564: Chapter 499: The Foundation of the Divine Kingdom and the New Journey

On the last day before the wedding, the welded seams of the ark of civilization emitted a warm, pale golden light in the twilight.

After Qin Qing finished checking the guest list one last time, she stood by the railing at the stern, gazing at the twilight of the distant New Universe for a long while before turning to walk back into the cabin.

In the early morning, the first ray of dawn spilled over from the edge of the New Universe, spreading along the outline of the Great Wall of Civilization, dyeing the entire ship in a thin layer of pale golden light.

The cabin door at the bow was open, and the half of the jade wedding token on the windowsill was breathing slowly—the rhythm of its alternating cyan-gold and silver-white flashes was almost synchronized with the flow of the halo on the distant Great Wall of Civilization.

The guests began to board the ship one after another.

The veterans of the Iron Wall Fortress, wearing uniforms washed until they were faded white, stood in loose formations on the deck, every face outlined in the morning light.

When the representatives from various war zones boarded the ship, there was no music and no formation; they simply walked quietly along the ship's side, found their places on the deck, stood in twos and threes, and waited for the ceremony to begin.

Wang Meng was the first to arrive.

He stood near the cabin door, wearing a dark blue jacket with a slightly wrinkled, untucked collar, but he paid no attention to it.

Li Mo's projection hovered beside the railing at the stern; the edges of the projection were slightly blurrier than usual, as if a portion of his processing power had been diverted by something.

Lei Zhan stood by the ship's side, while the Iron Rock Giant crouched on the deck behind him, eyes closed, resembling a true rock.

Iron Face leaned against a wooden crate, holding no book in his hands, simply looking straight ahead.

Qin Qing stood on the other side of the cabin door, taking one last look at the guest list.

When the morning light had fully brightened, Su Yueyao walked out from the cabin.

She wore a moon-white robe, and the hairpiece, half cyan-gold and half silver-white, was pinned in her hair; the moonlight flowed extremely slowly around her, the silver-white radiance mingling with the morning light.

Her appearance caused everyone to fall silent for a moment.

Lin Zhou stood on the other side of the cabin door, with a distance of about ten steps between them.

He did not walk toward her, and she did not walk toward him.

The two just stood there, with ten steps of deck and the morning light between them.

Qin Qing stepped forward; her voice was not loud, but the entire ship could hear it.

"The Fire of Civilization and the lunar moonlight shine together today. Everyone present is a witness."

As her words fell, the water of the river of civilization surged up from the bottom of the ship, spreading upward along the welded seams, yet it did not flow into the ship, instead forming an extremely thin film of light on the surface of the hull.

That film of light possessed both cyan-gold and silver-white patterns, flowing along the direction of the welded seams, finally converging at the bow to condense into a thin arc of light between the two.

The arc of light crossed the ten-step distance and hovered silently between them.

Lin Zhou took two steps forward.

Su Yueyao also took two steps forward.

The two stood still beneath the arc of light, looking at each other across that ray of light.

Lin Zhou raised his right hand, palm upward, and Su Yueyao also raised her right hand, palm downward; the two hands stopped with the distance of a palm between them, without touching.

The light brightened in the gap between their palms, then slowly dimmed in the wind at the bow, but that light did not completely extinguish; it merely faded, as if a memory had settled into the interior of the hull.

From deep within the hull came a low hum, not the sound of machinery operating, but more like the creaking sound of old wood slowly expanding after being heated.

The lamps on the ship did not flicker in the wind.

Everyone stood quietly in place, listening to that hum coming from deep within the hull, only to gradually sink into the depths of the Void Realm.

Lin Zhou withdrew his hand.

Su Yueyao also withdrew her hand.

Only a palm's distance remained between the two; the arc of light that had been burning continuously in the twilight had completely dissipated, and the film of light on the hull's surface was also slowly fading, retreating back to the bottom of the ship along the welded seams.

The surroundings were silent for a moment; first, Wang Meng raised that earthen bowl, saying nothing, simply raising it from afar toward the deck before tilting his head and drinking it dry.

Then it was Qin Qing, then Li Mo, and then those soldiers in old uniforms; the Iron Rock Giant opened its eyes, Iron Face closed his book and lightly patted the cover, and the wind from both sides of the valley converged from all directions, gently wrapping away the last bit of sound.

The wedding ceremony had no tedious etiquette, no long-winded vows, only two lamps lighting up in succession in the morning light.

The lights at the stern lit up one after another, forming an arc along the railing.

Su Yueyao turned and walked toward the stern.

Lin Zhou stood at the bow for a little longer, looking toward the ship's side that was slowly lighting up.

Those welded seams still shimmered with a pale golden glow in the night, like old scars slowly healing.

The wind blew from the direction of the stern, carrying the scent of moonlight and starlight.

He turned around and walked along the deck toward the stern.

The entire ship moved slowly forward in the sea of stars; there was no sound of engines, no hum of runes operating, only the sound of the wind raised as the hull cut through the Void Realm, and the soft sound of water flowing beneath the deck.

In the distance, the outline of the Great Wall of Civilization remained clearly visible in the night, and that cyan-gold line traversing the New Universe was moving slowly, as if the sea of stars itself were breathing slowly.

The hull of the ark of civilization rose and fell slowly beneath him, as if supported by an invisible river, sailing slowly along the direction of that cyan-gold line.

He paused as he passed through the cabin door and looked back.

In the direction of the Wall of Heroes, the outline of that old wall was faint and flickering in the night, and the names on the wall were still glowing, faint but steady.

He watched for a while, then walked into the cabin.

The cabin door closed slowly behind him, emitting a low wooden sound; the sound was not loud, but appeared exceptionally clear in the night.

The lights at the stern formed an arc along the railing; the lights swayed slightly in the night wind, then quickly stabilized.

The welded seams on the ship's side were still glowing, as if the ship itself were slowly healing—those old wounds were being joined by newly cast metal, revealing pale golden traces of light.

This was an old ship that was slowly healing.

There was no need to sail into the distance anymore; it only needed to stop here and let time flow upon the deck.

The welded seams would not disappear completely, but they were already firm enough.