But before that, she needed to become stronger.
Master... I will not back down.
You also promised to teach me how to slay Abominations and grant me that kind of power.
So you must... you absolutely must come back!
We have a promise.
Jingliu quietly watched the ground drawing closer, burying those thoughts deep in her heart.
She never expected Kanzaki's absence to last two whole years.
For a long-lived species, two years was a short time. Yet to her, it felt like twenty.
Over those two years, Jingliu never slacked off for even a moment despite Kanzaki's absence.
The training dummies on the training grounds were replaced batch after batch. The longsword in her hand was no longer clumsy or uncertain.
She completed every training exercise in the camp flawlessly, and she earned full marks in the demanding "Abominations as Arch-enemies" course.
Only in the dead of night, when the fatigue of the day washed over her like a tide and sleep beckoned, would her master's figure involuntarily fill her mind.
As a Cloud Knights reserve member, she had no access to frontline battle reports. All news reached her only in fragments through Xue Yi.
Sometimes it spoke of smooth progress. Other times, it carried the tension of fierce fighting. More often than not, it brimmed with life-and-death peril.
From her initial panic upon learning her master had been wounded, to gradually growing accustomed to the long wait, and now... she held only one humble prayer: that he would return safely.
She knew how much of a luxury those four simple words were for any Cloud Knight.
Being away from the main ship for more than half a year already counted as a major expedition. Since the Cloud Knights were founded, no expeditionary force had ever returned intact.
Three months ago, the expeditionary force led by Kanzaki had lost contact with the Xianzhou Yaoqing.
The Xianzhou sent repeated calls day after day, but received no response.
In five more days, it would be her coming-of-age ceremony.
In the Xianzhou Alliance, regardless of gender, anyone who reached the age of maturity could take the adult examination. Passing it would add the official adult mark to their ID card.
This meant that many things previously restricted before adulthood could now be done without special permission.
For example, leaving the reserve army and officially enlisting in the Cloud Knights to become a true soldier.
If possible, Jingliu hoped that her once-in-a-lifetime coming-of-age ceremony could be presided over by her master in person.
Even though the ceremony had been simplified over thousands of years and was no longer particularly grand.
The night wind howled, carrying a chill across the top of the tall building.
Jingliu sat on the edge of the rooftop, legs dangling over the side, gazing up at that eternal lonely moon. Her fingertips unconsciously rubbed the warm Silver Moon Jade Pendant in her palm.
It had originally been given to her by Qiu Zhiyan, who said it was a protective jade that Kanzaki had bestowed upon her hundreds of years ago.
If she managed to survive, she was to show it to him.
She had planned to return the protective pendant to her master, but he had insisted it now belonged to her.
"Master..."
A cold crescent moon shimmered in the girl's eyes, along with an emotion called longing.
"Your disciple misses you..."
Five days later, at the Cloud Knights training camp assembly square.
Banners covered the sky, emblazoned with slogans such as "Xianzhou Soars" and "Cloud Knights Victorious."
In the vast square, 5,764 reserve army members who had passed the adult examination stood in neat formation.
Not many could pass the assessment at this age. They accounted for less than three percent of the total.
On the elevated platform, a hundred Cloud Knight instructors stood in line. They wore silver armor with solemn expressions, holding the hair crowns and hairpins that symbolized adulthood.
Completing the ceremony meant these vibrant young people would leave the safety of the greenhouse behind and earn the right to don armor and head into battle.
Jingliu stood at the very end of the line, among the final group to receive the ceremony.
Yet with every passing minute, her heart sank a little deeper.
The first hundred ceremonies were completed.
Then the first thousand.
Then five thousand... The clamor in the square gradually faded until only the final group remained.
The instructor overseeing this last batch was a solemn-faced, short-haired Foxian woman.
She glanced at the list in her hand. When her gaze fell on the red-eyed girl with long blue-white hair, a hint of complex emotion flashed across her face.
The news that the expeditionary force led by Kanzaki had lost contact was no secret within the army.
"Are you ready, Jingliu?"
The last spark of hope in Jingliu's eyes finally extinguished at those words.
She stood up, straightened her clothes, and her expression returned to its usual cold indifference.
Master... I hope you are still safe.
She walked slowly toward the high platform, each step firm, as if crushing her regret beneath her feet.
Just as she reached the prayer mat and sat down, ready to receive the ceremony...
A sudden disturbance came from the sky, instantly drawing every eye in the square.
A heavily damaged star skiff broke through the clouds and dove downward, coming to a steady hover above the square.
The hatch opened, and a figure stepped out onto a sword, flying down.
A suffocating scent of blood instantly overwhelmed the fresh air of the square.
It was not the smell of ordinary wounds. This was a heavy murderous aura forged through countless battles, the stench of death so thick it seemed to have seeped deep into his very bones.
The sword came to a stop right in front of Jingliu. A pair of feet touched the ground, and the figure stood tall and straight like a spear.
Whispers rippled through the square.
The moment they saw who it was, the instructor in charge instinctively stepped back and offered a solemn bow.
Jingliu froze in place, staring at the man whose battle armor was more than half shattered.
Dark red bloodstains and residue covered what had once been bright silver armor. Traces of Abomination flesh and blood still clung to it.
The chilling killing intent radiating from his body had not yet fully receded.
Under the weight of that aura, the young people waiting for the ceremony nearby could barely keep their legs from trembling.
Only Jingliu remained unaffected.
It was her master... He had returned.
Kanzaki ignored the terrified or reverent gazes around him and looked straight at Jingliu.
A faint trace of relief flashed through his eyes, still heavy with murderous intent, before it was quickly hidden beneath his usual stern expression.
"I will take over her coming-of-age ceremony."
Kanzaki turned to the Cloud Knight instructor who had stepped aside and took the ceremonial items from her hands.
Seeing her master's blood-stained hands, Jingliu felt a sting in her nose.
Judging from the blood and the lingering aura, it was clearly the blood of Abominations... and it had been there for over a month.
A possibility rose in her mind.
The worry and longing she had suppressed with reason now broke through her calm, flooding her with uncontrollable joy.
Jingliu fought to control her emotions, holding back the sting in her eyes so she would not lose composure in front of everyone.
She was the disciple of Cloud Knight Vanguard Kanzaki. She could not embarrass her master.
Taking a deep breath of the blood-scented air, Jingliu straightened her back.
Kanzaki walked behind her and looked down at her waist-length blue-white hair.
When he had left two years ago, her hair had not been nearly this long.
He raised his hand.
At that moment, everyone below the platform widened their eyes.
What kind of terrifying hands were those?
They were covered in traces of dried blood. Those with sharp eyes could even see congealed blood lodged in the crevices between his fingers.
Had he rushed back straight from a brutal battle without even pausing to clean up?
Kanzaki paid no attention to the many staring eyes and took out an exquisite wooden comb wrapped in silk from within his robes.
It was the only clean item on his entire body, and the first thing he had purchased upon returning to the Xianzhou.