Though it was still far from the grandeur and precision of its peak, with traces of repairs and cracks not yet fully healed visible in many places, at least the chaotic, desperate feeling of a dying struggle had vanished. The entire Divine Domain once again emanated a tenacious vitality that was slowly reviving.
The Astral Veil Miao Xing had set up still shrouded the outer perimeter, its faint light flowing with countless stars and providing the Divine Domain with its outermost layer of sturdy protection.
Clearly, during the two-plus days he had been gone, Alvin, Miao Xing, and the others had not been idle. The restoration work had progressed rapidly.
Almost the instant Shen Yi and Mia appeared, two figures seemed to sense their auras and arrived in a flash.
One was Miao Xing, her body flowing with dazzling starlight and her features concealed behind radiance. The other was Alvin's slender humanoid projection, formed from deep-blue streams of data.
Miao Xing's gaze fell on Shen Yi first. Her eyes, as though they held a starry sky within them, swept over him, carrying a complexity Shen Yi could not entirely decipher—concern, curiosity.
But she said nothing to Shen Yi. She merely exchanged a brief look with Mia, and it seemed that silent thoughts passed between them in an instant.
Then, after a few simple pleasantries, there was no further exchange between them. Starlight and holy radiance each flickered faintly, and Mia and Miao Xing vanished soundlessly from where they stood, like light and shadow blending into the background. No one knew where they had gone.
Only Shen Yi and Alvin remained.
Alvin's deep-blue data eyes turned toward Shen Yi. He carefully looked him over from head to toe, seemingly confirming that he was unharmed.
Then Alvin spoke, his tone sounding somewhat