Fu Xuan felt a wave of happiness. Though she had only known Pei Guang's group for a single day, the experiences and sights she had shared with them in this short time were far more exciting than anything in her past century of life.
Typically, Fu Xuan kept to herself. While she wasn't entirely naïve about the world, her experiences over the past hundred years were rather routine. In contrast, this one day had been packed with more richness and excitement. If her younger self—before joining the Divination Commission—had encountered Pei Guang and his group, she might have happily joined them and traveled the world without hesitation.
Although the Xianzhou imposed strict restrictions on travel, joining the Astral Express as a Trailblazer was not only an exception but even encouraged within the Xianzhou. After all, there were many who had once followed Aeon Akivili, walking among the stars as nameless passengers.
Thinking of this, Fu Xuan sighed. But as she looked at Pei Guang's group, already raring to go, she spoke up: "Since you're ready, let's set off. But be cautious—there are likely Disciples of Sanctus Medicus in the Scalegorge Waterscape. There may even be enemies from the Antimatter Legion…"
Pei Guang: "Perfect! Hopefully, they'll drop some gold coins for me."
Fu Xuan was momentarily speechless. She glanced at the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus strung up like cured meat in the distance, then at Pei Guang's eager expression. All she could do was silently pray—for the enemies to have at least a bit of self-awareness.
Among the fates of being marinated, hung like jerky, blasted by the Pink Fluffy Bunny, or dropping coins, the last one at least sounded somewhat peaceful.
While Fu Xuan was lost in thought, Stelle was already swinging her bat eagerly. "Let's go, let's go! Time to smash that Phantylia's head!"
March 7th quipped, "That Phantylia isn't even a physical entity. By the way, though, what's the actual difference between magic and physical attacks?"
Pei Guang: "Of course there's a standard. If it's done by physical means, it's a physical attack. If it's not, it's magic. Just watch me for cues: if I can block it, it's physical. If I can't, it's magic. But…"
Pei Guang suddenly remembered something. "Wait, can I even block grab attacks? If that thing gets bigger, I'll need to watch out for grab skills—they go through blocks. These skills, sigh, everything has counters. Hey, Dan Heng? Dan Heng? What's up with you?"
Dan Heng was staring off into the direction of the Scalegorge Waterscape, as if seeing something unimaginable. Snapping back to reality at Pei Guang's question, he replied, "I just… have a feeling…"
Pei Guang: "Homesick? Or worried that the person hunting you is over there?"
Dan Heng nodded. "Both. And…"
Pei Guang clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Why overthink it? If someone's hunting you and you can't beat them, we'll gang up on them together."
March 7th nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly! With Ah Guang here, we can take on anyone. One-on-one, we win. Two-on-two, we win."
Stelle glanced at March 7th. "And if there's a whole group?"
Pei Guang looked at Stelle and deadpanned, "You're really planting a flag before the fight, huh?"
Stelle pouted, muttering, "It's called reasonable speculation. I learned it from you."
Pei Guang pointed at himself. "Me? I've done that?"
March 7th nodded. "Oh, totally! Ah Guang, you're always going into 'fantasy mode.' So yeah, she probably did learn it from you. After all, Stelle's been with you the longest since she got her memories back. If she's picked up any bad habits, it's definitely from you."
No one wanted to argue with March 7th on this. Learning good habits was hard; picking up bad ones was way too easy. Just look at Dan Heng. A week ago, he was still the stoic, cold-hearted Imbibitor Lunae. Now? If he shouted "Dan Heng is here!" across the cosmos, everyone would instinctively take a few steps back.
Even the enemies blasted by the Pink Fluffy Bunny died with embarrassed, pained expressions on their faces. Forget the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus and the Voidrangers—even the Cloud Knights avoided Dan Heng's current look.
If they actually lost to him, their reputation in the Cloud Knights would be ruined. Imagine explaining to a superior that you were defeated because of a pink bunny doll. And then having advanced technology illustrate the scene: whoever heard the story would definitely laugh out loud on the spot!
Pei Guang chose to ignore March 7th's teasing. Leading the way, he said, "Not a big deal. To me, Stelle is still the kind, lovable, cute girl she's always been. Right now isn't the time to argue about this. Let's go. If we really run into Dan Heng's enemies and he can't handle them, we'll take them down together. At worst, they're elite mobs before the boss. Maybe one of them will even turn out to be a mini-boss like Fu Xuan here."
Fu Xuan: "Can you not use me for comparisons like this? I'd love to pull loot for you, but the reality of the situation is right in front of us!"
As she voiced her dissatisfaction, a starskiff arrived to pick them up. With her mildly disgruntled tone lingering in the air, everyone boarded, ready to head toward the Scalegorge Waterscape.
However, just as the starskiff was about to set off, a voice called out urgently: "Wait, please!"
The speaker was none other than Yanqing—the so-called "young hero." After trailing Blade's tracks all the way from the Seat of Divine Foresight to the Alchemy Commission, and even being soundly taught a lesson by Jingliu at Cloudford, he had now arrived here, still chasing leads to the Scalegorge Waterscape.
Hearing the shout, the starskiff paused. Yanqing wasted no time and hopped on board.
As soon as he stepped onto the skiff, he began, "Everyone, I—"
But before he could finish, an intense sense of suffocation gripped him. Inside the skiff, two trash cans inside and seven people outside simultaneously turned their gazes toward him.
From Yanqing's perspective, two of those seven were clad in the ominous Abundant Ebon Deer gear, with antler-like projections looming menacingly over their heads. Those two were none other than Pei Guang and Dan Heng.
The other girls, valuing aesthetics over intimidation, had already switched back to their casual outfits after the last battle. Dan Heng, however, fearing recognition, had replaced his silver mask with the Deer set.
As for Pei Guang? The logic was simple: he was a player, and players either wore the coolest outfit or the most powerful one. The Abundant Ebon Deer set was clearly the strongest, so why wouldn't he wear it?
Concern for others' opinions? Please. What player cares about their in-story appearance? The more unique they looked during the story, the better. Without that touch of eccentricity, it wouldn't even feel like proper immersion.
Thus, faced with the surreal sight aboard the starskiff, Yanqing's hand instinctively went to his sword. But seeing everyone else casually draw their own weapons, he froze in indecision, caught between action and retreat.