February 12, 1994, Azure New Era; the third day of the new year by the Huaxia calendar.
It was evening. The setting sun hung in the sky, casting a brilliant glow over the rippling water.
More than one hundred and forty kilometers outside the City of Iniquity.
The fleet anchored offshore, over twenty vessels lined up like an arrowhead with their bows pointed out to sea.
"Roar!"
An uproar suddenly erupted across the beach as over ten thousand people bellowed in unison.
Then came a sharp *clang!* No one knew who had been the first to draw their war blade.
The sound rippled outward in waves. *Clang-buzz...*
Vast swaths of source energy surged. Blades slashed through empty air, whipping up gusts of wind as rippling shockwaves slammed into the surface of the sea.
*Crash!*
A battle array of over ten thousand people, ten thousand dead iron war blades unsheathed in hand, pointing diagonally toward the sky.
...This was a scene that not even Han Qingyu himself had anticipated.
He felt he hadn't spoken any particularly rousing words just now, nor had he done anything exceptionally stirring.
Compared to what he had once done back in Azure... the crowd's reaction seemed a bit disproportionate, to the point where an edge of hysteria seeped through their roars.
Because of this, Han Qingyu was momentarily dazed, though he covered it up immediately.
In truth, even though he was likewise "exiled," had fled here as a fugitive, and had lived in the City of Iniquity for two years, Han Qingyu still couldn't fully understand "the people here."
He had always possessed companions he could trust implicitly, strength that gave him absolute confidence, and even an immovable mountain like Chen Buer whom he could rely on and trust no matter the distance...
The people here had none of that.
From the moment they arrived to their daily lives here, most of them had suffered life's harshest struggles and the bleakest isolation where no one could be trusted, living days emptier of hope than anywhere else in the world.
Whenever they tried to leave, they were hunted down. Those who came to hunt them were called "hunting squads"... Just listen to that: hunting squads!
And now?
Major The Qing was powerful—already tremendously powerful now, and bound to grow even stronger in the future.
The lineup setting out to sea—at least three supers and eight top-tiers—was equally formidable.
He had said he would lead them away.
And the name he was willing to stand against for their sake was Azure.
That was enough.
For the people standing on the beach right now, this was a feeling the vast majority had never known, or hadn't felt in a very long time.
Although there were many factions in the City of Iniquity, and they had once belonged to various forces large and small, none of that had ever provided a true sense of belonging or shelter.
Right now, they even felt a surge of pride, as if they could finally hold their heads high.
"Wait, so it's Stream Vanguard?" Standing amid the impassioned battle array, Lubi Azha muttered under his breath.
He didn't understand the meaning behind the name, but he liked it blindly nonetheless.
In the past, whenever they introduced themselves to outsiders, they would always have to say:
"I came from Snow Lotus. Caused trouble and fled here years ago."
"I used to be in Azure..."
"My father was in Pure Purgatory once, and I was born right here. Fuck it all, can you believe that? I was guilty the moment I was born, exiled from the day I came into the world."
"..."
Because the outside world didn't care which faction you belonged to in the City of Iniquity.
From this day forth, they would tell people: "I'm from Stream Vanguard."
This slightly strange name was bound to resonate far and wide. From this day and this very moment, it was destined to have its own emblem.
***
Meanwhile, behind a sand dune, Dao Dali suddenly stood up, turned around, and looked into the distance.
"Wait, it's not the Azure Dragon Gang anymore?" he grumbled, a hint of sorrow in his tone.
"Of course it still is. It always will be... Just think of it as them trying not to bring trouble to you and the brothers here," Pang Jinghe said, pulling his cigarette from his mouth and giving him a reassuring tug.
"Oh, but they won't come up with a new battle cry in the future, will they?" Dao Dali asked instinctively, while secretly thinking: *Let my name echo across the whole world! I'm not afraid of trouble.*
This time, Pang Jinghe shook his head without hesitation. "No way. They've been shouting it for ages. When they charge into battle, 'Boss Dao has manifested!' rolls off the tongue best. Besides, that chant has an eerie sense of mystique and dread to it, don't you think? Gives off a ghostly vibe."
"Really? Haha... Whatever, I don't really care," Boss Dao said, somewhat appeased, and sat back down to conceal his feelings, no longer watching.
On the other side of the dune, his subordinates began boarding the ships.
The seaward-bound column trod over the gravel and onto wooden gangplanks, boarding the vessels in their assigned ranks like a procession of long dragons.
Not far from where they passed, the Caucasian Azure colonel still stood, watching it all unfold in silence.
In the end, he did not attempt to cross that column sword to forcibly stop them, even though deep down, he had felt Major Qing probably wouldn't strike them.
At the same time, he actually felt a bit wronged—he felt that coming here on orders shouldn't have been treated as an act of malice.
In general, the Alliance currently took an attitude of simply wanting to smooth things over.
The intent behind issuing this order, beyond their customary blockade of the City of Iniquity, was mostly just that they didn't want Major The Qing to take matters into his own hands, retaliating against Alphonse and blowing things out of proportion.
As for the feud between the two sides?
Because the investigation had never yielded any results, while Han Qingyu's stature and public support were continually rising, it was no longer possible for the Alliance to take a stand the way they used to.
At the very least, they no longer dared to claim they would take Major Qing and his comrades back to detain and interrogate them over "slaying a general before the battle line."
Since Alphonse had retained his freedom all along and could still sit in the front row of the Alliance Council to "cooperate with the investigation," Major Qing was now entitled to the same treatment.
From the perspective of Azure law, it was really just a matter of order.
Previously, the Alliance had leaned toward determining the guilt of Han Qingyu and the others regarding "slaying a general before the battle line" before addressing anything else. But now, that matter would be pushed behind investigating and judging whether the Alphonse family truly harbored secret crimes.
Of course, when it came to that truth, after more than two years, they still hadn't uncovered a single thing.
Some Alliance council members even favored maintaining this status quo, believing that keeping things "unresolved" was a good thing that could maintain a tenuous stability.
***
Standing at the bow of the ship, Han Qingyu kept smiling, nodding again and again in greeting.
Yet in truth, his eyes carried a hint of unease and awkwardness.
Just moments ago, he had done something that looked extraordinary—he was always capable of doing things like that—but that didn't mean he could get used to a scene like the one that followed.
Below, the warriors were boarding the ships. As they walked along the gangplanks spanning the water, nearly every one of them looked up at Major Qing.
Those gazes made Han Qingyu feel awkward.
He had never been a big boss, nor was he accustomed to such sincere gazes and the deep gratitude in them.
Shifting his feet slightly, Han Qingyu instinctively began to back away.
"No dodging! Stand there," Wen Jifei said, reaching out to press a hand against Han Qingyu, holding him in place.
Han Qingyu turned to look at him helplessly.
"The makeup of this group is far too mixed," Wen Jifei said, gazing outward. "Their support right now is mostly just an emotion driven by momentary passion. Actually building true cohesion and unity won't be that easy. That's why you have to stand there—even if you're not used to it, you don't have a choice."
Han Qingyu nodded. He understood the reasoning, even if he wasn't accustomed to the role.
"And after that, we'll have to rely on the old members—the ones from the Azure Dragon Gang who've been with us since the faction was first built—to guide and influence them over time." Wen Jifei didn't leave either; he lit a cigarette and continued, "Also, I talked it over with the Little Prince. We think the next step is to popularize the Huaxia language first. Intangible things like that are actually crucial..."
Just like that, one speaking and the other listening, the two young men in their early twenties stood at the bow, each trying his best to adapt to their new identities and responsibilities.
Finally, everyone was on board.
The setting sun dipped below the horizon.
The crowds on the shore waved farewell.
Dao Dali stood on the sand dune, looking out into the distance. Many others were watching too.
The sails on the ships were all hoisted, neat and splendid.
At last, the surface of the water parted...
Arranged in an arrowhead formation, the fleet sailed toward the vast, misty sea.
Drawing farther away.
The sky darkened.
Stars began to twinkle in the night sky.
The fleet vanished into the boundless ocean.
Chapter 532