Bengtie: My death fueled their madness.

An extra update on the last day of the holiday.

……

The entire galaxy was shaken to its core.

The most prosperous city in the Immortal Ship Alliance, Cangcheng, has been completely reduced to cosmic dust.

The once all-consuming Rahu is no more; that star field is now only filled with suffocating silence.

The Envoy of Abundance was suddenly killed by the Hunting Envoy of Cangcheng, leaving not even ashes behind.

However, no one from any prominent faction took the news seriously.

He has died many times in a flash, but each time he comes back stronger.

Faced with this calamity, not only was the entire Immortal Ship Alliance in a state of panic, but the attitudes of the factions that traded with the Immortal Ship were also complex and changeable.

However, for the alliance, the attitudes of outsiders are not among the issues that urgently need to be addressed.

The Azure Immortal Boat is a temporary resettlement area.

There was no sense of relief or celebration for surviving a catastrophe here.

At first glance, all that could be seen was white mourning.

The suppressed sobs that could be heard from all sides made the dark sky seem even more oppressive.

Less than 20 million people—that's the entire surviving population of Cangcheng.

For this once prosperous and powerful celestial vessel with a population of hundreds of billions, this number is less a sign of survival and more a sign of severed limbs.

The air was filled with the mixed smell of disinfectant and blood, as well as the nauseating odor unique to the post-war period.

Beyond the dark, artificial sky above lies the hometown that no one can ever return to.

In a makeshift ward, not a single bed was available.

Jingliu lay on the hospital bed in the corner, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Her wounds had already been treated and were no longer bandaged, but she still looked like a swaying branch that would break at the slightest touch.

Since being rescued, she has remained in this position, neither eating nor drinking, and her eyes rarely move, making her no different from a soulless doll.

Qi Zhimu walked in from outside.

He changed into clean clothes and washed away the bloodstains, but he couldn't wash away the melancholy between his brows.

He walked to the bedside and looked down at Jingliu.

There were no gentle words of comfort, no words of concern, only a cold, mocking laugh.

"Is this the person Yu Huai and Hui Yu risked their lives to protect?"

The mirror flow didn't react; it was as if it hadn't heard anything.

"If I had known this would happen, my mother would never have wasted the last years of her life on you."

Qi Zhimu's tone was icy, each word like a sharp icicle.

He suddenly leaned down, his bloodshot eyes staring intently into Jing Liu's empty pupils.

"There's no point in saving such a walking corpse and keeping him alive."

"I shouldn't have brought you out of that hell. Letting you rot inside Rahu's belly would have been a relief for you!"

Jingliu's eyelashes trembled, and a faint ripple finally appeared in her empty pupils.

Pain, guilt, despair...

Qi Zhimu saw all this and forcibly suppressed the reluctance in his heart.

Family members died, homes turned to dust, and others died because of him...

It must have been incredibly painful, despairing, and filled with guilt...

I understand everything, and I especially understand how you feel right now.

If I had returned sooner, perhaps I could have saved your parents.

But what has already happened cannot be reversed.

Whether you're angry or driven by hatred, at least it shouldn't be like this...

Qi Zhimu straightened up, withdrew his gaze, and spoke coldly.

"With the fall of Cangcheng, there were few survivors to begin with. If you're willing to be a useless person who drowns in fear for the rest of your life, then so be it."

After saying that, he started walking without looking back.

One step, two steps.

"...Wait, wait a minute..."

A faint sound came from behind.

Qi Zhimu paused in his steps.

"I think……"

Jingliu struggled to climb off the hospital bed, her legs went weak and she collapsed to the ground, but she gritted her teeth and moved towards that figure with both hands and feet.

She raised her head, and in those eyes that had once been filled with fear, a flame now burned.

A wildfire of hatred.

"...I want to kill them all...Teach me, please...teach me to kill them...!"

Qi Zhimu had his back to her, and his tense lips relaxed almost imperceptibly.

Concealing the complex emotions in his eyes, he turned to look at the disheveled girl on the ground.

"I can teach you, but this path is more painful than death. If you decide to learn, I will not give you a chance to back down."

Jingliu gritted his teeth and struggled to get up.

"I...I'm not afraid."

"Okay." Qi Zhimu nodded with his eyes lowered, his voice still indifferent.

……

The next day, Jingliu's minor injuries had healed.

Qi Zhimu first went with her to the Martyrs' Cave to bury her mother who died in battle.

She was then taken to a training ground and into an armory.

There are many fine weapons here, including swords, spears, halberds, and all kinds of weapons.

"Go pick one, I'll wait for you outside."

Qi Zhimu pointed to the various weapon racks, then left the space for her to choose freely.

Without hesitation, Jingliu moved through the cold equipment.

Finally, she stopped in front of a long sword.

That was the most basic Type II standard longsword of the Cloud Cavalry, with a slender blade and a chilling gleam.

She grasped the sword hilt with both hands, took it off, walked out of the armory, and kowtowed deeply to Qi Zhimu.

"Master."

The wind blew across the empty training ground, stirring up the dust on the ground. With the simplest apprenticeship ceremony, the two became master and apprentice.

……

One month later.

The Yaoqingtian Shipping Company is located in a secluded viewing platform within a grotto-heaven.

A burly man in military uniform gazed into the distance at the starships responsible for transporting various supplies, which moved in and out of the busy starport like worker ants.

Hearing footsteps, Teng Xiao turned his head.

In just one month, the once valiant and skilled general of Cangcheng had once again developed a cold and stern look in his eyes.

"Here we are." Teng Xiao's voice was deep.

Qi Zhimu nodded, standing opposite him with a calm expression.

"The statistics are in."

Teng Xiao handed over a piece of jade.

"Besides you and me, there are a total of 19874521 survivors. The alliance has decided that all of them will be transferred to the remaining six immortal ships according to their own free will. However... many of them will not be able to hold out until then."

As he spoke, his gaze toward Qi Zhimu was also filled with worry.

Qi Zhimu pretended not to notice Teng Xiao's worry and nodded silently: "Although Cangcheng is destroyed, the flame of revolution has not been extinguished."

Teng Xiao sighed inwardly, "The Marshal ordered me to take over the military affairs of the Luofu Cloud Cavalry. Are you coming with me? I need an assistant like you."

Qi Zhimu turned his gaze to the gloomy sky.

"No." He refused decisively: "I want to stay in Yaoqing for now."

Why?

"Yaoqing has been fighting on the front lines of eradicating evil spirits for many years, which is more suitable for me now."

Qi Zhimu's voice carried a faint, unyielding murderous intent, and the image of that thin figure running tirelessly on the training ground appeared in his mind.

"It's also more suitable for my newly accepted apprentice."

Teng Xiao looked at him intently for a long time, then sighed deeply.

He understood that Qi Zhimu harbored too much hatred in his heart.

Yao Qing is known as the Alliance's sharpest arrow, and is indeed the best vessel to hold this hatred.

"In that case, I won't force you."

Teng Xiao patted Qi Zhimu's shoulder with a heavy thud.

"Take care, don't die."

"the same as you."

Watching Teng Xiao board the starship bound for Luofu and disappear into the boundary gate route, Qi Zhimu turned and left.

For the next period of time, he will have an observation period involving major battles.

Now that he has accepted Jingliu as his disciple, he naturally needs to take responsibility for her.