At this moment the seal glows, and the voice of the fourth of the Seven Arbiter-Generals appears.
After some teasing, time is limited, and the topic quickly turns serious.
First comes news regarding Jingliu and Luocha.
The previous conclusion is overturned: the Stellaron was not brought to the Luofu by Luocha—everything was merely a means to secure an audience with Marshal Hua.
Then comes the truth of the coffin behind him.
Inside lies a remnant of Propagation.
[Holy beans.]
[As expected of you, Otto—always wanting to make big news.]
[Damn it, Otto really is an extremely dangerous existence no matter the world.]
[Hahaha, even an Aeon's corpse—he can get his hands on it? Gotta be Otto.]
[Bishop's value keeps rising.]
[Everyone online guessed for so long and still missed it—hahaha, we were all too conservative.]
[No wonder Old Yang gets PTSD just seeing Luocha—I get you now.]
— —
Even someone as strong as Feixiao widens her eyes. "The remains of the Swarm Disaster's progenitor?"
Yaoguang: "To be precise, part of its divine body. In the futures described by the two prisoners, it is the nail that firmly pins the 'Lifespan Plague Progenitor' onto the path of doom.
And before that—to contend with a god, an even greater 'Alliance' is indispensable. For this, they also introduced an ally to the Xianzhou.
You must all have heard the name of Genius Society #81 Ruan Mei? The 'Eye' of Jade Retreat has seen it—this uninvited guest has already arrived at the Xianzhou Luofu.
Three, two, one. Right on time! As for how to receive this honored guest… allow me to toss this hot potato to you all."
Then the screen blacks out, and Ruan Mei's voice appears.
"Do you still remember your name?"
"This little woman… is called Tingyun. I am the ferry envoy of the 'Minghuo' merchant guild on the Xianzhou Luofu…"
[Tingyun locked in!!!]
[She won the revival match! She really won it.]
[Honkai: Star Rail writers' household registry is officially safe.]
[She even won the revival match like this—so please arrange one for Infinite Tower Himeko too!]
[OK brothers—even if the net drama rots from here, we're still watching to the end.]
[She won it, she won it!]
[Plot chasers are hyped for what's coming.]
[Seriously hyped—Propagation's already dragged in. The god war is gonna be insane.]
[Wonder if we'll live to see the end of this god war?]
[So hyped, fam.]
— —
After filling in all the old foreshadowing and digging all the new pits, the story officially enters the core of the Xianzhou Luofu arc.
The major thread running through the entire fifth season—the Martial Exhibition Ceremony.
It all begins with a message from March 7th.
After resolving Hoolay, the Martial Exhibition Ceremony preparations quickly resumed, and the entire Luofu launched massive promotions again.
The adorable little March 7th, with help from Yunli and Yanqing, managed to snag two backstage work passes—allowing Dan Heng and Stelle unrestricted access.
As for March 7th herself, with her two Masters as backing, she naturally had no issues.
Soon.
March 7th sends a phone link. Once Stelle taps it, she gains a cyber work pass.
As long as the phone is on hand, she can freely enter and exit the Skysplitter.
Stelle figures she's got nothing better to do—might as well check out backstage. Who knows what fun she might see.
After just a few steps, she spots an intelligent machine interviewing a contestant.
And that contestant is an old friend she hasn't seen in days.
"Isn't that Luka? How did he end up on the Luofu?"
"Hey." Stelle walks over and pats Luka on the shoulder.
Luka turns, looks at Stelle, sizes her up, and his eyes light up. "Trailblazer? What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to watch the matches."
"What a coincidence—I'm here to compete! Though… honestly, right now I don't have much confidence in winning, haha."
Beside him stands an intelligent machine with a very recognizable look—her head shaped like a camera. She has a beautiful name: Camerata!
"I was originally here with Mr. Owlbert to cover the Martial Exhibition Ceremony. But Mr. Owlbert is swamped with work, so interviewing hot contestants and making special features fell to me.
Sigh, heavy responsibility… I've been an intern for so many years—if I mess this up, I'll probably never get promoted."
Luka: "The company sure is strict…"
But Carmella also reveals her real reason for interviewing Luka—she sees potential in him. Maybe featuring Luka could get her that promotion.
Still, for someone from Belobog—where the internet only recently reached the village— Stelle is curious how Luka ended up on the Xianzhou Luofu.
Luka invites them to walk and talk.
[I feel a strangely familiar vibe.]
[Same here—familiar, but I can't quite place it.]
[Isn't this the classic 'poor kid from the countryside coming to the big city for his dreams' trope?]
[Yes exactly—and reporter, chance encounter with a big shot—all the elements are here.]
[Hahaha, big shot? Who's the big shot?]
[Stelle isn't a big shot?]
[Uh… thinking about it, she really is big-shot level. Just her connections alone are insane.]
— —
Luka doesn't know the exact reason, but suddenly the Supreme Guardian announced that Belobog needed a fighter to compete in the stars.
The finals came down to Luka and Gepard.
As for why Seele didn't come, the plot doesn't explicitly say.
Soon the day of the decisive match arrives.
As Luka's mentor, Oleg still nags him tirelessly before the fight, reminding him of key points.
"Luka, you have this bad habit of eating a hit head-on to find an opening. But Gepard's strength is way beyond yours—remember, don't tank his punches."
Luka gives a wry smile. "Master, you've said that the whole way. My ears have calluses now."
"Alright, I'll stop nagging… but don't take winning or losing too seriously. Reaching the finals and trading blows with Gepard—even if you don't make it to that 'Xianzhou radish,' it's already an honor!"
[Xianzhou radish??]
[Xianzhou Luofu?]
[Hahaha, I'm dead.]
Suddenly the camera lowers—little Hook appears in frame. "No way! Brother Luka promised Hook—he'd win the finals and take Hook along to see the outside world!"
Oleg chuckles indulgently. "Little rascal's dreaming big."
Luka pats his chest. "Don't worry, Master Oleg, Lord Dark Hook—I'll definitely win."
...
The plot continues. Luka and Gepard fight fiercely on the ring.
In the end Luka falls to Gepard.
But Gepard, citing work, declines to compete and voluntarily gives the precious spot to Luka.
After becoming the victor, before departing Luka has an audience with Supreme Guardian Bronya.
From Bronya he roughly learns why they suddenly needed to send someone off-world to compete.
It also mentions a key figure: "Igor Haft," the hero who once led the Eighth Iron Cavalry in brave battles against invaders from beyond the sky.
And this time, Lynx will accompany them.
Finally Bronya says, "Seele had something today and couldn't make this meeting, but she asked me to pass on a message—cough cough—
'What's that guy Gepard playing at? Luka, you better fight hard—if you lose, I'll beat you senseless!'"
...
The camera cuts back to the Skysplitter.
Luka shrugs. "The next day I boarded an Interastral Peace Corporation transport ship and arrived at the Xianzhou Luofu.
The Supreme Guardian wanted the younger generation to see the world, so she arranged for Lynx and Hook to travel with me. Since none of us three knew how to deal with galactic civilization, she even instructed Mr. Svarog to come along as our knowledge guide.
But when we went to the Sky-Faring Commission for entry procedures… we ran into an unexpected situation…"
The perspective switches again.
The group arrives at the Seat of Divine Foresight.
Xikui checks the invitation letter, her expression slightly unnatural. "We've verified it carefully. This communication invitation does originate from the Luofu, but comparing the seal… this is an invitation from over four hundred years ago."
Luka is stunned. "Four hundred years ago?! How is that possible? This invitation—we just received it recently…"
But Svarog remains rational. "For now assume the conclusion—this invitation was backlogged and delayed during transmission, only successfully delivered to us after recent communication restoration."
Xikui smiles faintly. "I'm afraid Mr. Aurum is right—you received an invitation delayed by four hundred years."
Luka slaps his forehead. "So we weren't actually invited? We're done—came all this way for nothing. How am I supposed to explain to Lady Bronya and Mr. Gepard? They had such high hopes for me…"
But Svarog interjects appropriately. "According to calculations, the first concern should not be emotion—but that if we are not invited guests, we must bear all local expenses ourselves. Calculation result—we cannot afford it."
[Hahaha, Mr. Svarog is hilarious.]
[This problem hits way too close to home!]
[Speaking of—which—Svarog is an intelligent machine, right? What's his reaction to other intelligent machines?]
— —
Xikui quickly explains. "You misunderstood! The Xianzhou Luofu is indeed holding a martial celebration called the 'Martial Exhibition Ceremony.'
Whether you received an invitation or not, anyone who wants to register can participate in the matches. The only difference is that invited guests, after passing the test, can join the grandest 'Skysplitter Ring Defense' and challenge the Luofu's defending swordmasters.
Ordinary contestants must start from the preliminary gates, fighting their way through to reach the 'Skysplitter Ring Defense' stage."
Luka: "The Luofu's defending swordmasters—the ultimate goal contestants challenge?"
"Correct. Though you lack an invitation, you can still join the Martial Exhibition Ceremony and have a chance at victory and honor."
"But as Mr. Svarog said—we have no money."
"Hahaha—money can't buy true friendship! This 'four-hundred-year-late invitation' must be a marvelous twist of fate. Since fate brought you to the Luofu, we cannot be discourteous.
I'll report it and arrange food and lodging for Belobog's delegation at invited-guest standards—rest assured.
However, Mr. Luka must still start from the preliminary gates and fight step by step to the final stage."
[Classy!]
[As expected of the Xianzhou—so hospitable!]
[As expected of national style!]
— —
"So thanks to Miss Xikui's kindness, I managed not to 'set out but fall before succeeding'—that's an old Xianzhou saying I just learned these past few days—and successfully registered as a Martial Exhibition Ceremony contestant."
Luka waves his hand, roughly recounting the whole process.
Stelle scratches her head. "Were you eliminated in the preliminaries?"
"If it were that simple… at least I'd have a clear conscience…" Luka sighs.
"I've been registered for so many days and haven't fought a single match yet—today is my first competition day.
But forget competing—I feel like normal life is already impossible! I'm half a step into being unable to take care of myself…
Why doesn't anyone accept Winter City shields? Just swipe a gem pendant and the payment's done?
Why does everyone look ageless? I asked a pointy-eared young lady for directions, called her 'little sister,' and she got mad—said she's over three hundred forty… now I don't dare talk to anyone."
Luka seems to remember something. "Oh right—food… the food on the Xianzhou is really hard to get used to. Yesterday's dinner was a bowl of red-oil mixed beef offal—today I've been glued to the toilet 'riding the rocket'…"
[It really does have that 'poor kid from the countryside arriving in the big city for the first time' vibe.]
[Luka's acting has that authentic flavor!]
[Summary doesn't feel scripted.]
[He nails that unease perfectly.]
[Actually Luka left a pretty deep impression on me—his companion movie back then was really touching.]
[True—I wondered why Luka got so many resources when he barely appeared in the main story. They even made a dedicated movie for him—just to build audience familiarity so when he shows up later people don't go 'who's this dagger guy?']
[You have to say—the Honkai: Star Rail writers must have planned this for a long time. At least they have a complete story outline in mind.]
[That's why the net drama is so good.]
— —
New to the place, plus homesickness and culture shock—suddenly thrust into an unfamiliar environment—even with everyone showing kindness, he still feels out of place, tinged with inferiority everywhere.
Carmella sees Luka getting more and more discouraged and changes the subject. "Where are your Belobog companions?"
"Lynx went off to do archaeology—she wants to learn about Igor's history before Yariilo-VI through that gem pendant. Mr. Svarog took Hook somewhere to play—he's actually really good with kids.
I'm a mess right now—my first match is about to start, and my condition is worse than ever."
Finally, with encouragement from Stelle and Camerata, Luka regathers his spirit and prepares to face his first opponent.