the network.
And the Company valued its reputation—they rarely caused "privacy scandals."
Aside from the Genius Society and a few unique civilizations, no faction could match IPC in technology.
No civilization would risk war with them either—its intelligence and military reach were unmatched.
No need to steal secrets when anyone who challenged them would be flattened.
Thus, most civilizations willingly cooperated with the Company.
"Next," Yukong continued, "please let Tingyun take care of you for the time being.
I will apply for a long-term Xianzhou visa for you. When documents are required, simply cooperate with the clerks."
(End of Chapter)
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