134: Chapter 134 Post-battle healing, feelings deepen

The morning light in the temporary camp was faint.

The early morning on the Black Stone Wasteland was always shrouded in thick, lead-gray clouds; only thin slivers of daylight leaked through the gaps, casting the land outside the tent—repeatedly plowed by ice shards and raging flames—in a desolate silver-gray. The air still held the scent of last night's bloody battle—gunpowder smoke, frost, and the faint, coppery sweetness of the Blood Race's energy that hadn't yet fully dissipated.

Inside the tent, the healer-class players had already withdrawn, leaving only the core members. Shi Potian was still unconscious, placed on a soft couch in the innermost corner covered with thick animal skins, his breathing steady but heavy. Chen Hao had returned to Chaos Valley first with the wounded from the Vermilion Bird Hall, Zhao Wuji was organizing new supplies, and Qin Ruoxue was setting up defensive Formations on the perimeter.

Lin Ye sat alone near the tent entrance, his back to the others, looking at the special Storage Ring in his hand.

Two star tokens lay quietly within the ring's space, their star brilliance as dim as a flickering candle flame. During last night's breakout, the defensive barriers they had triggered autonomously, along with the subsequent resonance, had clearly overdrawn their accumulated power. The System panel showed that both tokens had entered a "charging period," expected to take 72 hours to return to a normal state.

[star token I (Valley of Buried Soldiers)]

[Status: Charging (12.7%)]

[Charging Complete: In approximately 68 hours]

[star token II (Purple Mountain Altar)]

[Status: Charging (9.3%)]

[Charging Complete: In approximately 71 hours]

[Note: This excessive activation may slightly increase the affinity between the token and the holder.]

This was the silver lining amidst the misfortune.

Lin Ye tucked the ring into his chest pocket and was about to get up to check on Shi Potian when he suddenly felt a tearing, stabbing pain in his right leg.

He looked down.

The excessive load from Void Step was finally revealing its full cost.

From his knee to his ankle, the Meridians along his entire lower leg were an abnormal blue-purple color; these were signs of backlash from the power of space and massive capillary rupture. Although there were no wounds on the surface of his skin, the subcutaneous tissue was visibly swollen, and a light press sent intense, sharp pain shooting straight to his head.

[Status: Leg Meridians Torn (Severe)]

[Effect: Movement speed -60%, Evasion rate -80%, Unable to use any displacement skills]

[Estimated Recovery Time: Natural recovery requires 48 hours; using high-level healing spells can shorten it to 12 hours; using legendary-grade Medicinal Pill can shorten it to 4 hours.]

[Warning: Forcing the use of Void Step before full recovery carries a 30% risk of causing permanent Meridian damage.]

Lin Ye frowned.

He had no high-level healing spells, nor did he have legendary-grade Medicinal Pill—things of that caliber were not currently in stock anywhere in the Heavenly Court. This meant that for the next two days, he was essentially a "cripple" who could barely walk.

And they were still within the pursuit range of the Primordial Royal Court, potentially facing a second wave of encirclement at any moment.

"Your leg."

A cold, clear voice sounded from behind him; it was not a question, but a statement.

Su Qingyue had somehow gotten off the soft couch and walked silently to Lin Ye's side. She was still wearing the moon-white magic robe, damaged in many places from the battle, its frost patterns dim; her ice-blue long hair was draped loosely, not tied into her usual neat high ponytail. Without the enhancement of spiritual power, her long hair lacked its usual biting sharpness, revealing a rare softness in the morning light.

Her face was still pale; the aftereffects of Vast Cold Descent—severe overdraft of Divine Power and excessive mental exhaustion—made her look much weaker than usual. But those ice-blue eyes remained clear, currently resting on Lin Ye's bruised and swollen lower leg, her brows slightly furrowed.

"Why didn't you say so sooner?" Her voice was very soft, yet carried a hint of imperceptible... displeasure? Or worry?

"It doesn't affect my mobility." Lin Ye's reply was brief.

Su Qingyue did not respond.

She turned, took a roll of brand-new white silk cloth, a bottle of light blue ointment emitting a cold aura, and a small, exquisite silver medicine spoon from her own Storage Ring. She placed these items one by one on the wooden crate beside Lin Ye that was serving as a makeshift table, her movements light but focused.

"The Vast Cold Spirit Body has a certain healing ability for Meridian damage." She said, with her back to Lin Ye, her voice still cold but with a hint of explanation, "The cold energy can numb pain, stop bleeding, and prevent the injury from worsening. Although it's not as good as professional healing spells, it's faster than natural recovery."

She paused, then added, "I only discovered this a few days ago. Before, when you were undergoing the Four Extremities Heavenly Tribulation... I actually wanted to help, but was blocked by the rules of the Heavenly Tribulation. I studied it afterwards."

This was said very plainly, as if merely stating a technical discovery.

But Lin Ye understood.

When he was undergoing the Heavenly Tribulation, she had been watching from the outside the whole time.

He recalled that day—the Nine-Layer Chaos Lightning Tribulation tearing through the sky, the phantom of the eye of the heavenly dao coldly looking down from the clouds, the myriad things mother qi cauldron embryo hard-carrying the world-destroying purple lightning with its main body, the cauldron covered in cracks. At the time, he was fully focused on resisting the Heavenly Tribulation and had no time to spare; afterwards, he only knew that Su Qingyue and the others had waited outside the tribulation area for a full three hours.

He didn't know that during those three hours, she had already started thinking about the question of "how to be of help next time."

"Thank you," Lin Ye said.

This was the second time tonight he had said that word to her.

Su Qingyue finally turned around, her ice-blue eyes looking directly at him. There was no reproach or formality in that gaze, just a very earnest look, as if confirming whether his words were heartfelt.

"...You don't always have to say thank you to me." She finally looked away, lowering her eyelids, "I'm helping you, not because you owe me anything."

She didn't say the second half of that sentence, but the distance between them—less than half a meter—made the unspoken meaning as clear as mist on an ice surface.

Lin Ye was silent for a moment.

"I know," he said.

Su Qingyue said nothing more.

She picked up the bottle of light blue ointment and used the silver medicine spoon to scoop out a dollop the size of a fingernail. The ointment began to emit a faint white mist upon contact with the air, the coldness intense; just being near it made the bruised skin on Lin Ye's lower leg break out in fine goosebumps.

[Frost Condensation Ointment]

[Type: Healing Item]

[Quality: Rare]

[Description: An external ointment formulated with Ice Soul Cold Spring as a base, with added cold-natured medicinal herbs like Frost Pattern Grass and Moon-Viewing Flower.]

[Effects:]

[1. Pain Relief: Immediately reduces pain in the target area by 80% upon application, lasting 30 minutes.]

[2. Hemostasis: Significant hemostatic effect on open wounds, blood clotting speed +150%.]

[3. Swelling Reduction: Continuous use accelerates the absorption of blood stasis, Meridian damage recovery speed +30%.]

[4. Ice Compress: The ointment itself continuously emits low temperatures (approx. -10°C), which can constrict blood vessels and prevent secondary swelling.]

[Note: This medicine is exclusively refined by practitioners of the Vast Cold Spirit Body. There is a slight risk of frostbite for those without an ice-type Physique; it is recommended to control the dosage per application.]

"It might be a bit cold," Su Qingyue said.

This was not a question, but a forewarning.

Her fingers, coated with the ointment, pressed gently on the most severely swollen part of Lin Ye's lower leg.

It was very cold.

It was a coldness that acted directly on the nerve endings; it wasn't just "cool," but felt as if a thread of ice was drilling in from the surface of the skin, penetrating inward along the path of his Meridians. The pain was indeed rapidly diminishing—not by being numbed, but by being frozen and suppressed layer by layer by that thread of cold, ultimately sinking into depths unreachable by perception.

But what Lin Ye cared about more was her fingertips.

Those fingertips, having just picked up the low-temperature ointment, were so cold they had almost no temperature. But when that chilly touch landed on his burning, swollen skin, it strangely did not trigger any rejection. Vast Cold Spiritual Power and Chaos Power, two completely different Origin energies, had achieved a certain subtle balance at this moment.

Su Qingyue was very focused.

Her gaze rested only on the bruised skin beneath her hands, her ice-blue eyes reflecting the faint light of the ointment. She spread the ointment evenly, layer by layer, starting from the most severely swollen ankle, and pushed and rubbed upward slowly and steadily along the path of the Meridians.

Her technique was very professional—not the formulaic skill casting of a healer class, but some older, more skillful technique. The pressure of her fingers, the frequency of the kneading, the amount of ointment—every detail was handled just right.

"Did you learn this?" Lin Ye asked.

"Mm," Su Qingyue did not look up, "There were elders in my Family who were well-versed in traditional Chinese massage, and I learned some of it when I was young. Later, I discovered that these techniques, combined with Vast Cold Spiritual Power, have a good effect on Meridian damage."

What she didn't say was that she hadn't used these techniques she "learned when she was young" for many years. Last night, at the moment her Domain dissipated, seeing Lin Ye forcing himself to blink continuously with Void Step, his leg Meridians clearly overloaded, these long-buried memories suddenly surfaced clearly.

She didn't know why she still remembered them so clearly.

The ointment gradually melted under the influence of his body temperature, the light blue paste becoming transparent, as if a thin layer of ice was covering Lin Ye's lower leg. Through that ice film, one could vaguely see the ruptured capillaries under the skin slowly contracting, the blue-purple color fading at a speed visible to the naked eye.

[Status: Leg Meridians Torn (Severe) → (Moderate)]

[Recovery Progress: 17% → 34%]

[Estimated Recovery Time: Shortened from 48 hours to 28 hours.]

"It's working," Lin Ye said.

Su Qingyue gave a soft "Mm," without stopping her hand movements.

She began to treat the second area—three inches above the knee, a less obvious ligament strain. There was no capillary rupture here, but the deep tissue had obvious edema, caused by excessive stress during continuous sharp turns with Void Step.

When her fingers pressed on it, Lin Ye felt a surge of soreness, but he did not pull away.

The distance between the two of them became even closer.

Close enough that Lin Ye could see the curve of her eyelashes—a very pale ice-blue, of the same Origin as her hair color, only distinguishable at the angle of the slanted morning light. Her eyelids were slightly lowered, her expression focused, and the usual cold sharpness around her had receded by more than half, revealing a kind of... softness rarely seen.

Lin Ye suddenly realized that this was the first time he and Su Qingyue had been alone, and it wasn't to discuss strategy, collaborate in battle, or deliberate on life-and-death missions.

It was just healing.

In this simple tent with dim morning light, in this temporary safe point that had just experienced a bloody battle and could be pursued again at any moment, in this brief gap where Shi Potian was unconscious and Chen Hao and the others had just withdrawn.

It was just healing.

The silence lasted for a moment.

"Last night," Su Qingyue suddenly spoke, her voice very soft, "you were prepared to burn the Origin of the myriad things mother qi cauldron embryo."

This was not a question, but a statement.

Lin Ye did not deny it.

"If the Vermilion Bird Hall hadn't arrived in time," she continued, her hand movements not pausing, but her voice held a faint, almost imperceptible tremor, "if my Vast Cold Descent had awakened a few seconds later, if Potian's Tyrant Body Charge hadn't been able to tear open a gap..."

She stopped, not continuing.

Lin Ye looked at her.

Su Qingyue was still looking down, focused on treating his ligament strain. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, like a ripple sweeping across an ice surface.

"In that situation," Lin Ye said, "there was no better choice."

Su Qingyue was silent for a few seconds.

Then she raised her head, her ice-blue eyes looking directly at Lin Ye.

"I know," she said, "just like last night when I was prepared to pay the price of my Vast Cold projection to freeze all enemies within a hundred meters, to buy you and Potian time to evacuate."

She paused: "I had calculated that with the remaining Divine Power I had at the time, it would be enough to maintain the freezing for 4.7 seconds. Although it wouldn't kill the Blood Prince and those high-level bosses, it would be enough for you to break out of the encirclement."

Lin Ye's pupils contracted slightly.

He hadn't calculated this. Last night, he only saw Su Qingyue awaken Vast Cold Descent, instantly reverse the battle situation with an ice shard storm, saw her still forcing herself to maintain a combat stance after her Divine Power was exhausted to the limit, and saw her stagger and fall as he broke out of the encirclement...

He thought that was just her split-second decision in battle.

He didn't know that for that short burst of a few dozen seconds, she had already calculated up to 4.7 seconds ahead.

"So," Su Qingyue lowered her head again, continuing to treat his injury, her voice returning to calmness, "we are the same."

She didn't say words like "we are both willing to risk our lives for each other."

But Lin Ye understood.

The morning light inside the tent seemed to brighten a little.

In the distance, the low chanting of Qin Ruoxue setting up defensive Formations could be heard, occasionally mixed with Zhao Wuji's instructions for organizing supplies. These sounds drifted in through the tent fabric, blurred and distant, as if from another world.

In this narrow space, there was only the cold aura emitted by the ointment, the sensation of fingertips kneading, and—a certain indescribable atmosphere that was becoming clearer between the two.

"In the future," Lin Ye said, "don't make calculations like that."

Su Qingyue's hand paused slightly.

"Why?" she asked, "You were making the same calculations last night."

"It's not the same," Lin Ye said.

"How is it not the same?"

Lin Ye did not answer immediately.

He looked at Su Qingyue, looking at those ice-blue eyes reflecting the faint light of the ointment, looking at the two brows slightly furrowed on her pale face from long-term concentration, looking at her earlobe, faintly visible under her ice-blue hair, that was slightly pale from the overdraft of Divine Power.

"Because I would worry," he said.

The moment the words left his mouth, Lin Ye himself was stunned for a split second.

He was not a man who lacked eloquence. As the leader of the Heavenly Court, he could speak freely at council meetings, issue commands on the battlefield, and yield not an inch in negotiations. But those were all "official business," "strategies," and the optimal forms of expression chosen after precise calculation.

But this sentence had not gone through any calculation.

It was just said, naturally and spontaneously.

Su Qingyue was also stunned.

Her hand paused in mid-air, fingertips still stained with undissolved medicinal ointment, holding a frozen pose. Her ice-blue eyes revealed for the first time a kind of... bewildered confusion.

Then, that confusion was gradually replaced by another emotion.

It was not shyness, not panic, but something deeper, more complex, as if it had accumulated for a long time and finally found an outlet...

"You..." she said softly, "you just said... worry?"

Lin Ye did not avoid her gaze.

"Mm."

A single word.

Su Qingyue looked at him, silent for a long time.

So long that just as Lin Ye thought she wouldn't speak again, she suddenly lowered her head and gave a light laugh.

It was not her usual, cold and distant smile, but something more real, almost carrying a hint of childishness. The smile was short, fleeting, yet it made the morning light in the entire tent seem to brighten a little.

"I thought," her voice was very soft, so soft that only the two of them could hear, "that you would never say such things."

Lin Ye did not answer.

He didn't know what to say.

Su Qingyue picked up the medicine spoon again and continued to treat his injuries. But this time, her movements were noticeably gentler, and her fingertips were no longer the business-like precision, but added a touch of... indescribable softness.

"Actually," she said suddenly, "I have been observing you since the Bronze Ancient Palace."

Lin Ye did not interrupt.

"At that time, I thought you were very strange," she continued, her voice soft, as if talking to herself. "You were clearly just an ordinary player—at least according to the intelligence—yet you knew the dungeon mechanisms like the back of your hand, had precise predictions for BOSS skills, and even knew those hidden routes that were not recorded even in my Family's archives."

"Later, it was the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land. You knew the location of the Time Secret Realm, the weakness of the Three-Headed Demon Flood Dragon, and how to obtain the bronze ghost mask. Those pieces of information could not be obtained by luck."

"Then it was the Four Extremities Heavenly Tribulation, the Ten Thousand Races Covenant council, the Mecha Workshop, Purple Mountain..."

She paused: "You have many secrets, Lin Ye. Some I have guessed roughly, others I still cannot understand to this day."

Lin Ye was silent.

He knew Su Qingyue would ask sooner or later. She was too smart, her observation skills too keen; it was impossible to always fob her off with vague explanations like "precognition ability."

But Su Qingyue did not ask.

"I don't need to know everything," she said. "Everyone has their own past and secrets. What you choose to tell me, I will listen to carefully; what you don't want to say for now, I will not pursue."

She looked up, her ice-blue eyes calm and frank: "I only want to know one thing."

"What?"

"Everything you do—establishing the Heavenly Court, opposing the Primordial Royal Court, fighting for a voice in the Ten Thousand Races Covenant, sparing no cost to compete for the star token, planning for the future..." she looked at him, "what do you ultimately want to achieve?"

Lin Ye was silent for a long time.

This was a question he had never asked anyone before.

In his past life, he was just an ordinary player, drifting with the tide, losing everything in the Dark Turmoil. After his Rebirth, every step he took was a race against time, resources, and opportunities, attempting to change those tragedies destined to happen.

But what was the end of all this?

He gazed at the sliver of daylight leaking through the top of the tent and spoke slowly:

"I want to create a... future where no one is forced to make a 'sacrifice' choice."

"There will be no one who, in order to protect their companions, faces a mortal dead end alone."

"There will be no one who burns their own Origin to buy time for others to evacuate."

"There will be no one who watches important people die in front of them, yet is powerless to do anything."

He turned to look at Su Qingyue: "You asked last night what your ending was in the future I saw."

"I can't remember clearly. We didn't have much interaction in the past life; I only know that you fell in a certain great battle."

"But in this life—"

His voice was calm, yet carried a certain undeniable power: "I will not let that future happen."

"Not just you. There is also Potian, Chen Hao, Zhao Wuji, Qin Ruoxue, and everyone in the Heavenly Court who trusts me and follows me."

"I want to give them a chance to choose—not to be forced to bow their heads for survival, not to lose their original heart in order to become stronger, not to sacrifice themselves in order to protect."

"They can live with dignity, fight with integrity, and not have to use 'sacrifice' to prove their worth at the very last moment."

After Lin Ye finished speaking, he himself felt that these words were too idealistic, even a bit naive.

This was not something a mature leader should say. At the Ten Thousand Races Covenant council, he needed to weigh pros and cons; when opposing the Primordial Royal Court, he needed to calculate gains and losses; in the future Dark Turmoil that would inevitably come, he would need to make countless difficult choices, among which there would inevitably be sacrifices.

But at least at this moment, in this simple tent, in this moment of rare honesty after experiencing life and death—

He was willing to admit that this was his deepest, truest desire after his Rebirth.

Su Qingyue looked at him.

For a long, long time.

Then she spoke softly, her voice very light, yet incredibly clear:

"You really are a strange person."

Lin Ye was slightly stunned.

"Such words," Su Qingyue said, "even the elders in my Family who have lived for hundreds of years dare not say. They would tell you that the Dao is ruthless, Cultivators fight against heaven for their lives, sacrifice is the norm, and death is the final destination."

"But you said it."

The corners of her lips lifted slightly, an extremely faint, extremely shallow, yet incredibly real curve.

"So I believe in you."

"Not because of those 'precognition abilities' of yours, not because you can always produce intelligence that others don't know, not because your plans are foolproof."

"But because you dare to say such things—and then at every moment that requires a choice, you are using your actions to practice it."

She lowered her head and continued to treat the last part of his injury. The swelling in his lower leg had mostly subsided, the blue-purple fading to a pale yellow, a sign that the bruised blood was being absorbed by the body.

"From now on," her voice was very soft, "you don't have to carry all this alone."

"The people you want to protect also include yourself."

Lin Ye did not speak.

But he reached out and gently grasped her hand, which was still stained with ointment and still ice-cold.

Su Qingyue's hand trembled slightly, but she did not pull it back.

She looked up, her ice-blue eyes meeting his.

There was no shyness or panic in that gaze, only a kind of calm, determined, and frankness as if she had been waiting for a long time.

[System Prompt: Su Qingyue's favorability towards you has increased]

[Current Stage: Trust (85 / 100) → Heart-Felt (91 / 100)]

[Special Relationship "Dao Companion Candidate" has been locked]

[Unlock new interaction option: Can perform "Cultivate Side-by-Side" with Su Qingyue in safe areas, both parties' Cultivation speed increases by an additional 15%]

[Unlock new plot clue: Su Qingyue personal story arc · Family Chapter has been opened (Current stage: Glimmer)]

The System text flashed across the edge of his vision.

But Lin Ye did not look at it closely.

His attention was only on those ice-blue eyes, close at hand, reflecting his figure.

Outside the tent, Qin Ruoxue's warning Formation had been set up, emitting a faint humming sound when the last rune was activated.

Zhao Wuji's material allocation list had been sent back to Chaos Valley; Chen Hao replied confirming receipt and began organizing the second batch of supply transport.

Shi Potian tossed and turned in his coma, muttering something indistinctly, probably battle dream talk like "three hundred more rounds."

The morning light gradually brightened; the lead-gray clouds split open a thin, long gap at some point, and a beam of thin but real sunlight pierced through the clouds, landing at the entrance of the tent.

A new day had already begun.

And some things had quietly begun a new chapter.

— — —

Three days later.

Chaos Valley, third floor of the main hall.

Lin Ye stood by the window, his right leg fully recovered, and the cooldown icon for Void Step had turned from gray to bright. Su Qingyue's specially made Frost Condensing Ointment, combined with the healing of Vast Cold Spiritual Power, shortened the original 48-hour recovery period to 28 hours, catching up with the scheduled expedition timetable.

In his hand, the charging progress of the two star tokens had reached 97% and 94%, and they would be fully recovered by tonight at the latest.

And his gaze fell on the star map guidance of the third star token.

Eternal Star Domain.

The latest intelligence from the Heavenly Secret Pavilion had just arrived this morning—the "Star Ring Auction House," one of the seven major auction houses in the Eternal Star Domain, would hold a "Millennium Celebration" auction in fifteen days. Although the list of auction items had not been fully disclosed, Qin Ruoxue learned through special channels that among the three mysterious finale items, one highly matched keywords like "Star Road," "Relic," and "Key."

90% probability, that was the third star token.

Fifteen days.

From the Big Dipper Star Field to the Eternal Star Domain, cross-Domain teleportation takes three days. This meant they had to complete all preparations within twelve days—personnel, supplies, tactical plans, and... dealing with the possible retaliation from the Primordial Royal Court.

The Blood Prince had been unusually quiet for these three days.

There were no signs of any large-scale mobilization from the direction of Purple Mountain, and the players of the Primordial Royal Court also seemed to have reined in their frequency of attacks in the wild. But this abnormal calm made Lin Ye even more vigilant—the Blood Prince was not the type to suffer a loss and swallow his anger.

He was brewing something.

And Lin Ye did not have time to wait for him.

"Boss."

Chen Hao's voice came from outside the hall, carrying irrepressible excitement: "The second round of practical testing for the chaos unit no. 1 is complete! The energy System optimization was successful, and the battery life has now increased to 47 minutes!"

"Also, Dr. Ailin said that the skeleton of the second star brilliance type i mecha has been assembled. If the material supply keeps up, it can enter the final assembly stage next Wednesday!"

Zhao Wuji's voice also came from the communication talisman: "I have already arranged the admission qualifications for the Eternal Star Domain auction through merchant guild channels. It requires Heavenly Court faction proof, asset proof, and a deposit of at least five million Spirit Stones. Should this money come from the faction account or the merchant guild account?"

Qin Ruoxue's message followed closely: "The insider from the Heavenly Secret Pavilion in the Primordial Royal Court sent news that the Blood Prince secretly left Purple Mountain three days ago, and his whereabouts are unknown. There are currently two speculations: one is that he went to the Archaic Race ancestral land to seek help, and the second is..."

She paused: "The second is that he went to the Eternal Star Domain."

Lin Ye's gaze narrowed.

"The timing doesn't match," he said. "He left three days ago; if he went to the Eternal Star Domain, he should arrive earlier than us. But the auction doesn't start until fifteen days later; he has enough time to lay out plans in advance."

"That is exactly what I am worried about," Qin Ruoxue said. "If the Blood Prince also has a power network in the Eternal Star Domain, or has private deals with certain forces in the Eternal Star Domain... we will be very passive on someone else's turf."

Lin Ye was silent for a few seconds.

Then he turned around, his gaze sweeping over the busy people in the hall, and landing on the beam of warm sunlight that had just slanted in by the window.

"Depart in three days," he said.

"Personnel list: me, Su Qingyue, Shi Potian, Chen Hao, Zhao Wuji. Dr. Ailin will accompany us as a technical consultant for the Eternal Star Domain."

"The chaos unit no. 1 will be disassembled and packed for transport, serving as mobile force and a deterrent."

"All equipment, supplies, and backup Materials for the attendees will be configured to the highest standard."

"As for the Blood Prince..."

He paused, his gaze calm and sharp:

"The Eternal Star Domain is not Purple Mountain. It is the territory of technological civilization, not a backyard where the Primordial Royal Court can act recklessly."

"If he really wants to come, then at the auction, we will settle the previous two debts together."

Everyone in the hall agreed in unison and quickly threw themselves into their respective work.

Lin Ye withdrew his gaze and looked out the window again.

Chaos Valley was bathed in the afternoon's warm sun, the sound of rhythmic mechanical operation came from the direction of the Mecha Workshop, the screeching of arrows piercing the air rose and fell on the training ground of the Vermilion Bird Hall, and the shouts of the Azure Dragon Hall's battle Formation drills shook the heavens.

Everything was operating methodically according to plan.

And fifteen days later, in that city of technology floating in the sea of stars in the Eternal Star Domain, a new battle was about to begin.

Lin Ye took a deep breath and tucked the two star tokens into a specially made inner pocket in his robe.

Through the fabric, he could still feel those two faint but real pulses of star brilliance.

Two down.

One more to go.

The portal to the Ancient Star Road was about to open.