Chapter 19

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Protagonist:

Xuan Ge

Shen Wu Xian Zhou, Xingcha Hai Zhong Shu.

The afternoon sunlight passed through the tea house's carved wooden windows, casting mottled, swaying shadows on the smooth floor.

The air held a faint tea fragrance, the cloying scent of snacks, and the low murmur of the crowd's conversation.

In a private seat by the window on the second floor with a broad view, Xuan Ge and Ling Sha sat facing each other.

On the table sat a pot of clear tea and several exquisite tea snacks.

Xuan Ge leaned back against the chair back, posture relaxed, one hand resting on the armrest, fingertips lightly tapping a rhythm to the faint buzz of the Xingcha engines drifting from downstairs.

His gaze fell on the small stage ahead.

On the stage stood a "storyteller."

He wore a rather exquisite storyteller's long robe, held a clapper in his hand, and wore a pair of round, vintage-style small sunglasses on his face, striving to put on an air of nodding and swaying, with rising and falling cadence.

He was narrating an ancient Xianzhou legend, about a certain general leading a lone army deep behind enemy lines and winning by surprise attack.

"..... Only to see that general, facing ten thousand enemy troops, was expressionless and his heart did not jump!

The long spear in his hand shook once, and he shouted loudly: 'Halt! You petty villains, how dare you violate my Xianzhou's borders?!'

This roar of his was truly like..... "

The storyteller built up the atmosphere, striking the clapper so the table went "pa pa."

Xuan Ge picked up the tea cup before him, brought it to his lips and took a sip, then set it down lightly.

He tilted his head slightly, watching the figure performing energetically on stage, a trace of playful amusement flashing in his golden eyes, and commented in a low voice:

"The story choice is passable, has hot blood, has solitary courage. But this storytelling foundation..... enunciation is too forceful, rhythm slightly deliberate, emotional transitions also a bit stiff.

Compared to those real veteran storytellers in the Luofu tea houses, the difference isn't just a little bit."

Ling Sha sat opposite him, posture elegant.

Today she was not wearing the formal attire of a Siding or Strategist, merely a simple, elegant light-colored long dress, her long hair loosely pinned up.

Hearing Xuan Ge's critique, she let out a light laugh, her body leaning back slightly, her slender legs naturally crossing.

"My General~~" her tone carried obvious mockery, her brown eyes glancing at that "storyteller" on stage.

"You really can't ask too much. You expect a veteran of the Shen Wu Army who normally kills with real blades and spears on the battlefield, accustomed to using energy explosions and enemy screams as background music....

To suddenly, in the blink of an eye, be like those professional artists who have immersed themselves in this art for decades, grasping the light and heavy, slow and fast, rise and fall with consummate skill?"

She paused, chin lifting slightly, gesturing for Xuan Ge to look closely:

"Look at his stance, waist straighter than a spear shaft, shoulders tense, heels unconsciously pressed together..... and those eyes, even through the sunglasses you can feel he's scanning the enemy situation rather than communicating with the audience.

No matter how much this getup is dressed up to look the part, that soldier's temperament has long since seeped out from the cracks in his bones, impossible to hide no matter how hard he tries."

Xuan Ge picked up his tea cup, drank a mouthful and laughed: "Yeah~ your words..... reminded me."

Ling Sha was so perceptive, she immediately caught the change in his tone.

She picked up her own tea cup, fingertips stroking the warm cup wall, the knowing smile in her eyes deepening:

"General this is..... already have a plan in mind, preparing to set off?" She tilted her head slightly, guessing: "Is it Luofu?"

She thought of Luofu first, and the reasons were sufficient.

This was not merely because the Shen Wu Xian Zhou's construction planning largely referenced the Luofu Xian Zhou's model.

More because Shen Wu General Xuan Ge, and Luofu's General Jing Yuan, were childhood friends who grew up together, knowing each other inside out.

If there was truly a need, General Jing Yuan could temporarily manage Shen Wu Xian Zhou, or let General Shen Wu go preside over Luofu for a time.

Neither side would produce any major chaos, at most Luofu's missing persons would increase recently.

Ling Sha's feelings toward Jing Yuan himself were complex. Couldn't be called liking, and she had even harbored resentment before.

Back then her master was soft-hearted on the matter of Dan Feng's reincarnation, and therefore bore the crime.

Jing Yuan acted with thunderous swiftness, finalizing the case in the morning and "exiling" her and her master to Zhu Ming Xian Zhou in the afternoon, giving them almost no time to react or appeal.

But with time passing, after calming down, she also gradually figured it out.

Jing Yuan used a seemingly ruthless method to send them away from the center of the power struggle and the vortex of public opinion, which was arguably an even more decisive, more thorough protection.

It's just this method of protection..... was indeed so fast it caught one off guard, and so hard it was difficult to accept at the time.

"En heng~" Xuan Ge did not deny it, his body straightening a bit, fingers unconsciously drawing circles on the table.

"Luofu must be visited, that kid Jing Yuan has been hiding things lately."

He changed the subject, yet his gaze passed through the Shen Wu Xian Zhou's layer upon layer of buildings and protective force fields, casting toward that region full of danger and chaos in the distant starry sky——Sui Xing Dai.

"But before setting off~" his voice steadied, carrying a trace of a general's decisiveness.

"Still need to go stabilize the corps' situation first.

That little lass Xing Xiao, told her to move the line back a bit, she treated it as wind in her ears.

She likes staying there that much, waiting for me to go 'invite' her to the mansion for tea next time?"

Ling Sha's smile froze slightly, but quickly returned to normal.

Regarding the General and Xing Xiao's matter she couldn't participate, this kind of thing is experts trading moves, the slightest carelessness and you'd die.

But she only hoped the General would stay calm, not stray onto the wrong path.

As for the Xianzhou's own safety, she wasn't too worried.

Shen Wu Xian Zhou might not be as massive in volume as other Xianzhou, but its defense system and standing forces were absolutely not something ordinary powers could covet.

The high-ranking generals of the Shen Wu Army on the Xianzhou were almost all powerhouses who had stepped onto their respective Paths.

Although their Paths differed—some held the will of the Hunt, some comprehended the principle of Preservation, and not a few drew power from Destruction or Abundance.

Without exception, they were all masters rich in practical experience and outstanding in ability.

Unless an Extinction Monarch like "Fen Feng," famed for annihilating with a single strike, arrived personally and launched a surprise attack.

Against ordinary Envoys or Legion invasions, the Shenwu Army was fully capable of relying on the Xian Zhou defense system to resist and hold out until the General returned with reinforcements.

"As long as the General has it in mind, that is enough," Ling Sha said, setting down her teacup, her tone gentle and determined.

"Within the Xian Zhou, Concubine will see to everything properly."

The next day, in the core council hall of the Shen Wei Jiang Jun Fu.

Amidst a solemn and dignified atmosphere, projections of all Shenwu Army commanders of Controller rank and above, along with the physical forms of the heads of various departments, gathered together.

This was the highest-level meeting before departure.

Xuan Ge sat in the main seat, clearly outlining the Xian Zhou's defense priorities for the coming period and the collaboration processes among departments.

And the follow-up matters regarding initial contact with the Interstellar Peace Corporation, he deployed and explained them one by one.

His gaze fell several times on Ling Sha, who stood quietly by the side recording and occasionally supplementing details.

Whenever specific matters involving livelihood coordination, material planning, or diplomatic etiquette arose, he would habitually look to her, and only continue after receiving her slight nod or a look of understanding.

This had almost become an unspoken custom between them.

Every time Xuan Ge was about to leave the Xian Zhou for an important mission, he would repeatedly instruct her on every detail, great and small.

And Ling Sha would always listen patiently, never showing the slightest impatience, as serious as if hearing it for the first time.

She knew this was not the General distrusting her abilities; quite the contrary, it was the utmost trust and entrustment.

He entrusted to her hands the Shen Wu Xian Zhou he valued most and regarded as fundamental, along with its millions of soldiers and civilians.

These repeated instructions were less like orders and more like the subconscious, worried chatter of a family member about to embark on a long journey to those left behind.

When all matters had been confirmed one by one, the magnificent projections in the hall extinguished in sequence, and the department heads bowed and withdrew, leaving the great hall spacious once more.

Xuan Ge stood up and moved his slightly stiff shoulders and neck from sitting too long.

He confirmed his accompanying personnel—no more, no less, exactly eight hundred.

Eight hundred was a number he was somewhat obsessed with.

The memories of his past life had already blurred, and the remaining fragments were hard to piece together, but this number was deeply engraved in the depths of his consciousness, carrying a sense of destiny-like wonder.

The first savings he accumulated and the first troop completely loyal to him that he raised were eight hundred personal guards.

Afterward, in many key operations, he also preferred to use eight hundred as a unit.

Perhaps there was no reason for it, but it felt... right.

He took out his personal Jade Omen, his fingertip swiftly moving, and sent a short message to Jing Yuan, far away in Luofu:

【Love you, brother, see you at Shen Ce Fu. Our eight hundred against your eight hundred.】

The message was sent successfully.

Almost in the next second, the Jade Omen trembled slightly, and Jing Yuan's reply popped up, only a string of symbols clearly expressing confusion and chaos:

【???????】

Xuan Ge could almost imagine his friend staring at the Jade Omen, with a helpless expression of "What the hell are you doing again?"

Within the Shen Ce Fu on the Luofu Xian Zhou, Jing Yuan looked at the somewhat "corny" message, and the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably a few times.

"... Eight hundred against eight hundred?" He rubbed his brow, pondering the meaning in his mind.

"What new performance art is this?"

Although he was completely baffled, years of tacit understanding told him that since Xuan Ge said so, he would definitely bring eight hundred people over.

He shook his head slightly, summoned the guard Cloud Rider, and instructed:

"Notify the Heavenly Ship Bureau that within a few days, the Shenwu Army's Shen Wei General will lead a team to visit; make reception preparations."

"As for the scale... prepare according to the standard of around eight hundred people."

At the edge of the Sui Xing Dai, the Fourth Warship broke free from its Jump state, and the hull stabilized in the Void.

Xuan Ge did not bring a large force to approach the core alert zone of the Antimatter Legion.

He ordered the warship to hover and wait at a safe distance, while he himself, as if taking a stroll, walked through the void toward the area shrouded in Destruction aura.

The pressure of Destruction was everywhere, enough to cause ordinary life to suffer mental collapse.

Xuan Ge, however, seemed unaware, his steps steady and his expression calm.

He even had the leisure to observe the surrounding environment and assess the recent activity level of the Xing Xiao Legion.

Soon, he reached the outer edge of the "Glass Cover" area shrouded in an invisible barrier.

Just then, a shadow huge as a mountain, carrying an oppressive aura that made one suffocate, slowly descended from the side.

It was the dark-purple Doomsday Beast once jokingly called "Xiao Zi" by the artisans of the Engineering Bureau.

It obviously noticed this audacious intruder who had mistakenly trespassed into the heavenly abode.

Its ferocious head turned, the red light of Destruction in its compound eyes suddenly blazed bright, a low, threatening roar came from deep in its throat, its huge mouth opened, and highly condensed Destruction energy, enough to easily tear through warship armor, began to crazily converge—

However, the next second, when it saw the familiar Double-Shoulder Ghost-Face Armor on the newcomer, and that face with a half-smile expression, the roar stopped abruptly.

The Destruction energy gathered halfway in its throat was forcibly swallowed back by it.

It almost made its body, composed of Destruction concepts, feel a sense of "energy backflow" discomfort.

Its huge body visibly stiffened for a moment.

Although awed by the Sovereign's majesty and the opposition of the two camps, Xiao Zi still maintained a vigilant posture, its huge eyeball staring fixedly at Xuan Ge, the red light of Destruction flickering unsteadily.

But Xuan Ge keenly noticed that the thick tail behind this big fellow, seemingly made of lava and metal, had begun to sway slightly left and right, with increasing frequency.

Xuan Ge couldn't help but smile.

He reached out into the Void, as if taking candy from a pocket, casually grabbed several fist-sized "Celestial Energy Blocks," and threw them casually toward the huge head of Xiao Zi.

The energy blocks traced several faint light trails in the air.

Xiao Zi subconsciously extended her huge claws and precisely caught it.

She brought the energy block before her eyes, seemingly conducting some kind of rapid "ingredient analysis" and "calorie assessment."

The item was very small, far smaller than the standard energy blocks she usually earned from "part-time work" at the Shen Wu Xian Zhou port, but the energy contained within was exceptionally pure and concentrated, belonging to the "small yet top-tier" premium category.

A low, meaningless purring sound came from her throat, as if she were somewhat tempted.

But she immediately shook her huge head, striving to put on a firm expression of "not bowing for five pecks of rice."

Xuan Ge watched her conflicted appearance, the smile on his face growing broader, and leisurely added a sentence as if sharing a secret:

"In the logistics warehouse on the Third Army's side, a new batch of goods has arrived. Large quantity, enough supply. And... there's also a newly developed 'Liquid Star Marrow' version."

"Roar...?" Xiao Zi's head-shaking motion came to a violent halt.

The red light in her compound eyes flashed wildly, like a high-speed computing processor. Large quantity, enough supply? Liquid version?

Just as she was on the verge of being completely conquered by the "sugar-coated cannonball," her tail shaking like a propeller on the edge.....

A cold, calm voice carrying an invisible majesty sounded directly in the depths of her consciousness, and clearly transmitted into Xuan Ge's perception:

"Let him in."

It was Xing Xiao.

Xiao Zi felt greatly relieved, immediately reined in all emotional expressions, and returned to being that majestic, silent Destruction beast.

She turned her huge body aside, making way for Xuan Ge toward the inside of the Barrier, letting out a short, low growl from her throat.

As if saying: "The Monarch invites you."

The smile at the corner of Xuan Ge's mouth did not lessen, his hands leisurely clasped behind his back, he strode forward and walked straight toward the invisible Barrier.

At the instant his figure was about to touch the Barrier, the Barrier parted like water waves, opening a gap just wide enough for a person to pass through.

He stepped in.

Behind him, the Barrier silently closed.

Xiao Zi watched Xuan Ge's figure disappear into the Barrier, then looked down at the star-body energy blocks emitting an alluring faint glow in her palm, hesitated for zero point one second, and then quickly stuffed them into her mouth.

To say it or not, on "Wise Submission," Xiao Zi's performance was indeed much faster and more direct than that Li Yi Judge of the Ten Kings Corps.

Li Yi: General, are you polite?