After the Prison of Deep Seclusion break incident, Huaiyan handed over March 7th and Yunli to the Seat of Divine Foresight.
"Lord Huaiyan, the Sky-Faring Commission has completed the necessary preparations. Do you have any further instructions?"
A virtual projection of Yukong appeared beside him and asked.
"On behalf of the consensus of Generals Tianji and Shence, I will temporarily assume command of all affairs within the Seat of Divine Foresight and the Six Commissions of Luofu."
"I wonder what the situation is like at the Prison of Deep Seclusion?"
"That Hoolay escaped quickly, and even locked the door tightly. The Cloud Knights has now re-established contact with the inside."
"Thanks to that priest, there were no casualties in the Prison of Deep Seclusion," Huaiyan said, stroking his long beard.
"Uh, I'm not sure if I should say 'thank you' given the current situation... but I'm relieved that everyone in the Prison of Deep Seclusion is safe."
"One of the envoys from the Yaoqing Xianzhou is missing, presumably having been kidnapped by Borisin."
Huaiyan raised his head, " Yukong, don't worry. Feixiao took on the wolf-hunting operation single-handedly. You should know her strength very well."
"My lord, I have no doubt about General Feixiao's abilities; I am more concerned about the Wardance."
"As planned, the ceremony will begin in three hours, Skysplitter will commence immediately, allowing spectators to board the ship to watch the race."
"But now Hoolay's whereabouts are unknown, and everything is full of uncertainties."
March 7th scratched his head and asked, "Then... will the Wardance still be held as scheduled?"
" March 7th is right. Grandpa, I heard that the criminal who escaped from the Prison of Deep Seclusion is exceptionally dangerous. What if something goes wrong..."
"Hehe~" Huaiyan chuckled lightly, throwing the question to Yunli:
" Yunli, so how should we handle the current situation?"
"Of course... well, of course martial law should be declared, and manpower should be deployed for the manhunt. As for the Wardance, let's announce an indefinite postponement for now."
"What you've suggested is a perfectly valid method. Unfortunately, the more ideal a plan is, the harder it is to implement. In my opinion, at least two groups of people will not accept your approach."
"Firstly, there are the numerous merchants and tourists who came for the Wardance. Declaring martial law is tantamount to publicly stating that Luofu is not safe. How will outsiders react? Of course, they will be filled with panic and chaos."
"Secondly, there are the staff of the Six Commissions of the Xianzhou Luofu. The manpower and resources spent on preparing the Wardance were already incalculable. Now, with its sudden termination and indefinite postponement, I'm afraid the internal staff will find it difficult to cope with such a series of changes."
Huaiyan changed the subject, "Of course, your method isn't without its disagreements."
"... Really?"
"The mastermind behind this prison break would surely agree with your assessment."
" Hoolay escaped from his cage during a visit, and you and Yanqing discovered Bu Li 'Borisin on the Starskiff Haven... If you say there's no one behind this, even a newborn baby wouldn't believe it."
"The fugitive is merely a pawn. The hand that makes this move desires a chaotic situation in Luofu where everyone is suspicious and insecure of one another."
"Declaring martial law and postponing the Wardance played right into the enemy's hands, prematurely bringing the fear instilled by Hoolay to the forefront."
"... What should we do then?!"
Yunli crossed her arms over her chest; she truly couldn't think of a solution.
She asked March 7th, and found that the few powerful figures in Xianzhou Luofu were only willing to stay in the milk tea shop and muddle through, not even planning to watch the Wardance.
"Of course, the search and arrest operation must continue, but everything on Luofu must remain as usual, or at least appear to be as usual," Huaiyan said.
"Everything as usual? Yanqing disappeared without a trace, saying he was going to help the generals solve their problems. Now, with the host's swordsman absent, how can everything be as usual?"
"That's right, that's why I called you two here."
As soon as the words were spoken, Huaiyan and Yunli simultaneously turned to look at March 7th.
"Wait... Could it be... that General Huaiyan wants me... to take Master Yanqing's place on the stage to defend the arena...?" she asked again, her tone somewhat uncertain.
" Miss March 7th is truly intelligent!" Huaiyan nodded in satisfaction. "That's exactly what I meant."
"Hey? I thought General Huaiyan was going to personally lead the charge!"
"Of course I won't be idle, but the place I'm going to isn't the Skysplitter."
Yunli didn't understand. "Grandpa, the guests invited by General Jing Yuan to attend the ceremony in March 7th! How can a guest be allowed to represent Luofu on stage to defend the arena? Wouldn't that make people laugh at Xianzhou Luofu for having no one to defend it?"
"Silly boy, the Nameless of the Astral Express is renowned throughout the starry sea. What an honor it is to invite him! Besides, Miss March 7th is fighting under the name of [Disciple of the Cloud Knight Lieutenant ], so how can it be considered [No one on the Xianzhou Luofu ]?"
"Gentlemen, the [ Wardance ] cannot be allowed to fail. What I entrust to you is not just the victory or defeat on the arena, but also the safety of the Skysplitter."
Meanwhile, the Central Starskiff Haven
Silver Wolf maintained his pose, resting his chin on his hand, and mentally reviewed everything that had happened, finally concluding:
[ Eternity ] is truly omnipresent. To date, wherever the Astral Express has been, without exception, [ Eternity ] has been there.
Hmm... if you dig deeper, you'll find there's also a bit of [ Elation ] involved.
Looking at Ye Yan again, I originally thought that the idea of [ Trailblaze ] and [ Eternity ] being one family was just a joke, but it turns out he's serious.
[ Eternity ] Emanator onto the [ Trailblaze ] Astral Express; how could she have such a dream?
" The Wardance was successfully held, and the Astral Express still needs to make another trip back to Penacony... Hmm, isn't there too much of a backstory here?"
"What? As a Stellaron Hunters, you're not satisfied with the direction the [ Script ] is taking?"
Ye Yan took a sip of milk tea and casually pulled out thirteen divination cards.
"No, that's not it... Wait, where did you get so many cards?!"
Silver Wolf stared at the thirteen shimmering starry Oracle Card on the table. "Is this brightness glitch?" he thought.
"Pick one; if you're lucky, the bubble tea shop will give it to you for free."
"Huh?" Silver Wolf tilted her head, not understanding. Was this milk tea shop really that valuable?
With its remote location and retro-style decor, why would such an old-fashioned building appear in the Central Starskiff Haven?
In comparison, Fyxestroll Garden seems more suitable, doesn't it?
Silver Wolf has already included ' Ye Yan's Milk Tea Shop' in the [Top Ten Unsolved Mysteries of Xianzhou Luofu ], and has drawn the Oracle Card from the very center.
However, when she turned the Oracle Card over, she couldn't help but freeze in surprise.
This Oracle Card... has no name displayed.
"[■■]? I don't understand, can you translate it?"
"It's actually [ Eternity ], isn't that amazing?"
Ye Yan retrieved the tarot cards that Silver Wolf had drawn, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Silver Wolf:...
"Can I draw another one?"
"Unfortunately, you have no choice before [ Eternity ]."
Ye Yan snapped his fingers crisply, and all the divination cards of various colors flew back into his pocket, as if they had never appeared.
"The beginning and the end echo each other; [ Eternity ] is everywhere."