Astral Express, Observation Car.
With March 7th's yelp as she stumbled, the warp concluded, and everyone's attention was drawn to the massive Xianzhou.
"Wow!" March 7th brushed off some dust. "This is the Xianzhou? It looks even bigger than Jarilo-VI!"
Dan Heng, the most familiar with the Xianzhou among those present, explained, "To the Xianzhou people, this ship is their [planet]."
"The land is an indispensable cradle for civilization's survival and growth. But some civilizations outgrow their infancy, piloting starships through the void… The Xianzhou Alliance is one such example."
"I've only seen it a few times, but it's still so magnificent…"
Mentioning the Xianzhou brought a flood of past memories to Dan Heng's eyes, his tone heavy with sentiment.
"What's your deal, anyway? You look all nostalgic and lonely," March 7th said, her curiosity piqued by Dan Heng's fleeting sigh.
Himeko was trying to contact the management at the Jade Gate. "This is the Astral Express, repeating, this is the Astral Express. We've arrived in Xianzhou airspace and request landing permission for the ground… or perhaps I should say [deck]."
A response came through the comms. "Welcome to [Luofu]'s spaceport. The Jade Gate is opening. On behalf of [Xianzhou Alliance: Luofu], we welcome our honored guests from afar. Please follow the guidance for orderly docking to avoid any… stampedes."
"Huh, that went smoothly? Don't horror movies usually start with a ship arriving at a deserted spaceport, and then…"
"Don't overthink it." Dan Heng wanted to retort—avoid stampedes? What was that about? Were they worried about cosmic traffic accidents?
Recalling Adrian's dramatic arrival on the train, Dan Heng grew more convinced that this slogan wasn't so simple. There must be other forces at play besides them.
Not far off, Kafka was timing something with a stopwatch, murmuring a quiet praise. "Right on time, Silver Wolf."
"The signal's cut off. They didn't say anything."
As the crew began preparations to disembark, Kafka tactfully avoided eavesdropping on their discussion. With the [Script] now veering off course, whatever happened next was up to fate.
Oh well… Elio hadn't said much anyway, so she didn't need to worry too much.
Stelle started chatting with March 7th. "The second stop of our [Trailblaze Journey]. Hope it'll be a blast."
"Whoa~ Pretty confident in your skills, huh?"
"The universe is so vast, yet we end up on the Xianzhou where Dan Heng and Adrian lived. That's gotta be fate! While we're here, let's dig into their stories, yeah?"
"They've got this mysterious past vibe. Now that we've conveniently landed on Luofu, we've gotta get to the bottom of it!"
"Absolutely!"
"Hehe, I knew it! When it comes to gossip, no one beats you! Should we rename the Galactic Baseballer to Galactic Gossip Girl?"
Stelle fell silent. This girl seemed to have completely forgotten they were here for a mission.
"No more chit-chat, I'm off to pack!" Watching March 7th leave, Stelle turned to Himeko.
"This time, you'll get to see [Uncle Yang] in action. Haha, I'm relieved knowing he's with you guys."
"Don't worry, I'll protect him, March, and Dan Heng." After the battle with Cocolia, Stelle could clearly feel her strength had leaped to a new level.
The Galactic Baseballer, blessed by multiple Paths, was invincible!
Thinking of the crew, Stelle realized she didn't know much about Adrian or Welt. "So, can you tell me more about Uncle Yang's story?"
"He rarely talks about himself. If you ask him, he'll just say he's an animator."
"But it's far from that simple. His experiences are way more exciting than mine." Himeko teased, leaving the rest for Stelle to uncover herself.
Xianzhou [Luofu], Stargazer Navalia
Perched atop a small hill formed by piles of Mara-Struck soldiers, the Aeon of [Eternity] once again pondered the philosophy of divine existence.
After days of traveling, hopping between Herta Space Station and Jarilo-VI, THEY had finally returned here.
Along the way, THEY collaborated with the Eternal Church's knights to clear out some Riftspawn, earning a hefty haul of Church specialties—soap and laundry detergent.
"May [Eternity] protect you, friend." The lead knight saluted Adrian with a standard knightly bow. He could sense the surging energy within Adrian, combined with his performance in battle…
Surely, this was a formidable Pathstrider of [Eternity], with combat prowess rivaling their Grandmaster.
With this in mind, the knight captain nudged the knight beside him.
"Ahem… Honored benefactor!" The silver-helmed knight removed his helmet, revealing a youthful face, clearly a recent recruit to the knighthood.
"Since you already walk the Path of [Eternity], why not join the Church and travel with us?"
The other knights mentally cheered. Nice one! All that training paid off!
Under Blake's arrangement, the Eternal Church's knights not only trained for ten hours a day but also attended special sessions during downtime to hone their persuasive skills.
This allowed them to spread the virtues of [Eternity] and occasionally recruit new members.
Fun fact: aside from the Grandmaster, a true Pathstrider of [Eternity], the rest of the knights, including the Vice-Grandmaster, were just ordinary citizens with slightly unique constitutions.
Their ability to fight on the battlefield was thanks to the Church's advanced yet primitive technology. To this day, they still used basic lances in combat, without even a single ranged archer.
Their explanation? In battle, enemies must feel the fist-to-flesh impact of [Eternity], so they always fought up close.
Their armor, upgraded through Adrian's black hole tech, absorbed all enemy attacks, rendering them untouchable.
Seeing the knights' enthusiasm, Adrian gave a pleased smile.
"Where's your Grandmaster… not here?"
"Oh, he's probably in confinement under Pontiff Blake's orders…"
Smack!
The knight captain swiftly kicked the rookie knight's backside.
"Don't air our dirty laundry! How's our guest supposed to view the Church now?!"
Adrian: …
Whatever, as long as they're happy.
Back to the present: declining the captain's invitation, the knights, to express their sincerest gratitude, gifted Adrian a huge bag of Church specialties.
But Adrian had no use for these. What to do with them became the question.
Let them gather dust in his milk tea shop? Definitely not.
How about… passing them on to someone in need? Perfect!
With that decided, Adrian grabbed the bag of Church goods, cleansed the soldiers of their [Mara-Struck] condition, and set off for the [Sleepless Earl] Teahouse to gift the soap and detergent to Mengming.
Just as he reached an intersection, a lively voice called out to HIM:
"Hey! You there, buddy! Come help out~"
Oh, looks like something interesting's about to happen…