The Observer Seat and the Sword Seat

Sonia raised her head and looked up at the glittering, flowing galaxy. If one had never seen the sun, wouldn't this starry expanse be bright enough to serve as daylight? The Four Pillar Cult wished to shatter the starry sky because they carried a different sun in their hearts. Sonia wished to shatter the starry sky because she had to save her own sun. Once Wesley finished making his announcements, the next order of business was the planning meetings for each class and club's activities. Although Sonia was a research teaching assistant, she was still considered a student and naturally had to take part in a couple of events. Given the Reaching-Claw Sword Saint's status and prestige, merely lending her name would have been enough to move the classes and clubs to tears of gratitude. To everyone's astonishment, however, Sonia actively threw herself into the planning meetings. She was even willing to help solicit sponsorships, discuss logistics, and schedule her own stage performance. The students of Sword Flower were remarkably efficient, and by nightfall the campus was already thick with festive excitement. Having spent the entire afternoon engrossed in event discussions, Sonia announced that she was heading into the Void Realm to cultivate for the night. Her peers naturally hurried to see her off with utmost respect. Even after the village girl had departed, the students' awe and admiration remained the sole topic of conversation. Sonia walked all the way to the campus gates. Along the path, she politely declined Senior Leonie's invitation for drinks and repelled three suitors with a sharp glare. She drew every passerby's gaze like a breathtaking sight in motion, leaving every student who crossed paths with Senior Servier or Junior Servier inwardly marveling that she truly was the pride of this generation's Sword Flower. Once Sonia slipped past the gates into the shadowed tree-lined lane, a luxury silver sedan had already been waiting for some time. "Heading to dinner first, Sword Seat?" "No need. You..." Sonia froze, staring at the hooded figure in the back seat. "You have some nerve." "Nobody's going to search my car, and if anything really happens, it's easier to relocate by car," Felix said helplessly. "More importantly, Miss Lena said the destination isn't along the way to my house. If I dropped you off at my place first, you'd definitely linger over him forever. It's better to let you dote on him during the drive, and along the way, everyone can see both the Sword Seat and the Observer Seat." "Why do you make him sound like a toy?" Sonia grumbled under her breath. Yet the moment she lifted the edge of the hood, she was beaming with delight, pressing her cheek against Yaxiu's sleeping face and gently running her fingers through his hair. Watching this, Felix thought that playing with dolls as a child had looked almost identical. The village girl's nose twitched slightly. "Hmm?" "The scent of shampoo... Did you bathe him?!" Noticing the Sword Seat's gaze turn sharp and fierce, Felix shrugged. "We couldn't just leave him unwashed, could we?! Besides, Sword Seat, you decreed that only I'm allowed to touch him, so the duty of bathing him naturally fell on me... Relax, other than washing his hair properly, I was very casual about the rest of his body! I just slapped on a bit of body wash and splashed him with water, and I kept my eyes shut the whole time I dressed him!" "How could you wash him casually?!" The second miss of the Voslodar family felt an urge to crash the car into a wall. He needed to be bathed, yet he couldn't be washed casually—were you expecting me to invent a miracle that instantly bathes someone?! "You could use a brush or some other tool!" Sonia wasn't trying to make things impossible for Felix, but she sternly instructed, "Personal hygiene must be taken seriously, not handled casually!" "Honestly, couldn't you just wash him yourself?" Felix began, hesitating. "After all, you..." At that moment, the village girl suddenly became bashful. "No... stripping him bare while he's unconscious... wouldn't that be weird? I'm not that kind of person." Before saying that, could you at least rein in that expression on your face? If I weren't here, I'd bet you'd eat him right up. Felix thought to herself that installing one-way privacy tint on the car windows over the past few years had truly been a stroke of genius. If outsiders saw what was happening inside, they would surely suspect the Red-Haired Sword Princess had fallen under some charm miracle. And what was with that heated, rapid breathing? The shampoo she had used on Yaxiu was a refreshing mint, not some high-potency aphrodisiac capable of affecting a Sanctuary sorcerer! Yet Felix knew her days ahead were bound to be miserable. With a new superior who was both lustful and fussy, the only one suffering would be the errand-runner. It wasn't as though there were no men in the Four Pillar Cult, but Sonia didn't feel comfortable leaving Yaxiu in the hands of strangers, nor was it convenient for her to look after him personally. After weighing her options, she had designated Felix as the unconscious Yaxiu's dedicated caretaker. Sonia's absolute mandate to Felix was that no one else was permitted to touch Yaxiu—especially Daidalos. As for why she had chosen Felix, first, Yaxiu had granted Felix the trust of a second-rank vicar; second, Sonia felt confident she could keep Felix under her thumb. In her eyes, a mere little Voslodar wouldn't dare step out of line, making little Felix the natural target to bully. As the concentration of hormones in the car steadily climbed, the luxury silver sedan drove out of Jialesi, arrived at an underdeveloped suburban district, and came to a stop before a manor surrounded by dense forest. "Sword Seat, we've arrived." "Mm." Sonia carried Yaxiu out. Felix retrieved a wheelchair from the trunk, and Sonia carefully set Yaxiu into it, fastening him in place. She brushed the back of her hand tenderly across his cheek, a gentle warmth shimmering within her ruby eyes. Yet the moment she drew her hand back, her expression hardened into resolute aloofness, like a hedgehog hiding its soft belly and baring all its quills. "Wheel him in." "Understood." Felix pushed the wheelchair, following behind the Reaching-Claw Sword Saint. Sonia walked toward the magnificent villa, and before she even reached out, the main doors swung open on their own. Inside an opulent hall illuminated by warm light, a crowd had long been waiting. Standing at the forefront, Daidalos, with her long, deep-blue hair, stepped forward to receive them. "You have arrived." Sonia took a deep breath and stepped into the hall. Beneath the starry sky, she was the brilliant blossom of Sword Flower University, the newly crowned champion of the Meteor Tribulation, the Dazzling Diamond Sword Princess whom countless souls admired and longed for. Within the shadows, she was a conspirator seeking to overthrow the nation, a madwoman set on shattering the starry sky, the newly ascended supreme leader of the Four Pillar Cult of the Stars! "We welcome the Observer Seat and the Sword Seat!" Daidalos and the others dropped to one knee in unison, declaring with one voice: "May the Observer of the End transcend all, and the Dead Frenzy Sword Princess tread across the sea of stars!" A soft breath escaped her lips. Sonia was suddenly reminded of what Yaxiu had told her about his very first day—how he had woken up to people greeting him as the Observer of the End. When she had asked him what that felt like, Yaxiu hadn't been able to put it into words. Now, she finally understood the feeling. Perhaps this was what it meant to step into the torrent of destiny. She was finally... catching up to him. The Reaching-Claw Sword Saint took several paces forward and surveyed the room, spotting many familiar faces. The more she looked, the more alarmed she became: What? He's a member of the Four Pillar Cult too? What? She's so successful, yet she believes in the Four Pillar Gods? What... Until Sonia caught sight of a familiar figure, and the shock inside her could no longer be contained. She blurted out instinctively: "Sister Trozan?!"