Striking the Canopy

The audience at the Woodland venue was stunned. The countless viewers watching the live broadcast were dumbfounded as well. Even Daedalose and Sonia were somewhat at a loss. Had the Throne Room lost its mind? This was a nationwide live broadcast, with tens of thousands of eyes inside and outside the stadium watching. Even if you wanted to arrest someone, did you have to pick this exact time and place? Doing so was tantamount to exposing the secrets and objectives of the Four Pillar Cult to the entire world— "The Four Pillar Cult, the largest anti-star organization in our kingdom, conspires to overthrow the Starry Canopy." Alexis's voice echoed through the venue. "At this critical juncture when the Divine Lord of Stars prepares to step into a higher realm, to reinforce the supreme miracle for the stars, and to lead the Starry Kingdom toward a magnificent civilization, you incite the populace, spreading fallacies and deceit in an attempt to sabotage our kingdom's historic opportunity. "You deploy destructive miracles everywhere, attempting to pierce the Starry Canopy that shelters all living beings." Alexis pointed upward. "You are fully aware that the Divine Lord of Stars has always sheltered all lives with a great miracle, yet far from feeling grateful, you seek to destroy our Lord's benevolence for ethereal, nebulous excuses, even going so far as to question our Lord's goodwill! "The Starry Kingdom and the Starry Canopy rise and fall together! Without the starry sky's protection, how could there be a thousand years of peace and happiness?" Alexis's tone grew impassioned. "You sorcerers heed the misguidance of evil gods, mistakenly believing that everything you do is righteous and that all your rebellions are for freedom. What utter folly, what a grave error, what treasonous insolence! "How could the dazzling brilliance of the Divine Lord of Stars ever be tarnished by the scurrying of scheming vermin like you? No matter how painstakingly you plot, no matter how arduously you build, you cannot shake even a corner of the stars! "Turn back from the wrong path while there is still time to repent, and shine once more beneath the stars! "Daedalose, do you plead guilty or not?!" Sonia finally understood—Daedalose wasn't the point, nor was the Four Pillar Cult. The point was that the Throne Room needed to slaughter a chicken to scare the monkeys! Even though the Star Festival had ended, the Starry Canopy remained in a state of eternal night. With months having passed without daylight, public sentiment across the Starry Kingdom was deeply unsettled, and rumors and speculation abounded. During this time, it would have been effortless for the Four Pillar Cult to recruit new members. Although the Four Pillar Cult had yet to make its move, it was by no means the only anti-star organization in the Starry Kingdom. More importantly, now that sorcerers had long since learned to think and act independently, what was to stop them from gathering to establish new anti-star organizations? Sorcerers were not fools. When they saw other people's sorcerer handbooks in the Void Realm, they learned that this world had a sun, a moon, and an unconfined sky. Every sorcerer knew they were living inside a cage called the starry sky. Warm, safe, and comfortable as this cage might be, it was still a cage in the end. A cage that barred them from touching the true world. Was living in a cage really so bad? There was truly nothing bad about it. Ordinary people almost never conceived conceited, arrogant notions like "I want to shatter the false starry sky"—scraping by day to day consumed every ounce of their energy. If one could be a plump, pampered house cat, who would leap off a balcony to plunge to their death? It was just that the Void Realm—that wicked thing—possessed a power to bewitch the soul. When you thoroughly realized in the Void Realm that you could rely only on yourself in the end, that all social ties were illusions, and that solitude was your one unchanging destiny; when you mastered sorcery spirits, practiced miracles, and could reshape reality and master fate through your own will; when you swam across the Knowledge Sea, journeyed across the Time Continent, witnessed countless wonders, and lived through mortal struggles... You would drink down the poison known as "greed." Defiance was its symptom, challenging authority was its side effect, and death was its most common ending. It was not as if they didn't know what the starry sky meant to the Starry Kingdom, nor that breaking it held no benefit for them. Yet they still could not quell the disgust welling up from the depths of their souls, smoldering endlessly like embers that refused to die. Because the Divine Lord of Stars had never given them a choice. In the Blood Moon, you could choose not to become one of the two Blood Saint races; in Gospel, you could choose not to use the Gospel Book; in Senluo, you could choose not to follow the Great Laws. But in the Starry Kingdom, how could you avoid living beneath the false starry sky? What they loathed was not the stars, nor even the Divine Lord of Stars, but the inescapable shackles! Sorcerers might willingly put on every sort of chain, but the one thing they could never accept was being born a pet in a cage! In the past, when the starry sky functioned normally with alternating day and night, sorcerers could still repress their inner defiance. But now, with eternal night lasting months on end, they could no longer even deceive themselves. They were forced to face the reality that they lived in a cage! Yet before sorcerers mastered true power, the aristocratic system crushed their rebellion beneath the weight of duty, making them willingly become the world's guardians. The cage binding them was not the starry sky above, but the peace and stability of the living beings under the stars. By all rights, sorcerers of the Starry Kingdom should have been incapable of breaking free from this social order that had run stably for hundreds and thousands of years, because the Starry Canopy genuinely showered blessings upon all things. But now, a tiny flaw had appeared—could a sky plunged into eternal night truly continue to shelter all life? Was there any point in keeping a canopy that couldn't even grant daylight? Despite the dazzling radiance of the brilliant stars, seeds of doubt had taken root in the sorcerers' hearts. They were supposed to believe unconditionally in the Divine Lord of Stars, but the problem was, the sorcerers were unwilling! Now that an opening had finally appeared to tear through the blessings of the stars, how could they possibly miss it? Just from what the Four Pillar Cult knew, more than a dozen new anti-star organizations had emerged recently, while long-established outfits like "Tide" had entered a phase of explosive, mad expansion! At the root of it all, people's hearts simply craved change! Was a peaceful, stable life enough? No! Sorcerers wanted more—much more! They wanted free souls; they wanted to witness the real world! Greedy thieves are never satisfied! Whether you are a one-winged sorcerer or a six-winged Divine Lord! That was why the Star-Flicking Guard had to descend upon Daedalose's concert. That was why they had to arrest the leader of the Four Pillar Cult in full view of the public! By putting Daedalose on trial, they would intimidate every restless band of sorcerers in the realm! The greatest rebel has been subdued! The Divine Lord of Stars' grand cause is about to reach new heights! Your conspiracies and schemes are completely futile! Our future is boundlessly bright! So what if the Starry Canopy was exposed? So what if the public learned about the existence of anti-star organizations? The ones who truly need to hide are gutter rats like you, not the shining stars! All things exist under the gaze of the stars! Daedalose's lips parted slightly. Just as she was about to speak, Alexis pointed downward. The Star Web enveloping the Woodland venue suddenly shifted into patterns of interwoven chains, and all titled nobles within the venue lost control of their bodies—including Daedalose, the feeler! "Did you think the Four Pillar Gods could truly shield you from the stars' blessings?" Alexis said coldly. "The Church simply refused to squander its energy on rebels like you, not that we lacked the power to do so! "From the very beginning, you never stood a chance..." Her voice stopped abruptly. For while Daedalose was slumped onto the floor of the stage, beside her stood another protagonist, standing tall and straight. "Sword Noble Sonia Servi." Alexis's tone shifted slightly. "Though you have taken part in anti-star activities, in consideration of your youth, ignorance, and outstanding talent, as long as you recognize your mistakes and reform, the Throne Room will not hold your transgressions against you." "Since you've investigated me," Sonia said, snapping her fingers, "you must know that throughout my journey, I have never once lost." "It was never a matter of winning or losing for you—you have had NO. CHANCE. AT. ALL." Alexis stressed each word. "Every single sorcery array you spent over a month preparing has already been dismantled by us—" "'Cold Fracture' Mercer, 'The Formless' Brynjolf, 'Nightingale' Karoya," Sonia smiled. "Having three sorcerers keep watch over one another while acting together was indeed a foolproof choice. After all, what are the odds that all three would be infiltrated?" Alexis froze, then immediately shook her head. "Impossible. Absolutely impossible. They were chosen at random!" "Which is why they truly weren't our people beforehand," Sonia said. "We only sent people to infiltrate them after you selected the dispellers." At the same time, a little white-haired girl stepped out from behind the stage curtains. Carrying Sonia's ruby rapier in both hands, she walked toward the center of the stage, step by step. "How could you possibly know our deployment in such detail..." Alexis murmured. But she quickly snapped back to her senses. "Even if your miracle arrays still exist, so what? This Star Web was erected by teams led by six sanctuary sorcerers; not a single signal of yours can get out. We have all the time in the world to arrest you and send others to undo those treasonous miracles! "Sonia Servi, you are a genius—a swordplay prodigy rarely seen in a century, even in the history of the Starry Kingdom." Alexis brought her fists together and spoke calmly, "Yet the time since you advanced to the Sanctuary realm has been far too short. "Counting from April of last year, it hasn't even been a year since you became a sorcerer. You are simply too young. "Outside, the Star Web imprisons you, leaving no escape; inside, there is the Star-Flicking Guard under my command, an adversary you cannot match." Alexis's voice was full of regret. "Stand down. Are you truly willing to throw your whole life away like this?" "That's just how the young are," Sonia smiled. "I'm not willing to accept it, and I certainly won't give up!" Just then, the white-haired little girl carrying the ruby rapier suddenly grew rapidly. By the time she stood shoulder to shoulder with Sonia, she had transformed into a monochrome-styled beautiful young woman! "The Star Web has rapid self-healing properties," Diya said, her fingers weaving threads around the scabbard, coating the blade in a shimmering azure glimmer of time and space. "I'll give you one second. You must strike at least ten times." "A hundred times." Alexis felt as if both of them had lost their minds. Hadn't she made it crystal clear just now? This Star Web had been erected under the lead of six Church sanctuary sorcerers; even a legendary sorcerer might not necessarily be able to— Clang! The instant Sonia drew her ruby rapier, four blazing, dazzling virtual wings unfurled from her back! Pure, sword-colored virtual wings, so sharp that they stung the eyes of all who beheld them! Not only her—Diya, without any hesitation, unfurled four virtual wings as well: deep, azure wings of time that left onlookers enraptured and lost! Two legendary sorcerers?! Miracle: One-Second Delay! Miracle: Blood Moon Shattered Lake! Sonia swung her sword just once, unleashing a sword light like a lake of blood. The blood-lake sword light hung frozen in the air for a single second. Within that second, it was permeated by azure time, expanding by more than double its size! This was Diya's newly mastered miracle: all attacks unleashed within one second would be delayed to erupt at the exact same moment, and the longer an attack was delayed, the greater the amplification of its destructive power! The moment the blood-lake sword light slashed outward, it split into over a hundred surging sword waves, striking the Star Web enclosing the Woodland venue simultaneously without any interval, instantly tearing that unbreakable barrier to absolute shreds! On the star bridge, Alexis stared dumbly at the shattered Star Web, her mind completely crashing. Where was she? What was she doing? Why were there two legendary sorcerers in front of her? Not just Alexis—the Star-Flicking Warriors behind her, every spectator in the venue, and audiences across the entire country watching the broadcast were all plunged into profound bewilderment. * Truth University fell dead silent, the favored darlings of heaven bowing their heads in despondence. Sword Flower University was much the same. In the dormitory buildings, countless people repeatedly muttered the word "legendary." Members of the Paw-Stretching Club felt proud and honored, while the Paw-Stretching Sword Saint's anti-fans felt as stifled as if they had swallowed flies. Even in the activity center of a remote agricultural town, a large crowd witnessed this scene. When the townspeople heard that Sonia had joined some anti-star organization, they had instinctively moved away from Martha, the middle-aged woman in the center of the crowd. But after seeing Sonia reveal four wings and shatter the Star Web with a single sword slash, many of them were left bewildered. Legendary sorcerers were formidable, but the state was formidable too. So what did this mean...? Ordinary folk who weren't even sorcerers found it difficult to grasp just what heights a legendary sorcerer occupied. The mayor, who was merely a one-winged sorcerer, took a deep breath, walked over cautiously, and asked, "Madam Martha, your daughter is a legendary sorcerer." "Mm. Linda has grown very beautiful," Martha said, looking at the light screen. "She's just dressed a bit lightly..." Being legendary has nothing to do with being beautiful... The mayor weighed his words carefully. "Still, she seems to have joined an... uncommon organization." "But she looks very happy." "Huh?" "I don't understand those things," Martha said softly. "Linda is smarter than me. I trust her. As long as she's happy, that's all that matters." * Sonia looked up at the Starry Canopy and let out a long breath. "We've finally come this far." "Scared?" Diya extended a fist toward her. "Scared," Sonia bumped fists with her. "But even more, I'm anticipating it." The command seals on the backs of their hands began to glow. The secret keys to activate the miracle arrays had never been in Daedalose's hands; they had been on the two of them all along. "In the name of the 'Queen,' Dead Frenzy Sword Princess." "In the name of the 'Queen,' Black and White Witch." Together, they cried aloud: "Shatter the canopy, behold the light of heaven!" Invisible ripples swiftly spread from the Woodland venue, awakening miracle arrays throughout the Starry Kingdom. As streak after streak of fiery radiance rose from across the land, soaring toward the canopy, all the people of the kingdom lifted their heads. They watched as the blazing brilliance of miracle fire eclipsed the stars and pierced through the dark night. Over a dozen streaks of fire converged in midair, forming a colossal, blazing star that crashed into the vault that had enshrouded the land for hundreds and thousands of years! Crack! A sound like glass shattering reverberated across the entire Starry Kingdom!