Bengtie: My death fueled their madness.

But before that, she needs to become stronger.

Master... I will not back down.

But you also promised me that you would teach me to slay evil creatures and grant me that power.

So you absolutely, positively... have to come back!

We made an appointment.

Jingliu gazed silently at the approaching ground, burying these monologues deep within his heart.

But she didn't expect that Qi Zhimu would be gone for two years.

The lifespan of an immortal being is very short, but it feels like twenty years.

For the past two years, Jingliu has never slackened even for a moment because Qi Zhimu was not around.

The training stakes on the training ground have been replaced time and time again, and the longsword in their hands is no longer stiff.

All training in the camp was completed perfectly, and the course on the most formidable enemy, which required a perfect score, was also passed with a perfect score.

But whenever the night is deep and quiet, and the day's fatigue washes over her like a tide, making her sleepy, the image of her master will involuntarily occupy her mind.

As a reserve member of the Cloud Cavalry, she had no right to directly access frontline battle reports; all information could only be relayed intermittently through Mianxue.

Sometimes it's a smooth, unstoppable advance; sometimes it's a tense, arduous struggle; and more often than not, it's a life-or-death situation.

From the initial panic upon learning of Master's injury, to later getting used to the long wait, and now...

She had only one humble wish left: to return safely.

Even though she knew all too well how luxurious those two words were for the Cloud Cavalry.

Being separated from the main ship for more than six months constitutes an expedition. Since the establishment of the Cloud Cavalry Army, there has never been a precedent of an expedition team returning in full force.

Three months ago, Qi Zhimu's expedition team lost contact with the Yaoqing Immortal Ship.

Yao Qing sent calls day after day, but received no response.

In five days, it will be her coming-of-age ceremony.

In the Immortal Boat Alliance, regardless of gender, anyone who reaches the age of marriage can participate in adult examinations.

Once approved, an adult mark will be printed on the ID card.

This means that many things that were impossible to do before adulthood, unless there are special circumstances, will no longer be an obstacle after adulthood.

For example, one could leave the reserve army and formally enlist in the Yunqi cavalry to become a glorious soldier.

If possible, Jingliu hopes that her master can personally bestow the once-in-a-lifetime hair-tying ceremony upon her.

Even though today's ceremony has been simplified over thousands of years of evolution and is no longer considered grand.

The night wind howled, bringing a chill to the space above the high-rise buildings.

Jingliu sat on the edge of the rooftop, his legs dangling in the air, gazing up at the unchanging, solitary moon, his fingertips unconsciously caressing the warm, smooth silver moon jade pendant in his palm.

Originally, it was given to her by Qiu Zhiyan, who said it was a protective jade given to her by Qi Zhimu hundreds of years ago.

If you manage to escape alive, then show it to him yourself.

Initially, he planned to return the protective jade to his master, but his master said that now it belonged to him.

"Master..."

The girl's eyes reflected a cool, crescent moon, and also the emotion called longing.

"Your disciple misses you..."

Five days later, at the Yunqi training camp assembly plaza.

Banners blotted out the sun, bearing slogans such as "Immortal boats soaring high, cloud riders forever victorious."

In the vast square, 5764 reserve soldiers who had passed the adult examination stood in neat rows.

Few people of this age can pass the assessment; they account for less than 3% of the total number of people.

On the high platform, a hundred Cloud Cavalry instructors stood in a row.

They were clad in silver armor, their expressions solemn, holding in their hands crowns and hairpins symbolizing adulthood.

The completion of the ceremony signifies that these energetic young people will be completely detached from their sheltered lives and ready to don armor and fight on the battlefield.

Kagami was at the end of the line, belonging to the last row of people who were being given gifts.

But with each passing minute, her heart sank a little deeper.

The ceremony was completed for the first hundred people.

The ceremony for a thousand people was successfully completed.

The ceremony was successfully completed with 5,000 attendees...

The noise in the square gradually subsided, leaving only the last group of recipients.

The instructor in charge of this group was a solemn-looking, short-haired fox-woman.

She glanced at the list in her hand, her gaze falling on the red-eyed girl with long blue and white hair, a complex expression flashing in her eyes.

The news that Qi Zhimu's expeditionary force had lost contact was not a secret within the military.

"Are you ready, Kagami?"

The last glimmer of hope in Jingliu's eyes finally faded with that call.

She stood up, straightened her clothes, and her expression returned to its usual cold and indifferent state.

Master... I hope you are still well.

She walked slowly towards the platform, each step extremely steady, crushing that regret under her feet.

Just as she walked to the prayer mat and sat down, about to receive the greeting,

The sudden commotion came from the sky, instantly attracting the attention of everyone in the square.

A heavily damaged starship broke through the clouds and swooped down from the sky, hovering steadily above the plaza.

The hatch opened, and a figure descended on a sword.

The suffocating stench of blood instantly overwhelmed the original crispness of the square.

That wasn't the bloodshed caused by ordinary wounds, but rather the malevolent aura that had been soaked in mountains of corpses and seas of blood for a long time, almost seeping into the very marrow.

The sword stopped in front of Jingliu, his feet touched the soil of his homeland, and his figure stood like a javelin.

Whispers filled the square.

Upon recognizing the newcomer, the instructor in charge of the ceremony instinctively stepped back to the side, bowing respectfully with a solemn expression.

Jingliu stood frozen in place, staring at the man whose battle armor was half shattered.

Dark red bloodstains covered his once-shiny silver armor, on which the remnants of the monstrous flesh and blood of the creature could be faintly seen.

The chilling killing intent emanating from his entire body had not yet been fully subdued.

The teenagers waiting for the ceremony around them were almost all trembling under the influence of this aura.

Only the Mirror Flow remained unaffected.

It's Master... He's back...

Qi Zhimu ignored the terrified or awe-inspiring gazes around him and looked straight at Jing Liu.

A barely perceptible hint of relief flashed across a pair of eyes filled with intense killing intent, only to be masked by his usual sternness.

"I will now take over her initiation ceremony."

Qi Zhimu looked at the Yunqi instructor who had stepped aside and took the item from her hand.

Looking at his master's hands, still stained with blood, Jingliu felt a lump in his throat.

Based on the bloodstains and scent, it can be preliminarily determined that it is the blood of a monster, and it has been there for more than a month.

A possibility surfaced in my mind.

The worries and longings that had been suppressed by reason finally broke through the calm and turned into an irrepressible joy.

Jingliu tried hard to control her emotions, suppressing her bitterness, and avoiding losing her composure in front of so many people.

She is Qi Zhimu's apprentice in the Cloud Cavalry Guard, and she cannot disgrace her master.

Taking a deep breath of the bloody scent, Jingliu straightened his back.

Qi Zhimu walked behind Jing Liu and looked down at her long, flowing blue and white hair that reached her waist like a waterfall.

When she left two years ago, her hair wasn't nearly as long.

He raised his hand.

At this moment, everyone in the audience stared wide-eyed.

What terrifying hands were those?

Hands were covered with traces of blood residue; those with sharp eyes could even see the congealed bloodstains between their fingers.

Did this sir just finish a bloody battle and rush back without stopping?

Ignoring the many gazes, Qi Zhimu took out an exquisite wooden comb wrapped in silk from his pocket.

This was the only clean thing on his body, and it was the first thing he bought when he returned to Yaoqing.