?Location: The Imperial Spaceport (Formerly the Palace Gardens)

  Time: Six Months Later

  ?The seasons had changed. The ash of the volcano was gone, replaced by the lush green growth of a healed planet. The citizens of the capital no longer looked at the sky with fear; they looked at it with pride.

  ?In the center of the Royal Gardens, the Naglfar sat on a newly constructed launch pad.

  ?It didn't look like the jagged bone-wreck that had crashed six months ago. It had been evolved.

  ?Aris stood beneath the hull, inspecting the work.

  ?[Vehicle Status: Naglfar Mk. II]

  [Chassis:] Leviathan Bone reinforced with Abyssal Carbon.

  [Armor:] Matte-Black Void Plating (Stealth Rating: S).

  [Engine:] Samsara Drive V2 (Stabilized Output).

  [Weaponry:] Removed.

  [Module Installed:] The Mimic Veil.

  ?"We stripped the guns," Lin Chen said, walking up beside Aris. The former High Priest wore a simple grey traveler's cloak over his Shadow-Prosthetic. "It feels... naked."

  ?"We aren't going there to fight a fleet, Lin Chen," Aris corrected, running his hand along the sleek, dark hull. "We are going there to join a school. If we show up in a battleship, they will blow us out of the sky. We need to look like a merchant vessel."

  ?Aris pointed to the hull.

  ?"The Mimic Veil will mask the ship's signature. To their sensors, we will look like a generic transport hauling grain."

  ?The Guardian Protocol

  ?A low rumble shook the ground.

  ?From the four corners of the continent, four lights shot into the sky.

  ?The Azure Dragon (East).

  The White Tiger (West).

  The Vermilion Bird (South).

  The Black Tortoise (North).

  ?They didn't descend. They took up positions in the high orbit, forming a tetrahedral barrier around the planet.

  ?Aris looked up at them.

  ?"I am leaving the Seals with the World Tree," Aris said. "If I take the Beasts with me, the planet is defenseless. When the Punitive Fleet arrives, the Beasts will hold the line."

  ?"For how long?" Lin Chen asked.

  ?"Six months after we leave, the fleet arrives," Aris calculated. "The Beasts can hold the shield for maybe a year against a bombardment. That gives us exactly 18 months to infiltrate the Myriad Beasts Mountain, rise to power, and call off the attack."

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  ?"Eighteen months to conquer a sect that has existed for ten thousand years," Lin Chen dryly noted. "No pressure."

  ?The Farewell

  ?General Thorne and Emperor Qin Long approached the launch pad.

  ?The General looked older. The stress of the last year had greyed his hair, but his back was straight. He looked at his son—not the boy he remembered, but the monster who had saved the world.

  ?"Aris," Thorne said, his voice thick with emotion.

  ?"General," Aris nodded formally. He handed his father a data tablet. "This contains the defense codes for the Undead Army. If the shield falls, activate Protocol: Scorch. Burn the surface before you let them take the people."

  ?Thorne took the tablet. His hands trembled slightly.

  ?"You speak of burning the world so casually."

  ?"I speak of contingencies," Aris said softness entering his voice. "I will come back, Father. I just need to go buy some milk."

  ?Thorne laughed, a wet, choking sound. He pulled Aris into a hug. It was awkward—armor clinking against stealth-suit—but it was real.

  ?"Don't die out there," Thorne whispered. "Space is cold."

  ?"I'm colder," Aris replied.

  ?He pulled away and turned to the Emperor.

  ?"Keep the faith, Qin Long. The statues generate mana. You'll need it."

  ?The Boarding

  ?Aris walked up the ramp. Nox trotted beside him, wearing a custom-fitted pressure suit that looked like a sleek vest. The Eclipse Hound sniffed the airlock, excited. To him, this wasn't a mission; it was a car ride.

  ?Lin Chen followed.

  ?The airlock hissed shut.

  ?Inside the cockpit, the lights hummed to life. It was cramped, utilitarian, and filled with the smell of recycled air and ozone.

  ?Aris sat in the pilot's chair. He plugged his neural interface into the ship.

  ?[System Link: Established.]

  [Destination: The Star Road - Node 994.]

  [Travel Time: 3 Weeks to the Middle Realm Border.]

  ?"All systems green," Aris reported. "Reactor at 100%."

  ?He looked at the viewscreen one last time. The palace, the garden, his father waving.

  ?"Goodbye, Tutorial Level."

  ?The Launch

  ?Aris punched the throttle.

  ?There was no fire this time. The Stealth Drive engaged. The ship simply lifted off on a wave of silent gravity.

  ?It shot upward, accelerating rapidly.

  ?Blue sky turned to indigo. Indigo turned to black.

  ?They passed the Azure Dragon in orbit. The massive beast opened one eye and nodded slowly.

  ?"HUNT... WELL... LITTLE... KING."

  ?The Naglfar pushed past the moon. The planet shrank behind them until it was just a marble in the dark.

  ?Ahead of them lay the Star Road.

  ?It was a river of starlight—a cosmic highway used by the cultivation sects to travel between worlds. It shimmered with multicolored nebulae and dangerous void-currents.

  ?Aris pulled up the Star-Chart he had looted from Elder Kong.

  ?"Plotting course for The Myriad Beasts Mountain - Outer Docking Ring," Aris commanded.

  ?[Warning: You are entering High-Level space.]

  [Average Level of Local Fauna: 80+.]

  [Your Level: 70.]

  [Stealth is recommended.]

  ?"Engage Warp," Aris said.

  ?The stars stretched into lines.

  ?ZOOM.

  ?The Naglfar vanished into the void, leaving Sector 994 behind.

  ?The Quiet

  ?Hours into the flight, the cockpit was silent. The autopilot handled the navigation through the slipstream.

  ?Lin Chen broke the silence.

  ?"Master. We need new names."

  ?Aris turned his chair around. "Correct. Aris Thorne is a wanted terrorist in the Middle Realm. Lin Chen is a known traitor."

  ?Aris pulled up a hologram of two forged identities he had created using the System.

  ?"From now on," Aris pointed to himself. "I am Han Xiao. An itinerant alchemy apprentice from a destroyed minor world."

  ?He pointed to Lin Chen.

  ?"And you are Mo, my mute bodyguard. You wear a mask. You don't speak. Your arm explains itself as a battle injury."

  ?"Mute?" Lin Chen frowned.

  ?"You have a tendency to preach about the Abyss," Aris smirked. "It draws attention. Keep your mouth shut and your sword sharp."

  ?"And the dog?" Lin Chen pointed at Nox.

  ?"He's a dog," Aris shrugged. "Rich cultivators love exotic pets. He's our cover."

  ?Aris looked out at the passing stars.

  ?"Get some sleep, Mo. In three weeks, we land in the lion's den. And I plan to become the Alpha."

  ?Phase 1 Complete.

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