Yuanqiao drew ever closer to the red giant. Even the people inside Yuanqiao could feel its pull, and the soldiers who had not entered the shelters could see the outline of the red giant itself.
"Is... is it really over?"
One hundred and thirty billion people-130 billion living souls. Even Daiyu, which had only just finished integrating and assimilating the descendants of the survivors, had a population of just over ten billion, less than a tenth of Yuanqiao's.
Yet now, this enormous Xianzhou, home to over a hundred billion people, was about to perish in the red giant. Everyone aboard prayed to the gods they believed in, but without exception, none answered.
Just as the people of Yuanqiao had fallen into utter despair, a ripple like a wave on water appeared not far away. Then came the massive hull of the Xianzhou Daiyu, along with the Starskiff battle groups it carried.
"Fire the tow lines! Pull Yuanqiao back!"
At Qingzhu's command, thick chains wrapped in the power of the Path shot from Daiyu's gun ports instead of shells. The chains wound around Yuanqiao's hull, while the countless Starskiffs accompanying Daiyu swiftly approached Yuanqiao and fired chains that embedded themselves in its hull.
"Target hit!"
"Pull back!"
Daiyu quickly turned its bow toward the direction it had come from. Its engines roared, and its enormous hull began slowly dragging Yuanqiao outward.
"Helmsman, the red giant's gravity is too strong! At this rate, Daiyu will be dragged in too!"
Qingzhu gave a contemptuous laugh. "Drag Daiyu into the red giant? What a joke. The Xianzhou Daiyu isn't the artificial Xianzhou it once was. The Xianzhou Daiyu of today is an Aeon's creation. It's just a red giant's gravity. Why should I avoid its edge?"
As soon as Qingzhu finished speaking, the hull of the Xianzhou Daiyu began to glow emerald green, and a vast aura of Existence spilled out in all directions.
"It's... it's Daiyu! It's Helmsman Qingzhu of the Xianzhou Daiyu! She's brought Daiyu back!"
Daiyu and the Starskiffs were broadcast live to the shelters throughout Yuanqiao. The people who had been waiting for death immediately burst into excitement, especially those who believed in Existence.
"What did I tell you? I knew the Arbiter of True Existence would never abandon us!"
"Who was it that just told me the Arbiter of True Existence wouldn't care about us? Hahaha, step forward! Say something!"
Above the Xianzhou Daiyu, Qingzhu and Xiahou Chan stood in the void. Xiahou Chan looked at Qingzhu, and she said, "General, stay on the Xianzhou. I can go alone."
Xiahou Chan nodded. "All right. Be careful."
Although he knew there was no need to worry about the gravity of a mere star, he still had to show some concern.
"All right."
Qingzhu nodded, and the next moment, she appeared behind Yuanqiao, facing the red giant.
Qingzhu felt the red giant's gravitational pull, her face full of contempt.
"Challenging me? It's time to show the universe the power of an Emanator of Existence! Lord of Existence, king of all gods."
Qingzhu spoke, golden light bursting from the lance in her hand as a vast torrent of the Path of Existence's power flowed from her body into it.
"See through falsehood, anchor the truth."
A ball of light began to form at the tip of her lance. Countless phantoms flitted through it as the vast power of the Path of Existence gathered within.
"Behold, all of you: Ideal Divine Kingdom Existing in the World! Descend!"
As her words fell, Qingzhu pointed the light at the tip of her lance toward the red giant. It shot out and struck, enveloping the red giant in an instant. The light was blinding; the next moment, it vanished, and the red giant appeared within a domain.
It was a divine kingdom of gold and green, filled with towering buildings. The red giant stood in a plaza before a palace, surrounded by soldiers radiating killing intent. The divine kingdom was vast, encompassing the entire star system.
Within the divine kingdom, Qingzhu's power would multiply, and her absorption of imaginary energy would accelerate. At the same time, the phantoms of the soldiers would help Qingzhu fight. Each time a phantom's attack struck, the phantom would merge into the target's body, accelerating its assimilation by Existence.
This was the result of Qingzhu's testing, and it was also her strongest killing move.
Qingzhu looked at the red giant being hacked at by the soldiers in the divine kingdom and sighed. "I never thought the first time I used my ultimate move would be wasted on a dead star with no self-awareness. Oh well, oh well. I'm showing off my strength anyway, so it makes no difference what I use it on, as long as outsiders can see it."
Outside the star system, at the edge of a neighboring system.
At an Interastral Peace Corporation branch, a man looked at the golden buildings around him and the soldiers radiating killing intent everywhere. His fat face began to tremble.
"Wh-what is this? Could the enemy be attacking?"
This was not the only place where it happened. The same thing occurred in many areas under the Interastral Peace Corporation's administration.
Inside the divine kingdom, the enormous red giant was reduced to cosmic dust in a matter of seconds.
"Is... is this the power of an Emanator?"
Lin watched Qingzhu on the screen, shocked by her power and relieved to have survived the disaster.
"This kind of power was given by Existence... After this, there will be many more believers in Existence on Yuanqiao."
Lin held a hand to his forehead. To be honest, even he wanted to convert to the faith of Existence. Power like that was truly captivating.
With a sweep of Qingzhu's hand, the divine kingdom dissolved into specks of golden light. Nothing remained where the red giant had been.
With the red giant gone, the gravity pulling Yuanqiao toward it also disappeared. When the survivors on Yuanqiao saw the divine kingdom vanish, they erupted in deafening cheers.
The cheers rose and fell, mingled with sobs of relief from those who had survived the disaster.
"Helmsman Qingzhu, thank you for coming to our aid this time."
When Lin met Qingzhu at the Sky-Faring Commission, he immediately dropped to his knees, giving her no chance to react.
The move worked, of course. Qingzhu truly had not reacted, and by the time she did, Lin had nearly kowtowed to her.
"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing? We're all Xianzhou natives. You're putting me in a very awkward position."
"No! Helmsman Qingzhu, you deserve this. If you hadn't brought the Xianzhou Daiyu back, the Xianzhou Yuanqiao and its 130 billion people would all have perished in the red giant today.
"I'm kneeling to thank you on behalf of Yuanqiao's hundred billion people."
Qingzhu looked at the young man before her. Daiyu's blood flowed in his veins, and he too was a descendant of Daiyu. Although his position prevented him from returning to Daiyu, Qingzhu had always considered him one of its own.
As for his faith... the child was still young and didn't know better. He would mend his ways in time.
In the end, Qingzhu compromised and accepted Lin's kneeling, but she still refused to let him kowtow because it was too embarrassing. Lin had initially insisted, but Qingzhu silenced him with a single sentence: "Keep insisting, and I won't let you return to your ancestral roots."