155: Return, flowers bloom

A year had passed, and above the Woma World's firmament, the invisible power of laws began to pluck the strings of the world.

Beams of tractor light descended from the sky, enveloping the territories of every Lord from the Realm Sea.

Streaks of light, like rain, ascended into the sky.

That was the final movement of war, and the horn call of homecoming.

Most of the light beams displayed the gentle sky-blue color representing the Blue Star Alliance, forming a vast Star River that surged towards the distant end of the Realm Sea.

Only a very few dim light spots, belonging to the lucky survivors of the Dark Star Empire and the Three-Eyed Race remnants, fled in panic in other directions, appearing exceptionally lonely and disheveled.

In one of the most brilliant light beams, Su Jin and Bai Xiao stood side by side on the city wall.

Space outside the light beam twisted and changed rapidly, displaying a kaleidoscope of colors, but the inside of the passage remained stable as usual.

Su Jin turned his head, glanced at Bai Xiao beside him, and couldn't help but let the corners of his mouth curl into a slight smile.

“I say, Apolosi, Her Excellency, specifically rushed from Radiant City to see us off before we left, giving gifts and bidding farewell, with genuine emotion.”

“How could you leave without even saying hello? That’s too rude.”

Bai Xiao didn’t even lift an eyelid, and after a long while, squeezed out two words from between his teeth.

“Boring.”

“Tsk, still stubborn.”

Su Jin seemed to have discovered a new toy, his interest undiminished.

“Stop pretending, I saw everything. When she gave you a farewell gift, she specifically left a World Coordinate containing her original aura.”

“Isn’t the meaning clear enough?”

He deliberately emphasized the words ‘original aura’.

Bai Xiao’s arm, which was holding his sword, seemed to tense for an instant.

He finally turned his head, his gaze sweeping towards Su Jin, as if warning him with his eyes to say no more.

Su Jin, however, ignored him, and instead let out a feigned sigh of regret.

“What a pity, that coordinate, full of deep affection and friendship, has already been used by me.”

No sooner had he spoken than… the temperature beside him seemed to drop by several degrees.

In Bai Xiao’s eyes, there were flashes of knives and swords…

“Heh.”

Su Jin chuckled softly, no longer teasing him, and slowly tossed out the answer.

“I just thought a one-time coordinate was a bit wasteful, so I conveniently gave it an Sublimation.”

He spread his hand and pointed towards the center of the city, in the direction of the Yadran World’s Realm Gate.

There, at some unknown point, a brand new Realm Gate had appeared.

That Realm Gate emitted a soft and pure holy light, and its frame was carved with the unique sun and wing emblem of Radiant City, solemn and sacred.

“Now, it’s a permanent ‘Realm Gate’. In the future, if you want to go to Radiant City, you can do so anytime, it’s even more convenient than going home, no need to thank me.”

Bai Xiao: “…”

He looked at the Realm Gate in the distance, his eyes shifting.

Then he silently turned his head back, looking again at the rapidly passing scenery outside the light beam.

After a long while, an extremely soft syllable floated from his lips.

“Mm.”

…

The light dissipated, and the familiar aura of the Realm Sea rushed forth.

Su Jin and his group had returned to the Blue Star Alliance’s sanctuary in the Realm Sea.

Almost the moment their feet touched solid ground, a series of prompt tones from the Alliance’s central supercomputer rang out in the minds of all returning Blue Star Lords and professionals.

“Detection: ‘War of the Three Races’ has ended… Calculating points… Calculation complete!”

“The Blue Star Alliance, with the highest total points, has won the final victory in this War of Supremacy!”

“Distributing individual contribution ranking rewards…”

“Lord ‘Su Jin’, individual contribution ranking: First.”

“Reward calculation in progress…”

“Reward 1: Alliance Contribution Points * 50,000,000.”

“Reward 2: Special Building Blueprint ‘Star Realm Beacon’ * 1 (Note: Can establish a fixed, ultra-long-distance territory teleportation anchor point in the Realm Sea).”

“…”

The incredibly generous reward list flashed by, but Su Jin merely glanced at it casually and then closed it.

For him, the greatest harvest was already in his hands.

Without lingering too long in the sanctuary, Su Jin, familiar with the route, returned to Mingde City, which he had been away from for a year, via the teleportation array.

It was still the familiar Lord’s Hall, still the busy staff.

When Su Jin’s figure appeared, there was a momentary silence in the hall.

Then, everyone who saw him, whether staff or Lords who came to conduct business, subconsciously straightened their backs, their eyes filled with awe and admiration.

A year ago, Su Jin, departing from here, was merely a budding genius whose talent was just beginning to show.

A year later, he returned with honors, already an unparalleled prodigy famous throughout the Alliance.

After a simple handover of information regarding the War of Supremacy with the person in charge, and politely declining the enthusiastic invitation to a welcome banquet, Su Jin’s figure disappeared from the Lord’s Hall.

Soon after, at Mingde City Central Hospital, the air was filled with the smell of disinfectant, as always.

Su Jin walked step by step towards that VIP ward.

Pushing open the door, the room was very quiet, with only the “beep beep” sound from the life monitoring equipment.

On the hospital bed, his father’s face was still pale, his eyes tightly shut.

Su Jin walked to the bedside, his gaze falling on the monitor screen.

The curve representing the spiritual origin was still below the warning line.

He reached out and gently held his father’s cold hand.

In his hand, the box woven from Moonlight Vine appeared.

The moment the lid opened, a pure and vast life aura instantly filled the entire ward.

The flower, condensed from the radiance of life, bloomed quietly.

Within the stamen, that faint light, like a newborn heart, resonated wonderfully with the sleeping life in the room, beginning to beat gently at the same frequency.

The Flower of Eternal Life.

Su Jin carefully held it up, suspending it above his father’s chest.

The flower, as if drawn by something, actively emitted a soft and sacred halo.

Threads and wisps, like fireflies, like stardust, slowly merged into his father’s body.

On the monitor, the curve that had been steadily declining suddenly stopped its descent.

Then, it began to slowly climb upwards in an incredible manner.

One minute, two minutes… Time seemed to lose its meaning at this moment.

Su Jin just stood there quietly, watching, his gaze never leaving his father’s face.

He remembered the helplessness he felt years ago when he learned of the situation.

He remembered his unwavering determination to embark on the path of a Lord for that slim hope.

He remembered the ecstasy a year ago when he saw the low-credibility rumor about “Woma World” in the Alliance database.

He remembered the myriad emotions of finally finding what he had searched so hard for, when the envoy from Radiant City presented him with that blooming miracle before his return.

All the struggles, all the battles, all the schemes… Everything was for today.

On the hospital bed, that pale face gradually regained some color.

His eyelids, which had been tightly shut for many years, trembled.

A groan escaped his parched lips.

Immediately after, those eyes that Su Jin had seen countless times in his dreams slowly, slowly opened.

The confusion and haziness in his eyes rapidly faded, and finally, his focus landed on the familiar yet somewhat strange figure by the bed.

“…Xiao Jin?”