When Golden Crocodile Douluo saw the Grand Enshrined Douluo raise his glass, he had no reason not to follow. He lifted his higher than anyone else's and voiced his agreement in a booming voice.
Qian Renxue raised her glass. A faint smile played in her violet eyes beneath the candlelight, her gaze fixed on Fang Fan.
Zhu Zhuqing said nothing. She simply raised her glass, a faint but resolute smile touching her cool face. Her eyes followed Fang Fan and no one else.
Bibi Dong sat at the head of the table, watching the scene before her. She pressed her red lips together, then picked up her glass as well.
Hu Liena and the other Elders raised their glasses.
Their glasses met gently above the center of the long table with a clear, pleasant chime, like an early New Year's bell.
"Happy New Year! May the Spirit Hall Empire prosper forever!"
Fang Fan tipped back his head and drained his glass.
A night breeze stirred outside the hall. The Soul Guide Lanterns glowed with warm, gentle light, while firecrackers sounded through the streets and alleys of Spirit City.
He set down his glass and looked at the faces gathered around him. An unfamiliar sense of belonging suddenly welled up inside him.
Ever since his rebirth, he had never stopped running—growing stronger, bringing factions to his side, seizing opportunities before others could, fighting powerful enemies. He had rarely taken the time to stop and enjoy the present.
But tonight, as the old year gave way to the new, his teacher was here. Zhuqing was here. Qian Renxue was here too. Two Enshrined Douluo and so many comrades sat around the same table, all raising their glasses to the same goal.
It felt good.
Peaceful. Together.
Qian Daoliu had never imagined he