The closer they drew to the center of Jialesi, the thicker the festive atmosphere grew. Lanterns and festive streamers hung across the grand thoroughfares, neon signs on towering buildings flashed in varied patterns, every shop on both sides of the streets was wide open, and roaming peddlers bustled all around.
"Up ahead is the Starry Festival's temporary pedestrian street. Let's get out here."
Daidalos produced four masquerade masks and handed them out. Accepting her butterfly mask, Felix hesitated and asked, "Do I need to wear a mask too?"
Daidalos was the Foremost Beauty Beneath the Stars, Sonia was the reigning Sword Flower renowned throughout Jialesi, and Diya was a recently rising child star. They certainly had reason to wear masks to conceal their identities, but Felix was merely the insignificant second son of the Vosrodas.
"Of course you do. You're flanked by three beauties, big and small, and dressed in men's clothes. I wouldn't want little Feili drawing too much hostility, you know," Daidalos said with a smile.
Felix had assumed that wearing masquerade masks would make them look out of place, but the moment she stepped out of the car, she realized she was mistaken. The pedestrian street was teeming with people in all sorts of guises: some dressed as orcs, some as veelas, some as undead creatures, and all manner of roleplayers—someone had even dressed up as a Fish-Slaying Dragon. By comparison, they hardly stood out with their masks.
"Today is the third-to-last day of the Starry Festival," Daidalos said. "It is also the grand opening of the 'Starry Ritual' on the Throne Room's schedule."
"We spent so long guessing how the Starry Ritual would be held and how to stop it, never imagining the reality would be so crude, yet so magnificent."
The Foremost Beauty Beneath the Stars sighed. "How are we supposed to cut off a River of Flowing Gold?"
A colossal River of Flowing Gold pierced the celestial canopy and the earth, shimmering with radiant golden light and illuminating the realm below. From afar, they hadn't grasped its true scale, but drawing closer, they saw that this River of Flowing Gold was outrageously immense—larger than anything they had ever seen even on the Time Continent. It was as though a hole had been torn through the second layer of the Void Realm, letting the River of Flowing Gold gather into an ocean of currents that cascaded straight down.
Sonia's voice carried a hint of bitterness. "I thought our hard work over these past days would have had at least some effect..."
Over the past month, Sonia and the others had intercepted another of the Church's Golden Apples. Having consumed the Golden Apples, she and Diya had already nurtured their fourth virtual wings to the half-wing stage. There also seemed to be assistance from Yaxiu—unable to communicate, they didn't know whether Yaxiu was helping their virtual wings grow from afar or if physical intimacy was required to draw the virtual wings from him. Still, believing it was safer than dismissing it, they had no choice but to "reluctantly" engage in frequent contact with Yaxiu.
"If a plan the Divine Lord of Stars laid out over thousands of years could be ruined so easily, the Starry Kingdom would've become the property of other divine lords long ago," Diya said, remaining quite calm. "Last time, when the Divine Lord of Stars devoured the Silver Wings, white mist from the Knowledge Sea appeared. Now that the River of Flowing Gold has manifested, it means the Divine Lord of Stars is devouring the Origin Angel's Golden Wings."
"Does the Gospel have any intel on the ritual?"
"No. Just like last time, I'd have to enter the River of Flowing Gold to gather intel from within."
"Enter the River of Flowing Gold?" Felix paused in surprise. "How could that be possible?"
Sonia and Diya instinctively exchanged a glance, sharing a knowing smile. But when Diya recalled Sonia's breakfast this morning, she huffed and turned her head away.
With the Soul Summoning sorcery spirit in Diya's hands, she could naturally equip everyone with the "Six-Color Anchor" unit to gain 100% damage immunity. However, the Soul Summoning sorcery spirit seemed to take effect only in the second layer of the Void Realm; she couldn't be certain whether the area covered by the River of Flowing Gold would be treated as reality or the Void Realm.
"Even if the Sword Throne and Witch Throne could enter the River of Flowing Gold, I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to act," Daidalos said, walking ahead. "Have you recognized the exact location of the River of Flowing Gold?"
Sonia blinked. She peered in the direction of the River of Flowing Gold for a long while before realization struck. "The White Tower?"
Back when the concept of the stars was destroyed and the stars in the celestial canopy were extinguished, the Church had erected the White Tower and had Starry Prayers preside over the ritual, barely restoring the order of the stars. Several months had passed, and the people of Jialesi had grown accustomed to the White Tower's presence; even as it rose higher and higher, nobody paid it much mind.
"The White Tower was designated a forbidden zone by the Church long ago. From outside to inside, it is garrisoned by the Fortress Legion, the Griffin Company, and the Star-Flicking Guard, with the Church's hidden elite sorcerers stationed in the innermost layer."
Daidalos paused outside a shop window to admire the merchandise, saying calmly, "We had always thought the Church made such a huge fuss because they feared someone would disrupt their Starry Prayers. We never expected... it was actually killing two birds with one stone.
"The White Tower is not only the primary site for the Starry Prayers, but also the core structure for the Angel Hunt! To think we watched helplessly as they fortified it into an impregnable bastion without lifting a finger! We didn't even bother to carry out a single terrorist attack!"
Seeing Daidalos's self-reproach, Sonia patted her shoulder comfortingly. "Who could have guessed back then? Everyone thought the White Tower was meant to light up the sky. Who attacks a light switch? But there's still time—let's smash it to pieces!"
Though the sight of two beauties supporting and comforting each other was heartwarming, Diya couldn't help feeling that something was wrong with this country's education system when she remembered that one was a national goddess and the other a student idol, and yet here they were plotting how to destroy the nation...
Then again, Blood Moon had produced Igola and Harvey, Gospel had produced Annan, and Senluo had produced the most formidable of all, Youlan Weise. It seemed every country's education had its issues, so never mind.
"We can't."
Daidalos took a deep breath and shook her head firmly. "While the decision rests with the two Queens, I adamantly oppose disrupting this Starry Ritual. Unlike last time in the no-man's-land, this Starry Ritual's primary venue is in the heart of Jialesi. It's not casualties I fear, but attacking the White Tower would make us enemies of all Starry. Every Sanctuary sorcerer would rush to its defense.
"Although both the Sword Throne and the Witch Throne possess legendary combat power, as far as I know, at least the President of Sword Flower University, 'Painter,' remains in Jialesi, and the Church and the Throne Room very likely harbor legendary combat power as well. If a real fight breaks out, our high-end combat power won't hold the slightest advantage, and throwing our mid-tier combat power in wouldn't even make a splash.
"Yet the price would be the complete exposure of our Four Pillar Cult. The two Queens wouldn't even be able to remain in Jialesi, and the chances of the Observer Throne being exposed would skyrocket.
"We cannot afford such a colossal risk."
Daidalos's stance was clear: the Four Pillar Cult did not fear sacrifice, but their sacrifices had to count. The White Tower was clearly a bottomless pit; feeding the entire Four Pillar Cult into it might not even disrupt the ritual, and Daidalos hadn't spent all these years building her organization just to squander it here.
As for the Sword Princess and the Witch, they only needed to consider one thing: was the White Tower worth destroying at all costs?
Noticing the heavy atmosphere, Felix asked, "Even if we pass up this chance, it doesn't mean the Sky Light Project has failed, right?"
"Of course," Daidalos said with certainty. "The Origin Angel isn't so easily digested. There will definitely be more crucial rituals later on. The true decisive moment lies ahead."
Sonia pursed her lips, unwilling to accept it. "But Yaxiu might be fighting a bloody battle on the other side, and we can't help at all?"
"The Divine Lord of Stars didn't hesitate to use Jialesi as the primary venue for the ritual. This feeding ritual is likely focused on the Starry side, so fighting might not break out over in All Stars," Daidalos consoled her.
"The Gospel tells me that our probability of success if we take action is under 0.01%," Diya said. "And that 0.01% is based on the possibility that the Four Pillar Gods suddenly send us a horde of top-tier legendaries as reinforcements."
Neither the Sword Princess nor the Witch was unreasonable. This time, the Divine Lord of Stars had laid out an overt scheme, using the Starry Kingdom—cultivated over more than a millennium—to safeguard the ritual. Unless they could take on the entire nation, they had no choice but to bide their time.
"Come on, lighten up. Let's explore the Starry Festival," Daidalos said with a smile. "There are tons of shows over these final three days. Even I'll be singing on stage on the last day."
Sonia glanced at her. "Are you serious? Is this really the time to relax?"
"Right now is precisely when you must relax. If you stay cooped up in the villa agonizing and drowning in self-pity, that's when real trouble starts." Daidalos took their hands, leading them into the crowd. "Come on, put those worries aside for now. Let's enjoy a girls' holiday—how about we give Felix a proper makeover?"
"Deal!" Sonia and Diya agreed in unison.
Felix stared at Daidalos in shock, while the latter winked with a mischievous expression that said, 'For the sake of your superiors' mood, just endure wearing women's clothes for once.'
As they were about to cross the pedestrian street, they were stopped by a convoy of trucks carrying sculptures, bearing the banners of Sword Flower University.
Sonia asked curiously, "Our university produces sculptures?"
"Did you forget Sword Flower University is primarily an arts university?" Felix said, caught between tears and laughter. "Sculpture is one of our flagship programs. These sculptures are probably headed for an exhibition. Almost every noble in Jialesi grows up visiting sculpture and fine art exhibitions."
"I'm a village girl, so what do you expect?" Sonia said, looking utterly proud of her lack of refinement.
Diya's gaze lingered on the sculpture convoy. Daidalos asked, "Witch Throne, what is it?"
"Nothing." Diya rubbed her eyes. "My eyes might just be playing tricks on me."
This brief interlude soon faded from the minds of the four. Meanwhile, on the other side, after the sculpture convoy pulled up before the exhibition hall, someone quickly uncovered a problem:
"Where are No. 017, No. 026, No. 052, No. 078, and No. 101?!"
"Weren't they on Truck Three?"
"Truck Three doesn't have them!"
"That's weird. We checked everything before leaving. Truck Four, you were following right behind—didn't you see anything?"
"Nope. There were so many people crossing the pedestrian street. Could someone have stolen them?"
"Stealing sculptures that weigh hundreds of jin—are you blind that you wouldn't notice? You might as well say the sculptures ran off on their own!"
"Are those sculptures valuable?"
"Not really. One male sculpture, four female sculptures—all made by students."
......
...
In the pedestrian street, five people appeared, moving stiffly and slowly. But as time passed, their pace quickened and their bodies grew more limber, becoming nearly indistinguishable from ordinary people. Even their hair colors gradually began to shift.
Amidst the revelry of the Starry Festival, however, onlookers merely took them for eccentric sorcerer tourists.
Passing a masquerade accessories shop, the man casually grabbed five masks and distributed them to the others. The lady with black-and-white hair said, "Except for Dead Frenzy, none of the rest of us need to hide our identities, do we?"
"No need to take on unnecessary risks," the man said, donning a patterned masquerade mask.
The demure lady walking on the far right asked, "How many swords do you need?"
"One for Dead Frenzy, two for me."
Passing a sword workshop, the demure lady approached the display window. By the time she turned around, three swords had vanished from the display.
The red-haired lady accepted a sword, unsheathed it, and glanced at it. "Unsharpened."
"Then hone the edge with blood later," the elf lady chuckled. "Aren't you great at that?"
"Stop the chatter." The man strapped the two swords to his waist and cracked his neck, shaking loose a layer of stone dust.
The elf lady snapped, "You're just picking on me! You ignore the trash talk from everyone else and only call me out!"
"Because you're the only one talking trash." The man casually stripped a trench coat off a passerby, kicking him into the crowd before the man could even react. By the time the passerby regained his senses and wanted to flare up, the robbers had vanished without a trace.
The man draped the trench coat over himself and pulled up the hood.
It felt as though he were reliving the fallen vanity of his past.
Chapter 853