Faced with Polka's icy, furious questioning, Elio could only answer with a weary kind of helplessness.
"…Sigh. Aren't our goals the same? We're all trying to stop the future of the Four Ends."
"Changing the future a little—doesn't that sound perfectly normal?"
"Normal?" Polka's voice carried a glacial anger. "Elio, you and I both know the future revealed by Finality is not a joke."
"Every alteration at a critical node can trigger a chain reaction, sending the entire universe sliding into an unpredictable abyss."
She stepped forward and fixed her gaze on Wei Qing again.
"Yes, our purpose is to change the future—but not starting now. The Stellaron Hunters acting hundreds of years early has already severely disrupted my plan."
"I'll ask one last time, Qingzhou. Are you willing to come with me to Mechanism IX for a period of time? I guarantee your life won't be in danger."
Wei Qing almost laughed out loud.
"Go with you to Mechanism IX? Lady Polka, do you think I was born yesterday?"
From her tone, she clearly wanted to lock him up in that so-called Mechanism IX for hundreds of years.
As if.
And she'd kept her face hidden so thoroughly this whole time—who knew whether she was a beautiful young woman or an ancient witch? He had zero interest in being stuck in a sealed room with some "mysterious lady" for centuries.
By Wei Qing's own iron law of "looks equal strength," a top-tier existence like her probably wasn't some wrinkled granny… but what if?
Who could guarantee that?
"Come with you to Mechanism IX?" Wei Qing sneered as if he'd heard the funniest joke in the cosmos. "Polka, do you think I'm easy to fool, or do you think I'd be interested in someone who won't even show her real face?"
Before he could say more, the black cat on his shoulder let out a soft "meow," its tail lightly patting his back—an unmistakable warning to watch his mouth.
Polka's aura turned sharply colder. On the barren planet's surface, black frost crystals began to form, spreading like a disease.
Even without seeing her expression, anyone could feel the fury turning almost tangible.
"Verbal provocation is meaningless, Qingzhou," she said, her voice like ten-thousand-year ice.
"I'm giving you one last chance. Accept my invitation—or…"
"I will personally escort you back."
"Personally escort me?" The smile vanished from Wei Qing's face. "Then try."
"I'm also curious—just how much weight the Fourth Seat of the Genius Society really carries."
Without Hua's support, Wei Qing was supremely confident in a pure one-on-one.
The Silent Lord's record was dazzling, sure. In Wei Qing's previous life, people called her "the strongest beneath the Aeons." Even Zandar—Nous' creator—had died by her hand, and even after death, his fragments still feared her existence.
But Wei Qing didn't fear legends.
"Strongest beneath the Aeons?"
Now that title was up for grabs.
The atmosphere tightened to the edge of ignition.
Marshal Hua withdrew a short distance, making her stance clear: she would not interfere for the moment.
Elio leapt from Wei Qing's shoulder and sat off to the side. He didn't seem inclined to participate directly, but it was obvious he wouldn't let Wei Qing be dragged into a dead end.
"Polka," the cat said, his voice carrying an odd soothing quality, "forcing him to go with you will cost you dearly."
"And you still won't be able to take him."
Polka's cold pressure stalled for a fraction. Those empty eyes turned toward Elio.
Elio continued, "I know what you're worried about. Variables. Unknowns. A trajectory that deviates from calculation…"
"But have you considered that perhaps these accidents are precisely what we need to fight the fixed outcome of the Four Ends?"
"Mechanism IX seeks 'stillness'—to prevent everything from collapsing into the Void. And we," he flicked the tip of his tail toward Wei Qing and then himself, "seek 'motion'—to find life inside the noise."
"Your theory is unprovable, Elio," Polka replied, still cold—yet the decisive killing intent seemed to ease by a hair.
"And your method hasn't fully succeeded either, has it?" Elio shot back.
"You hunt boundary-touching geniuses and remove variables—has the universe become closer to the order you want?"
"On the contrary, because of your interventions, a number of civilizations that could have developed peacefully reached extinction early."
"Is that what Mechanism IX wants?"
Polka fell silent.
The space around her dimmed, as though her inner equilibrium had rippled.
Elio paced up in front of Wei Qing and faced Polka.
"Give him time. Give us time."
"Maybe he'll prove to you that some variables aren't disasters… they're opportunities."
"Of course," the cat added breezily, "you can insist on fighting him. But with my help, there's a chance we'll capture you and drag you into the Stellaron Hunters as unpaid labor."
Wei Qing stood behind Elio without speaking, but the power surging around him made it clear he wasn't relaxing in the slightest.
After a long while, the suffocating pressure around Polka ebbed like a retreating tide.
"…Elio," she said at last, returning to that perfectly flat calm, "you're very good at sophistry."
"But you did persuade me."
Her gaze settled on Wei Qing again—still hollow, but no longer carrying that earlier certainty of possession. Instead it held a deeper, colder scrutiny.
Elio wasn't wrong.
Her original plan had been to exploit Wei Qing's old grievance with the Xianzhou and, together with Marshal Hua, take him down.
But she miscalculated. She hadn't expected the Hunt and the Xianzhou to treat the traitorous Emanator this way.
And even with Hua's assistance, she hadn't managed to secure Wei Qing. Without it, things would only get uglier.
It wasn't even about whether she could handle a one-versus-two. Even if she somehow gained the upper hand, Hua would likely turn on her immediately and suppress her as well.
"Qingzhou," Polka declared, "I will be watching you. Watching where your path leads."
She still didn't believe Elio's rhetoric—but for now, she had no choice but to tolerate it.
"If what you ultimately bring is only chaos and destruction… then when that time comes—no matter what Elio says, no matter what price it costs—I will personally end your Path."
With that, her figure blurred, then vanished entirely, leaving behind only a residue of emptiness and that lingering warning.
Polka Kakamond's departure carried away the suffocating "silence." The barren world was left with only the wind's low howl—and Wei Qing, Elio, and Marshal Hua standing at a distance.
A familiar chime rang out inside Wei Qing's head.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. Side Quest completed: all Annihilation Gang forces within Luofu have been eradicated.][Side Quest reward issued. Please confirm receipt.]
Wei Qing blinked, momentarily dazed.
The system prompt was abrupt, yet strangely reasonable.
This system had never been known for sharp competence. If it had decided to classify Polka as "Annihilation Gang," that was honestly par for the course.
But the reward this time felt… off.
With the prompt, a Path quietly flowed into his soul.
At first Wei Qing thought it would be Beauty, since his entire cover identity had been "a Knight of Beauty."
But the more he sensed it, the more wrong it felt.
It was an "emptiness" that dissolved meaning. A quiet that promised all things would end in insignificance.
Almost at the same time, the Stellaron in his hand dimmed for a brief instant, as if diluted by something unseen—its existence itself becoming thinner.
…Nihility?
Wei Qing stared inward, speechless for a beat.
Nihility.
That was not a "nice" Path to receive.
And if you were going to give it, at least grant him an Emanator-level chunk. This tiny amount, with the risk of becoming a Self-Annihilator attached, felt like a terrible bargain.
Wei Qing suppressed the strange sensation Nihility brought and tightened his grip on the Stellaron.
The thing felt different in his hand now. The previously violent energy seemed… calmer under the reflection of Nihility, as if its rampage had been quietly pacified.
He didn't investigate further—not now. The priority was leaving Luofu cleanly with the Stellaron.
He glanced at Elio, a faint teasing edge returning to his voice. "Your face carries some weight. Three sentences and you sent that troublesome Silent Lord packing."
Elio flicked his tail and sprawled lazily on the ground. "Meow. Not my face. She weighed the odds and realized she couldn't beat us."
"And besides," the cat's amber eyes slid toward Hua, "there's still someone here who wasn't fully on her side."
Marshal Hua didn't react to Elio's implication. Her gaze stayed on Wei Qing. "The agreement has been made. Keep your word. Now, you may leave."
Wei Qing bounced the Stellaron lightly in his palm. Yes—he needed to fully exit Luofu's operational range.
"Then goodbye, Marshal." Wei Qing dipped his head slightly, a minimal farewell to a former supreme superior turned temporary contractual partner.
No more words.
His figure blurred—like ink dissolving into starshine—and vanished.
Elio remained where Wei Qing had disappeared, licking a paw, then spoke to Hua in a relaxed tone. "Then I should go check on the other actor."
"I hope Miss Baiheng's choice won't throw my script too far off course."
Before the sentence finished, the black cat faded like a mirage.
And so the Stellaron incident seemed to settle—at least on the surface.
Only Marshal Hua remained on the barren planet.
She stood there quietly for a long moment, staring in the direction Wei Qing had left. Her expression was complicated and unreadable.
She raised her hand, and the golden sphere containing Shenjun's power appeared, rotating slowly above her palm.
"Let my choice today be the right one," she murmured.
Then she put the sphere away, becoming a streak of silver light that departed the nameless starfield.
…
Some time later, Wei Qing's form condensed in the starfield outside Luofu's territory.
He looked back once at Luofu's enormous, familiar silhouette. His heart was strangely calm.
Three hundred years.
Today, it finally felt like a true severing.
Probably.
Maybe.
He sensed the marker Firefly had left and moved again, slipping into the starlight along the marker's pull.
A moment later, he appeared beside a small star-skiff docked in a hidden corner outside Luofu.
The hatch recognized him and slid open silently.
Inside, Firefly stood by the window, vigilant, eyes scanning the void. When she saw him, her shoulders loosened noticeably.
"Senior!" She hurried over, eyes flicking over him to confirm he hadn't suffered serious injury. "Was everything smooth?"
"Stellaron's secured," Wei Qing said simply, showing the faintly glowing core for a moment before putting it away. "Some turbulence. Outcome's fine. Where's Baiheng?"
Firefly stepped aside.
Baiheng sat quietly in a chair, still wearing her plain, elegant dress. Her face was paler than before, her eyes heavy with exhaustion—and something firmer beneath it.
Resolve.
Seeing Wei Qing, she rose. Her lips moved, as if she wanted to speak, but couldn't find where to start.
Wei Qing looked at her steadily. "So. You made your choice."
Baiheng inhaled, then nodded hard. Her voice was hoarse.
"…Yes. I'm going with you."
After the shock of Wei Qing's identity and ten days locked indoors wrestling with herself, this was the answer she'd reached.
Wei Qing nodded once—no dramatics.
But he couldn't help imagining how Luofu would react.
The "Dian Dao and Xing" disguises were definitely blown. And if Jing Yuan ever learned the truth—that the "match" he'd tried so hard to push was actually him, the traitor… and that the traitor had genuinely abducted Baiheng in the end…
Heh.
Just thinking about it was exhilarating.
He really wanted to see those old friends' faces when regret hit.
Of course, even though Hua promised not to pursue him further, the Xianzhou's public wanted face. His wanted status wouldn't end.
And Hua likely wouldn't go out of her way to explain anything to the others, either.
Fine.
Let it be.
Wei Qing's gaze returned to Baiheng—the determination in her eyes, and the fear she was trying to hide. He understood perfectly.
He didn't ask for details. He only asked, plainly:
"No regrets?"
"…Regrets?" Baiheng gave a bitter smile. "Maybe a little, right now."
"But if I stayed, I'd regret it more. At least… I want to know what kind of road you're really walking."
Wei Qing nodded. No further comment.
Baiheng was old by normal standards, but if he granted her his blessing—made her a long-lived existence like Firefly—then surviving until the "main story" began wouldn't be hard.
"We're leaving Luofu's range now," Wei Qing said, stepping to the controls.
Baiheng moved to the window for one last look at Luofu drifting in the stars.
Her gaze was tangled—attachment, reluctance, grief—but beneath it, a strange relief, and a hardening determination toward the unknown.
"I… I said goodbye to Yingxing, and Jing Yuan, and the others," she said softly, half explaining, half confessing to herself.
"By letter. I didn't dare do it in person…"
"I was afraid I wouldn't be able to be ruthless."
Wei Qing hummed a low acknowledgment.
If she'd tried to say goodbye face-to-face…
It wouldn't have been goodbye. It would've been a fight.
He could already picture Jing Yuan's expression reading her letter: first disbelief, then the slow collapse into bitter remorse.
As for Yingxing—temper like steel—he might actually grab a hammer and chase them into the void.
And Jingliu and Dan Feng…
Jingliu aside, he didn't even know whether the future version of Dan Heng would still exist.
"They'll understand someday," Wei Qing said at last—not quite comfort, more like a statement of fact.
At that moment, a flicker of light appeared in the cabin. Elio manifested on a seat, licking a paw as if he'd never left.
"The page of the script is turned," the black cat said, amber eyes sweeping over Wei Qing and Baiheng. "The process had a few little surprises, but the result is broadly in line with expectations."
Wei Qing glanced at him. "Polka Kakamond—she's really letting it go that easily? I don't believe she'll quit."
Elio flicked his tail. "She won't personally intervene again in the short term. She has to reassess. And she has to observe."
"Forcing a direct war against us—and against a potential Xianzhou ally—isn't her first choice."
"But her eyes won't leave you. When you move through the universe from now on, be careful. The Silent Lord will be watching."
Wei Qing snorted. "Sounds more like a peeping creep."
"Call it what you want." Elio didn't care. "But what you pulled on Luofu was not small."
"You didn't just take the Stellaron—you also stole Luofu's pilot."
"Honestly," Elio added, sounding faintly pained, "sometimes I wonder if Aha is impersonating you. You keep producing abstract nonsense like it's a hobby."
The cabin's tension eased slightly.
Wei Qing set the skiff's route toward a temporary Stellaron Hunter staging point.
The star-skiff slid soundlessly into the deep, leaving Luofu far behind.
Then—
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. Main Quest completed: Stellaron acquired. You have stepped onto the road of the King.][Main Quest reward issued: 'Trailblaze' authority.]
In the instant the prompt ended, a power unlike any he'd felt before flowed into his soul.
It wasn't domineering. Not cold. Not violent.
It carried freedom—a curiosity for the unknown boundary, and an impulse to carve a path on an endless canvas.
Trailblaze.
After Akivili's fall, this Path hadn't truly gone silent—but few could ever bear its essence.
Unlike the petty "Nihility" trickle from before, this "Trailblaze" authority arrived in a different weight class.
Not at "predecessor" level—
But unmistakably Emanator level.
Wei Qing's eyelid twitched.
…System.
Don't tell me you're trying to make me switch jobs again?
And the main story hasn't even started yet!
Is the Astral Express even still around?!
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 150)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter190)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter225)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 195
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 170
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/5
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 225
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 210
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/30
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 115
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 130
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 100
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 85
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 90
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 100
Still playing traditional Honk 69
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 75
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 60
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 71
Checking In in Demon Slayer 75
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 80
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 66
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 58
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 65
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 63
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 59
Why did they assign me to Uma 55
MYGO Beauties 56
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 45
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 49
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 36
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 35
The Uma Musume Who Became 30
I'm Definitely Not the King of 35
After Maxing Out Every Class 35
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