"Welcome to Xianzhou Luofu."
Jing Yuan extended his hand with a smile as he looked at Bai Sheng. At the same time, when Bai Sheng's attention was drawn away, his other hand swiftly snatched one of Bai Sheng's cannons from the chessboard.
"Hmm, but Master, is it really appropriate to steal my cannon right in front of me?"
Bai Sheng looked at Jing Yuan with disdain, while Jing Yuan continued smiling at him.
"Hey, how can you call it stealing? Since ancient times, whenever an army went to war, there were bound to be one or two risky moves. There were also matters within that even ghosts and gods couldn't discern. The piece I took just happened to represent the unpredictable situation on this chessboard. Your next move is the key to deciding victory or defeat."
Jing Yuan rattled off a huge pile of nonsense, but who did he think Bai Sheng was? How many years had that dog emperor spent drawing grand promises for himself? Bai Sheng hadn't fallen for it in the slightest.
"Give me a break. Hand back my chess piece. You wouldn't want others to know that the general of Xianzhou Luofu is a lousy chess player who flips the board and cheats whenever he can't win, would you?"
Bai Sheng threatened him while already opening his phone, ready to start recording at any moment.
Jing Yuan looked unconcerned. He swept up the entire chessboard and then said:
"Enough. There's no shortage of principles contained in this game. You're still young, so take your time figuring them out. We're almost at Xianzhou Luofu. I'm going to check our course. We'll get off at Starskiff Haven Central in a while."
Watching Jing Yuan's departing back, Bai Sheng muttered:
"What do you mean? You clearly flipped the board because you couldn't afford to lose, yet you make it sound so grand."
Without thinking about it any further, Bai Sheng returned to his room, lay on his stomach, and started playing on his phone.
(PS: This starskiff is an original creation by the author. It's larger than ordinary starskiffs, so you can think of it as a small spacecraft.)
After opening the mobile version of "Aetherium Wars," Bai Sheng received a team invitation as soon as he logged in.
Great Wolf Lord: Hurry! I've got my eye on an Overlord-class Aetherium Spirit. Help me tank the damage—I'm going to capture it!
Po: Silver Wolf?
Great Wolf Lord: What is it?
Po: Nothing. Come on, I'm ready.
Bai Sheng equipped an Abyss Keeper (Ice Fatty), a White Demon (Warp Trotter), and an Automaton Beetle (Traffic Light) and Automaton Hound (One-Eyed Four-Wheel Drive) in his team.
This lineup focused on having thick health bars and being durable. After accepting Silver Wolf's team invitation, he saw the Aetherium Spirit she wanted to capture.
It was a Golden Automaton.
Bai Sheng turned on his voice chat:
"Are you trying to play a summon-based build?"
Silver Wolf also turned on her microphone and said from the other side:
"This version is centered around summon-based builds. The number of Aetherium Spirits each team can have on the field has been increased to five. If we can field two summon-type Aetherium Spirits, I have a feeling this lineup can last for at least two major patches!"
"Then good luck. Let's begin. I'll tank up front, and you have your Trampler deal the damage."
Silver Wolf was using a one-turn-kill Trampler lineup. Her other three Aetherium Spirits boosted the Trampler's damage, and then the Trampler would activate its ultimate to deal damage. It was as fragile as a Stingbug larva's shell, so it was no wonder she needed Bai Sheng to tank for her.
After repeated elbow strikes from the Golden Automaton as it switched modes, Bai Sheng's Ice Fatty, Hound, and Warp Trotter in the front line all fell. Only Traffic Light continued to struggle on.
"Silver Wolf, did you make that bow and arrow for your Trampler on the spot? I've only got one left."
Because they were in a team, Bai Sheng could also obtain a matching Aetherium Spirit after defeating the boss. Once an Aetherium Spirit was defeated, it had to be treated at a specialized medical facility, and treatment took time. Bai Sheng didn't want to reach that point and have no fun characters left to use.
"Almost! My ultimate is only one energy bar away. I brought a Sacrifice Chip, so sacrifice Traffic Light and I'll cut the line and finish it off."
Hearing Silver Wolf say that, Bai Sheng gave up using Traffic Light's invincible shield skill and turned around to land a basic attack.
The Golden Automaton finished charging as well, sending Bai Sheng's last Aetherium Spirit away with an elbow strike.
"Is that enough?"
"Enough. Watch this! Trampler, Imaginary Arrow—fire!"
The Imaginary-type arrow successfully blasted the Golden Automaton apart. As it fell, two golden drops remained on the ground. They were two Overlord-class Aetherium Spirit containment cards representing the Golden Automaton, one for Silver Wolf and one for Bai Sheng.
"All done. Oh, right—when you reach Xianzhou Luofu, remember to check whether the golden automata really can summon dragonfish."
After saying that, Silver Wolf left the team room. The friend icon representing Silver Wolf gradually dimmed afterward.
After placing his Aetherium Spirit in the medical facility, Bai Sheng logged off as well.
Looking out the window, Bai Sheng saw a gigantic yellow-green Xianzhou come into view. Two things that looked like ribbons surrounded it, along with a huge ring. Bai Sheng guessed that the ring was used to control its course.
Xianzhou, Xianzhou. From the outside, it really did look like a small boat, except that it sailed across the vast galaxy.
As the starskiff slowly entered the interior, Bai Sheng saw it pass through a round structure. It was an ecosystem independently developed by the Xianzhou, and the real Xianzhou Luofu was inside.
Before long, the starskiff slowly came to a stop in front of the port. The cabin door opened, and Bai Sheng and Jing Yuan walked out.
It was Bai Sheng's first time here. He looked around curiously, finding everything novel. The architecture had a kind of retro beauty that Bai Sheng liked very much.
After storing Pandora in the Path Space, Bai Sheng lowered his head and saw a pink-haired girl. At that moment, she was looking at Jing Yuan with a resentful gaze.
A massive eight-hundred-episode interstellar soap opera instantly flashed through Bai Sheng's mind. He then crouched down and said to the pink-haired girl:
"Little girl, why are you looking for him?"
Unexpectedly, upon hearing that, the girl clearly froze. The corner of her mouth twitched as she clenched both fists, looked at Jing Yuan, who was watching the show, and said through gritted teeth:
"Jing Yuan, shouldn't you explain yourself to me?"
Jing Yuan still wore a smiling expression as he said to Bai Sheng:
"Bai Sheng, she isn't some little girl. She's Fu Xuan, the Diviner of the Divination Department."
Bai Sheng had heard of the Divination Department, one of the Six Bureaus. It determined good and ill fortune along the Xianzhou's routes, predicted major events and disasters that would happen in the future, and tried to change them through deduction.
Put simply, it was cyber fortune-telling.
What Bai Sheng hadn't expected was that the Diviner of the Divination Department, who stood below only the general and above countless others, would be... so tiny.
"Ahahaha... So you're the esteemed Diviner. I've heard so much about you. Meeting you today, I see that you truly have an extraordinary bearing. You clearly possess the talent to become a general."
Bai Sheng remembered that several ministers from Kasantiya had previously said that the Diviner of the Divination Department was determined to obtain the position of general.
Seeing Fu Xuan's brows relax, Bai Sheng silently let out a breath of relief.
As expected, some rumors really did have an effect.
"Forget it. I'm hardly the sort of person to quibble over every little thing. Is this the new disciple you mentioned?"
Fu Xuan asked Jing Yuan.
Jing Yuan nodded, neither confirming nor denying it. Anyone could tell at a glance that Fu Xuan wanted to become the general, and Jing Yuan wouldn't blame Bai Sheng for what he had said.
For an ordinary person, getting along with Jing Yuan like they were brothers was no easy matter.
Fu Xuan formed a hand seal with her left hand, and a star chart appeared in front of her. After fiddling with it a few times, she shook her head, then nodded, and finally sighed before saying:
"The Heavenly Star is dim, while the Earthly Star shines brightly. Your disciple will not achieve much on the path of officialdom in the future. He might even become a Pathstrider."
Jing Yuan was speechless. In truth, he didn't mind. When it came to taking disciples, he mainly did as he pleased.
Before you continue