77: Chapter 77 Thousand Realms of Fog

The dense fog of the Sea of Thousand Realms Mist had been largely dispersed by the beams of light from the four Founding Towers.

Shen Ye stood before the altar in the twilight underground palace, embedding the final twilight crystal fragment into the missing slot of the Heart of Twilight.

The tiny twilight flame at the center of the altar suddenly expanded several times over, illuminating the dark golden crystal from within until it was completely translucent. The twilight script throughout the entire underground palace resonated simultaneously, and a beam of twilight light, even more magnificent than before, shot up from the top of the giant tower once again.

As he walked out of the giant tower, his communicator vibrated in his pocket.

Teacher Cang Yue's message consisted of only one line: "File AD-007 has been approved. Activation permission for the twilight crystal in the Eternal University Core Heritage Hall has been granted. I will not be accompanying you to the Sea of Thousand Realms Mist—the sand table simulation shows that after the activation of the four Founding Tower light beams, new variables have appeared in the activity patterns of the Void Race at the border. I need to remain in the rear to update the flight paths in real time."

Shen Ye replied "Okay" and forwarded the updated flight path data to Qin Shu.

Having Teacher Cang Yue remain in the rear was more useful than having her accompany the airship; he knew this better than anyone—during the National Competition, she had sat in the stands using sand table simulations to deduce every one of his opponents' moves. From Han Yuan's Abyssal Assimilation to Cang Ming's Ancient God King Echo, without the fatigue nodes she had marked in advance, Yan Shan could not have won the battle in the Initial Divine Domain so cleanly.

After taking off from the Sea of Thousand Realms Mist outpost, the military airship turned and flew toward Hanhai City, where Eternal University was located.

By the time they arrived at Hanhai City, dusk was approaching, and the dark green spires were glowing with a faint dark golden halo in the twilight.

Shen Ye met Su Wanqing at the spaceport exit; she had arrived a day earlier than the airship and had already scouted out all the supply points around the Eternal University Core Heritage Hall.

On the screen of her data pad was a list. In addition to the high-purity Faith Crystal for Yan Shan's recovery and the rare-grade mineral crystal samples for Tie Chui, there were several additional supplies—because the flight path map sent by Gu Qinghan indicated that the degree of law turbulence in the core area of the Sea of Thousand Realms Mist was much more severe than in the outer regions, and communication could be interrupted at any time.

She repeatedly urged him to bring more emergency supplies and to prepare several extra sets of communication crystals.

Shen Ye took the list and paused for a moment on the line with the number for the Eternal University Core Heritage Hall.

"File AD-007 involves the core heritage of the Twilight Civilization. Teacher Cang Yue submitted both the access application and the post-competition follow-up invitation for internal school approval. She will stay in the rear to update the flight paths; she won't be coming to activate the crystal. I will go in instead."

He checked the crystal resonance frequency, confirmed it perfectly matched the data marked by Lin Tianyin, and then walked alone into the Core Heritage Hall at the top of the dark green tower.

A moment later, a beam of twilight light rose from the top of the Eternal University tower, echoing the four Founding Tower light beams still reverberating over the Sea of Thousand Realms Mist in the distance.

When he came out of the Core Heritage Hall, Shen Ye encountered an unexpected person in the corridor.

She was an exceptionally tall girl wearing the silver-white school uniform of Cangqiong University, with long dark brown hair tied into a high ponytail, and she was holding an ancient war spear in her hand.

She was leaning against a stone pillar in the corridor, her amber eyes appearing exceptionally focused in the twilight. Seeing him come out, she straightened up.

"Qin Youyou."

Shen Ye said.

She was Qin Sese's older sister, a core student of Shenyu University, with SS-grade Ancient War Intent.

During the National Competition, she had sat in the stands and watched many of his matches. After the competition, Qin Sese said her sister wanted to invite him for a drink, but they had never been able to arrange it.

Qin Youyou did not engage in small talk.

She held the ancient war spear horizontally in the crook of her arm and got straight to the point: "Does your kin feel pain?"

Shen Ye was silent for a moment.

She had asked this question once before in the stands—at that time, Yan Shan had just walked back to his side from the afterglow of the Sea of Laws, the Rock Pattern on his right arm was cracked in several places, and the Rock Pattern on the old scar on his chest had also peeled off at one corner.

At that time, Qin Youyou had asked the same question just as calmly, as if she were confirming something.

"Yes. Yan Shan once said that stone is not afraid of pain, but it can still feel pain. Every time he finishes enduring the impact of the Laws and the new Rock Pattern covers the old scars, the process is like grinding broken bones back into powder and reshaping them. He never makes a sound, but I know he is in pain. Hou Tu told me that when his father meditates in the Body Refining Cave at night, the teeth he bites into pieces are even more shattered than mineral slag."

Qin Youyou struck the ancient war spear against the ground, and the tip of the spear left a very shallow indentation on the bluestone floor of the corridor.

"My Ancient War Intent is passed down through my family's bloodline. Every generation of successors is subjected to the pain reflected back by the war spear—it's not physical damage; it's nerve pain caused by the resonance between the Ancient War Intent inside the spear and the user's own pain nerves. The higher the resonance efficiency, the more intense the reflected pain. When I first held the spear as a child, I almost fainted from the pain."

She looked at Shen Ye, her gaze calm. "My grandfather died from the pain. My father is still lying in a hospital bed at the Shenyu University Affiliated Hospital, relying on law-based painkillers to sustain his life. I fear that I might have such a day, and I fear even more that I won't be able to let my own kin win in a dignified manner before that day comes. So I must know how your kin managed to endure it."

"He said that having someone share his pain makes it feel more worthwhile than not feeling pain at all."

After Shen Ye finished speaking, he took out the flask of Wild Ancient Land liquor that still had half left from the side pocket of his backpack.

It was a gift from Qin Sese last time, and Qin Youyou had kept it, wanting to wait for someone who could answer her question to drink it with.

He handed it over. Qin Youyou took the flask, tilted her head back, and finished it, then unhooked a Wild Ancient Land liquor flask of the same specifications from her waist and handed it to Shen Ye.

"This flask of wine is a toast to your Yan Shan. Next time you see him, tell him 'thank you for your hard work' on my behalf."

Qin Youyou held the war spear horizontally in the crook of her arm again and said that her father's rotation period would end this year. Once her father retired from the front line, she, as the eldest daughter of the Qin family, would formally apply to be incorporated into the Independent Pioneer Sequence in the name of the ancient war spear in her hand, and go to the Sea of Thousand Realms Mist with Shen Ye.

She was not negotiating terms using her status as a core student, but with the weight of the war spear in her hand.

Shen Ye forwarded her flight path data along with Teacher Cang Yue's to Gu Qinghan.

Gu Qinghan updated the flight path map quickly: with the addition of Qin Youyou and the rear support from Teacher Cang Yue, the flight paths for the four Founding Towers could be re-optimized, advancing northwest from Hanhai City, then passing through Cangyin City where Cangqiong University was located, and Jinta City where Shenyu University was located.

The new flight path was shorter than the original plan, and the distribution of supplies was also more manageable.

After a brief stop at the Hanhai City spaceport for supplies, the airship took off again.

Qin Youyou sat by the window in the cabin, focused on sharpening the spear tip with a whetstone native to the Wild Ancient Land.

Su Wanqing was in the cargo hold organizing the distribution plan for the next batch of supplies, and Qin Shu was in the cockpit studying the flight path map that Gu Qinghan had just updated.

Shen Ye leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into the Land of Gods and Demons.

The base of the Twilight Altar was slowly taking shape under the combined efforts of Chen and Ye. Dozens of Twilight Apostles had already been born; they were lined up quietly on both sides of the Twilight Spirit Spring, their left eyes golden and their right eyes purple, their forms constantly flowing between light and darkness.

Tie Chui carefully separated a wisp of the flame from the Heart of Twilight and integrated it into the quenching furnace for the next batch of spiral purification pills; Yan Shan's right arm, which all his opponents had feared, was currently soaking in a medicinal liquid mixed with the twilight light beam and the mineral vein spiritual energy introduced by Hou Tu, with new Rock Patterns slowly extending along the old scars.

Qin Shu's voice came over the bridge communicator; it would still be a while before they reached the next stop.

Shen Ye opened his eyes; the twilight outside the porthole was thick.

The Long Night is endless, and the twilight shall not be extinguished.

He would bring all the light back.