Gu Yue stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, Star Luo City thousands of lights spread out underfoot like a flowing river of light.
The door was locked, the curtains were only half-opened, and the moonlight shone into the room from the other half of the uncovered glass, leaving a silvery knife mark on the carpet.
The darkness in the room spread silently from the corners.
Those shadows gathered into a slender black figure, standing three steps behind Gu Yue.
This figure is none other than Di Tian.
He was wearing a black robe without any decoration, his long hair was spread over his shoulders, and his face was resolute, but the time in his eyes was longer than the history of the Star Luo Empire.
He didn't say anything, just stood quietly in the shadow, waiting for Gu Yue to speak first.
"Di Tian." Gu Yue didn't look back, his eyes still fell on the city lights outside the window, "Can you feel that breath?"
"I feel it." Di Tian's voice was low and steady, as if coming from deep underground. "The breath of the Dragon Clan is very weak, but very pure. It doesn't seem like the breath of this era."
Gu Yue turned around, the moonlight fell on the side of her face, and something was glowing slightly deep in her pupils. It was not Soul Power, but something more primitive and older than Soul Power.
"Go and find that place. The entrance should be within the Star Luo Empire. I have other arrangements here, so I can't check it myself."
Di Tian nodded with very small movements, "I understand."
His figure began to dissipate from the soles of his feet, turning into countless thin black lines, spreading towards the window, wall, and cracks in the door along the shadows that were not illuminated by the moon, and completely disappeared into the room in a few breaths.
The curtains were lifted up by a gust of wind that came from nowhere, and then fell down again. Gu Yue turned around again, looked at the night outside the window, and tapped the window frame lightly with his fingers, "I hope I can find something that will help me recover."
The next morning, in Star Luo Grand Hotel's restaurant, several people sat around a long table by the window.
Sunlight shines on the white tablecloth through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and the buffet table is filled with the Star Luo Empire's special breakfast - seafood porridge, fried fish steak, and an unnamed sweet scone.
Luo Yuhang sat at the end of the table holding a cup of black coffee, with seven registration forms spread out in front of him.
"Whatever project you apply for, fill it out yourself."
Xiao Mu took the registration form, checked the column for the individual competition, and then pushed the second form in front of Xu Xiaoyan: "Double competition, me and you."
Xu Xiaoyan, still holding half a piece of scone in his mouth, responded vaguely and drew a circle on the doubles column with a pen.
Gu Yue only took a form, neatly checked the individual column, and then continued to drink her tea.
Na'er lay down on the table to fill out the form. He drew a big check mark on the personal competition column. It was not enough after drawing it, so he added a smiley face next to the check mark.
Long Chen and Yuanen Yehui each filled out two forms - one for the individual competition and one for the mecha competition. Long Chen put down the pen after filling in. "I have read the rules of the mecha competition. It is allowed to bring your own machine body, or you can use the standard model provided by the organizing committee. I will bring my own."
Yuanen Yehui nodded beside her. Her mecha was also modified by herself and she can use it smoothly.
"No one signed up for the team competition?" Luo Yuhang counted the registration forms. There were seven people, six individual competitions, one double competition, two mecha competitions, and the team competition columns were all blank.
"Team competition? With Xiao Mu here, the opponent can't fight at all! It's not interesting." Long Chen explained.
"To put it bluntly, the cooperation is not enough." Xiao Mu folded the registration form and handed it to Luo Yuhang, "We usually train separately, so it is better to form a temporary team than to play on our own strengths."
Luo Yuhang took the registration form, glanced at the options on the seven sheets of paper, and raised the corner of his mouth slightly. "Six for the individual competition, one for the double competition, two for the mecha competition, and zero for the team competition."
"Hehe, you're guaranteed to win. Uncle, just go and sign up." Na'er said.
After finishing breakfast, Xiao Mu threw the napkin on the table and stood up. Xu Xiaoyan, Gu Yue and Na'er followed him, and the four of them walked out Star Luo Grand Hotel.
The streets of Star Luo City are a bit more exotic than the cities of Federation. Most of the buildings along the streets are white stone walls with dark brown wooden beams. Wisteria flowers are in full bloom hanging on the balconies, and the air is mixed with the smell of grilled seafood and certain spices.
A roadside vendor pushed a wooden cart and sold the Star Luo Empire specialty honey-soaked fruit. Several children ran past their feet chasing a rubber ball.
Xu Xiaoyan pulled Xiao Mu's sleeves and looked around. Na'er was even more exaggerated. Every time he passed a stall, he had to stop and take a look. Gu Yue pulled him by the collar so he didn't lose him.
Xiao Mu is not very interested in street view.
He glanced at the signboards along the street and stopped in front of a shop with a metal ingot sign.
The facade is not big, but the few pieces of rare metals displayed in the window are of good quality. There is a bronze plate hanging on the door, with the words "Acquisition of various precious alloys at reasonable prices" engraved on it. He pushed the door open, and the copper bell on the door made a crisp sound.
An old man wearing a monocle sat behind the counter, using a magnifying glass to examine the texture of a piece of ore.
He raised his head and glanced at Xiao Mu, his eyes paused on the Sun Moon Academy school uniform he was wearing, and put down the magnifying glass. "Is the guest here from Federation?"
Xiao Mu No nonsense, he took out a dozen pieces of alloy from Storage Soul Tool and put them on the counter. The metal ingot glowed with a cold silver-blue luster under the light, and the surface texture was as uniform as water ripples.
The old man picked up one piece and weighed it. His eyes lit up behind his monocle. Then he picked up another piece and tested the purity with a tester.
"I'll take all of this, and the price is based on the highest price on the market - 470,000 Star Luo coins."
Xiao Mu nodded. The old shopkeeper turned around and took out a stack of banknotes with the Star Luo Empire logo from the safe and neatly stacked them on the counter.
Na'er came over and looked at the thickness of the pile of banknotes, "Is this thing so valuable in the Star Luo Empire?"
She was really confused. This thing was not so expensive at Federation.
Gu Yue on the side was also a little surprised that this thing has such a high premium over Star Luo Empire.
The four of them left the metal shop and continued shopping along the stone road.
Na'er couldn't move in front of a stall selling handmade candies. Xu Xiaoyan was attracted by the Star Luo Empire traditional clothes displayed in the window. Gu Yue stopped in front of a bookstall selling ancient books and old maps.
Xiao Mu was standing on the street waiting for them, holding in his hands the three bags of candies Na'er had just bought and the two boxes of pastries from Xu Xiaoyan, putting them one by one into Soul Tool.
Turning the corner, they walked into a specialty store. The store was small, and the shelves were filled with the Star Luo Empire's unique spices, dried fruits and bottled fruit wine.
Na'er squatted in front of the shelf and studied a bottle of honey with a star pattern on the label. Xu Xiaoyan was picking out postcards. Gu Yue picked up a can of dried fruits, smelled it and then put it down.
Without noticing, on the street outside the door, a completely black luxury car parked silently across the street.