Even the Void Realm Map Surrendered

Once the misunderstanding between mother and daughter was resolved, the daughter's friends naturally received the hospitable treatment they were due. Yaxiu and the others were escorted to a fully equipped suite. Aside from not being allowed out the front door, they faced virtually no restrictions. Annan told them to get a good night's rest first; if they didn't feel like sleeping, they could take a stroll in the Void Realm, and serious business would be discussed tomorrow. While speaking, Annan kept her face concealed behind her Book of Gospel the entire time. Even Igola, normally the most cynical among them, said nothing and simply nodded along with the others in compliance with her request. Without question, Annan bringing them to Fanmula was definitely not for sightseeing or visiting her mother. She was aiming for a three-way win: first, find a place of refuge—win number one; second, throw her mother's family under the bus to take the blame—win number two; and third, leverage this city's unique regional advantage to help Yaxiu and the others land spots on the next Future Board—win number three. It was just that Yaxiu couldn't fathom what help Fanmula could possibly offer them. Did she expect them to forge hearts like circus clowns, ostracizing and alienating the entire city? While Yaxiu was deep in thought, the sports car was already approaching the border of the Star Hall territory. On the Void Realm Map, the pinprick of light representing the sorcerers traced an intellectual course across the boundless black lake, swiftly drawing nearer to the flourishing Star Hall territory ahead. If one were to raise the viewpoint and observe the entire Time Continent map, one would notice multiple curved paths appearing in the dark zones outside the Star Hall territory—the exploration trails Yaxiu and the others had left over these past days. Connecting those paths end to end revealed a crooked, winding circle. Several days ago, by observing the Void Realm Map, the three of them had discovered the operating secret of this Time Continent: The Ox of the Sky Carriage traveled along a circular path. The White Ox did not march in a dead-straight line; it followed a slight arc. When it completed a full circle, the Time Continent concluded an entire cycle of time. Still, this wasn't an unimaginable revelation. According to the Sword Princess, many sorcerers had already deduced that the White Ox merely wandered around in circles across the Time Continent—after all, the continent couldn't possibly be infinite. Other sorcerers simply lacked a Void Realm Map, leaving them unable to confirm its trajectory. Although they hadn't arrived at a definitive conclusion from their discussions, they all had a faint inkling that this regular circular loop mechanism of the White Ox concealed even deeper, undisclosed secrets. After many days, Yaxiu and his companions finally set foot once more into the Star Hall territory with its complete map. Tomorrow, they would be able to plunder the area's special resources to their hearts' content— *Boom!* A deafening roar erupted in the distance like a scorching sun bursting open. A violent tempest ripped apart the veil of reverse golden rain, directly triggering the sports car's Refraction Curtain Wall into a frenzy of ripples! One after another, massive trees nourished by the Flowing Gold River snapped like twigs, half-man-tall weeds flattened to the earth, and even the haughty reverse golden rain had no choice but to shy away from this vortex of war! Yaxiu slammed on the brakes. The sports car drifted in a doughnut arc across the grass before skidding to a halt. Sonia and Diya were already braced for combat. "Where's the enemy?" "Beyond... beyond our line of sight!" Yaxiu stared at the Void Realm Map. Within the surrounding twenty-five-tile radius, every single tile was marked as a safe zone of "Wasted Effort." In other words, the attack just now was an over-the-horizon strike originating from outside the map's detection perimeter! *Boom!* *Thud, thud, thud!* Not far off behind layers of rain curtains, an army-scale clash was unfolding. Roars of annihilated energy, groans of churned earth, and the rhythmic percussions of flesh meeting blood blended into a catastrophic symphony sweeping across the entire region. Even without a glimpse of their silhouettes, the discordant notes splashing out from their battle were enough to lay waste to the surrounding ecosystem! Yaxiu took a gamble and inched the car forward, until blood-red notification text finally popped up at the outermost corner of the map: [Active War Zone (Many, A Great Swarm, An Overwhelming Quantity of Knowledge Creatures)] There was no further detail, but the three sorcerers understood the sheer weight behind those words—they had stumbled upon a clash between Heroic Spirit Legions! Moreover, unlike the Heroic Spirit commander from last time who had merely strolled about with a few dragons in tow, both sides of this conflict commanded vast armies of attendant creatures armed to the teeth. That was why their collision shook the Void Realm like a collapsing mountain crashing into a tsunami! Without a single word of debate, Yaxiu immediately threw the car in reverse and sped away—even the most radically adventurous sorcerer would turn into a staunch conservative when faced with a situation like this! Yet their approach had already drawn the notice of both combatants. The dazzling reverse golden rain suddenly parted into an empty lane, and a translucent golden soul bridged several hundred meters in the blink of an eye, plunging straight into Yaxiu's body. [You're right on time, Demilo! Quick, use your invincible Logistics to make a run for it...] [...] [You... you aren't Demilo?] [Ugh, so... so cold. I don't want to go back to that colorless world. I don't want to... No, no, just let me sleep. Don't wake me up again. Stop... messing with me.] Before Yaxiu could even process what was happening, his Soul Summoning sorcery spirit popped up of its own accord to explain the transformation it had undergone: [This sorcery spirit has successfully absorbed a sorcery spirit of the same name, unlocking new unit types: Gryphon Meteorologist, Rampart, Star Supplicant, and Star-Bouncing Warrior.] [Star Hall · Gryphon Meteorologist: Wind sorcery, water sorcery, and lightning sorcery deal +20% damage to souls. 3 armor stacks, humanoid creature, comes mounted on a gryphon and possesses the miracle 'Star Tide.' Costs 4 soul power per unit.] [Star Tide: Cast on a single target, dealing mixed wind, water, and lightning damage.] [Star Hall · Rampart: Any attack deals +15% damage to souls. 11 armor stacks, humanoid creature, comes equipped with a shield. Costs 5 soul power per unit.] [Star Hall · Star Supplicant: Ranged attacks deal +45% damage to souls. 4 armor stacks, humanoid creature, comes with the special miracle 'Starfall.' Costs 10 soul power per unit.] [Starfall: Minimum 1-second chant, maximum 60-second chant. Unleashes a large-area barrage of falling starlight upon a designated zone. Once selected, the target area cannot be altered.] [Star Hall · Star-Bouncing Warrior: Melee attacks deal +60% damage to souls. 7 armor stacks, humanoid creature, comes with the special miracles 'Star-Bouncing Strike,' 'Star Trajectory,' and 'Chaotic Nebula.' Costs 15 soul power per unit.] [Star-Bouncing Strike: Your next strike is imbued with astral power, ignoring enemy armor.] [Star Trajectory: You can phase through obstacles while moving, including enemies, city walls, and defensive miracles.] [Chaotic Nebula: You have a 30% chance to dodge all incoming attacks. Each successful dodge resets the cooldown of 'Star-Bouncing Strike.'] [You have absorbed 'Bledo's Commander Manual.'] [Please select 2 rewards—] [The Stars (Bledo's Exclusive Reward) (Locked Selection): You are the incarnation of the Stars' will. Star Supplicants under your command have miracle chanting times reduced by 50%, miracle power increased by 150%, and gain 1 additional armor stack.] [Archery Command (Advanced) (Optional): You know how to utilize ranged units to achieve strategic objectives, and you gain an immense amount of Shooting faction experience.] [Offense (Advanced) (Optional): You are undeniably a master of offense, and you gain a substantial amount of experience across all factions.] [Finance (Advanced) (Optional): When equipping and mobilizing units, soul power consumption is reduced by 50%.] *Incredible!* Whether judged by the unlocked unit types or the commander manual skills, that golden soul who had just hurled itself over was beyond doubt an immortal-tier Heroic Spirit commander! Yet even a commander this formidable had been battered into panicked, desperate flight! Yaxiu didn't dare glance behind him, pushing the sports car for all it was worth to put distance between them and the war zone. Sonia could also sense the suffocating, oncoming murderous aura from behind; her entire body tensed and shivered uncontrollably. The Witch Diya's hair was even beginning to blur and shift colors! They hadn't caught so much as a glimpse of the enemy, yet deep down, a visceral terror—as if confronting their absolute apex predator—welled within them! Run! Run faster! Yaxiu checked the Void Realm Map, only to discover that the surrounding twenty-five tiles had surrendered ahead of him. A merciless, dripping crimson was practically leaking through the screen to splatter onto him. [Peril] [Peril] [Peril] [Peril] [Peril] [Peril] [Peril] [Peril] [Peril] [Peril] [Peril] [Peril] [ Me ] [Peril] [Peril] [Peril] [Peril] [Peril] [Peril] [Peril] [Peril] [Peril] [Peril] [Peril] [Peril] "Is it too late to start praying to the Void Realm?" Diya's voice quavered in a frightened two-part harmony. ... ... "We're done for." As Banjie was helping Annan apply a moisturizing post-treatment face mask, the young miss sat bolt upright, her expression even more ghastly than when she had been beaten by her mother. "Even though our collaborator shifted from Madam Nona to Madam Qinna, that should still fall within your calculations, Miss..." Banjie said, slightly puzzled. "And your injuries turned out much lighter than anticipated... It seems Madam Qinna still harbors some affection for you after all." "No, I'm not talking about that old woman." Clasping her aching head, the Purple Moth said, "Did you forget? The foremost agency in Azula—do you remember what business they excel at most?" "Void Realm assassination."