"Godly Smite!"
The power, which was already strong enough to shatter a star system in Artosh's hands, became even more terrifying after being enhanced by the Stellaron.
Using both the War God's Divine Authority and the Stellaron to draw power, the blow Jibril was about to unleash was enough to easily one-shot the Doomsday Beast.
With this blow, not to mention Jingliu, even the dozens of stars behind her would be destroyed along with her.
Even the Whistling Flames merchant fleet behind them would find it difficult to survive such a terrifying aftershock.
Let alone Jingliu, the former Sword Champion of the Luofu whose strength was just below an Emanator, even if Jing Yuan, the (kinda) Emanator of the Hunt, were here in person, he might not be able to handle this level of power.
It could be said that Jibril, without being an Emanator, had unleashed a destructive force that only the most skilled Emanators could.
Witnessing this scene, Tingyun was stunned on the spot. Her fluffy fox tail became stiff and then began to tremble. Her gaze towards Su Mo and Jibril became fearful, as if she had imagined some extremely terrifying possibility.
Even Jingliu, after witnessing this overwhelming power, was stunned.
The shadow of death had snapped her out of her Mara-Struck state.
Seeing this, Su Mo took a step forward, grabbed Jibril by the scruff of her neck, and pressed down on her small wings.
"Wait."
"Awoo?"
Jibril turned her head in confusion and looked at Su Mo.
"I told you to capture her alive, not to grind her bones to dust," Su Mo said, tapping Jibril on the head, stopping the release of the Godly Smite.
"Wuu~"
Jibril reluctantly withdrew the Godly Smite, then rubbed her head against Su Mo's palm coquettishly.
"You got me all worked up, and then you won't let me release it... Master has to take responsibility for his actions!"
In fact, this was the first time she had used this power with all her might. She had just wanted to test how far she could go.
Regarding these audacious words, Su Mo pinched her cheek as a warning.
Then, he looked at the sword-immortal-like girl before him.
"You're awake?"
"I'm awake."
Jingliu closed her eyes, put on her eye patch, and nodded to Su Mo.
---||---
Then, the three of them returned to the Whistling Flames' fleet. Seeing the three return, Tingyun forced herself to suppress her trembling body and took the initiative to greet them.
"The three benefactors have finally returned. Please rest here for a while. This humble girl has already prepared refreshments."
Her attitude was still extremely enthusiastic, even appearing a bit humble. It seemed that there was no major problem.
Jibril, however, suddenly appeared behind the foxian girl as if out of thin air and poked her waist.
"Eek! B-Benefactor, what are you doing?"
Like a taut string, Tingyun jumped, almost leaping into the air.
Seeing how nervous she was, with beads of sweat appearing on her forehead, Jibril sniffed the air and said strangely, "This smell, it's the smell of fear! Even though Master and I helped you, you're so afraid of us, you don't even dare to look at Master... What's going on? Even if you saw my power, you shouldn't be this scared, right?"
No, no, no, anyone would be!
Even the Xianzhou people, who had been through great wars, had rarely seen power on this scale.
The nearby merchant crew members looked at each other, their hearts full of complaints they couldn't voice.
Of course, even they didn't quite understand why Tingyun was so scared. Even Emanator-level combat power was not unheard of for the Xianzhou people. With Tingyun's usual sophistication and mental fortitude, she shouldn't be this scared!
Under everyone's puzzled gazes, hearing Jibril's questioning, the foxian girl looked at Su Mo with trepidation. Seeing that he didn't say anything, as if tacitly agreeing, she finally mustered her courage and spoke with a trembling voice.
"If it were an ordinary Emanator-level existence, although it's not something this humble girl can come into contact with, as long as I show respect, this humble girl wouldn't be so frightened."
As a native of the Xianzhou, she had this confidence.
Although she was not qualified to communicate with an Emanator on equal terms, as long as she treated them with courtesy, an ordinary Emanator would not kill them.
But the problem was, the existence before her did not seem to be an ordinary Emanator.
"B-But, the destructive power this beautiful young lady just displayed was simply appalling. Even the destructive power of the Lord Ravagers I heard about from Lady Yukong is not much more than this."
As she spoke cautiously, Tingyun peeked at Su Mo and Jibril's faces, as if trying to find some clue.
"The Lord Ravagers' power is also at this level?"
Hearing this, Jibril showed a look of interest.
She was also very curious about her current standing in the world of Honkai: Star Rail.
"According to the records, some are not as good as you, and some may be able to match you," Tingyun explained in detail.
The Xianzhou's enemy records contained a lot of information about the Lord Ravagers. Among them was Zephyro, the One-Man Army who had once ignited the sun of New Bethlehem; there was also Phantylia, the one who had the most dealings with the Xianzhou, whose troops were spread throughout the galaxy.
The detailed records of the Lord Ravagers' actions were at least at the level of destroying planets and stars, and there were also records of destroying star systems.
For existences of this level, power output was not everything. Many Lord Ravagers had their own aesthetics of destruction, and the way they achieved it was not necessarily grand.
Of course, even Zephyro, who liked to make a big scene and loved violent destruction, was not necessarily stronger than the power Jibril had shown.
As she spoke, looking at Jibril who was listening with relish, Tingyun boldly asked, "So, you're really not a Lord Ravager?"
"Of course not!" Jibril immediately shook her head, then puffed out her chest and said, "I am Jibril, Lord Su Mo's most favored child!"
Hearing this, Tingyun breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at Su Mo.
"So, you're not the Lord of Destruction... I mean, Nanook, the Aeon of Destruction?"
Hearing this, everyone present was stunned, first feeling baffled, then horrified.
They finally understood why Tingyun was trembling and so afraid before.
If it were another Emanator, it would be fine. But if the girl before them was an Emanator of Destruction, then who was the Su Mo she called Master?
If the Aeon of Destruction himself had descended... then they wouldn't need to worry about the future, because there definitely wouldn't be one.
Including the blindfolded Jingliu, everyone's eyes focused on Su Mo. Most of them were trembling, almost about to cry.
When they realized that the person before them might be the Aeon of Destruction himself, they finally understood how restrained Tingyun's trembling had been and how strong her mental fortitude was.
If it were them, they wouldn't even dare to ask, wishing they could bury their heads in the ground like ostriches.
Looking at everyone's reaction, Su Mo asked back with great interest, "What if I said yes?"
"B-Benefactor, don't joke."
"Alright, then I won't joke. I'm not."
Seeing the foxian girl almost pee herself, Su Mo shook his head and told the truth.
"Really not?"
Tingyun still couldn't believe it.
"Of course not!" Jibril said with disdain. "How could a mere Aeon of Destruction compare to my master?"
"That's good... Wait, you're not the Aeon of Elation, are you?"
Just as she breathed a sigh of relief, remembering a secret about an Aeon, Tingyun asked again tentatively.
Although Nanook was a junior among the Aeons, the only ones who could look down on him so much were Nihility and Elation.
Speaking of which, the Aeon of Elation did have a habit of incarnating as a human to have fun.
"No."
Su Mo shook his head again. Seeing that Tingyun was still uneasy—after all, nothing the Aeon of Elation did was surprising—he immediately explained.
"I am not an Aeon, no need to guess. And Jibril is not an Emanator. She's just a bit stronger than the average Pathstrider."
"...You call this a bit stronger?"
Tingyun wore an expression that said she had no words, but in the end, she believed Su Mo's explanation.
There was no choice but to believe. The Aeon of Elation probably didn't need to play with small characters like them. If she kept being suspicious, she wouldn't be able to live. Anyone in the world could be a transformed Aha.
After ruling out the most terrifying possibility, Tingyun immediately invited Su Mo and the others to her room as guests.
She hadn't been lying before. She had indeed prepared the best tea and snacks.
Seeing this, Su Mo also called Ruan Mei over.
Seeing that Ruan Mei, who was also from the Xianzhou, was also Su Mo's companion, Tingyun and the merchant crew finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"So, Lord Su Mo and Miss Jingliu are both planning to go to the Xianzhou Luofu? Coincidentally, this humble girl's fleet is also on its way back. We're not far from Luofu territory now. If you're not in a hurry, Lord Su Mo, this humble girl can lead the way for you and give you a good tour of the Luofu."
After finding out their purpose, Tingyun returned to her eloquent and charming self, her attitude extremely enthusiastic and thoughtful.
"As for Miss Jingliu, I can only apologize. According to our Xianzhou rules, I cannot receive you."
Encountering a Mara-Struck and not reporting it was already a violation. Even if she had ten times the courage, she wouldn't dare to bring Jingliu to the Xianzhou on her own initiative.
"No matter. I have my own ways," Jingliu said, shaking her head, her attitude cold.
"..."
Tingyun's expression stiffened for a moment.
Wasn't this an open declaration that she was going to smuggle herself in?
If the other party hadn't saved her life, she would have reported it to the Cloud Knights on the spot.
Even if she was a hero of the High-Cloud Quintet, the danger she posed after falling into the Mara-Struck state was too great.
Seeing this, Su Mo spoke up in a timely manner.
"If Miss Jingliu is willing, she can enter with us, and there is no need to worry about violating the Xianzhou's rules."
Hearing this, Tingyun immediately shook her head.
"How is that possible! Benefactor, you may not know this, but our Xianzhou's attitude towards the Mara-Struck has always been to kill the wrong one rather than let one go. Under no circumstances would we let a Mara-Struck person move freely."
This was a matter of principle, not to be changed.
"I know."
Su Mo nodded, then his tone changed.
"But what if I have the promise of General Jing Yuan of the Luofu, and a special pardon from the Grand Marshal of the Xianzhou?"
"If we have the approval of these two, then it would indeed be fine. But that's impossible!"
Tingyun shook her head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
To have two big figures vouch for a Mara-Struck person... it was impossible no matter how you looked at it.
Not to mention Jing Yuan, an existence of Grand Marshal Hua's level was busy with a myriad of affairs. How could she possibly agree to such a thing?
Even Jingliu, hearing this, shook her head, not thinking that such an absurd thing could become a reality.
Faced with their attitude, Su Mo shook his head.
"There's no need for much explanation. You can personally verify it with Jing Yuan later..."
As his words fell, the helmsman of the merchant ship suddenly knocked urgently on the door and came to report.
"Reporting to Miss Tingyun! A large contingent of the Cloud Knights is lined up ahead! Master Diviner Fu Xuan is personally leading the team to welcome them from afar, and even General Jing Yuan is waiting at the Xianzhou starskiff. It seems they are welcoming some distinguished guest."
"The starskiff has been temporarily requisitioned. Should we change direction and enter from another starskiff to avoid affecting the Alliance's important affairs?"
Looking at the grand welcoming party, the helmsman was obviously a bit flustered.
This welcoming ceremony was obviously held in a hurry, so the entire population was not officially notified. To be able to enjoy such treatment, it must be a big shot at the Emanator level.
In this situation, they couldn't just rush in.
How could a small merchant guild like them withstand the grand ceremony of being led by the Master Diviner and waited upon by the General?
"A distinguished guest?!"
Hearing this, Tingyun showed a look of surprise and uncertainty.
Unlike the helmsman who was panicked and planning to take a detour, faced with such a grand scene, she, like Jingliu, simultaneously realized a certain possibility and turned their gazes to Su Mo.
Faced with their gazes, Su Mo nodded calmly.
"It seems our ride is here. Miss Tingyun, bring the ship over!"
"...Yes!"
After a moment of daze, Tingyun immediately obeyed.
She hurriedly led the helmsman to command the fleet, heading straight for the Cloud Knights' battleship, approaching the main warship that had been waiting for a long time.
And on the main ship, a pink-haired, petite girl was looking at the merchant ship with an extremely calm gaze.
She waved her hand, suppressing the doubts and questions of her subordinates, and took the initiative to step forward with the etiquette of meeting a distinguished guest.
"May I ask if the one who comes is the genius who refused the invitation of the Genius Society, the master of the Intellitron Legion Ex-Machina, Mr. Su Mo, who once fought against the Aeon of Destruction?"
-----------
TL/N: The reason i stop translating this for a while, i really don't like Xianzhou chapter and my spirit to translate decreased until i left this for a few days.