The next day.
Jingliu yawned, unable to help but reminisce about the days when she had first become Qi Zhimu's disciple.
Things were so good back then... She would wake up from a nap with her physical condition returned to its peak, unlike now, where her whole body was sore and aching.
But one cannot return to the past; one must always look forward.
Jingliu rose nimbly, dressed neatly, and prepared to begin a new day of training to fully prepare for the next campaign.
She only intended to rest for three days, unwilling to take a single minute more, and her training could not slacken during that time.
Time passed quickly, and she was once again assigned to the Expeditionary Team, embarking on the path of exterminating Abominations.
Ever since learning that the Borisin war leader had died at her master's hands, Jingliu had personally experienced the change in the enemy's situation.
The Borisin, who used to be incredibly troublesome and knew how to fight collaboratively, had weakened significantly after losing their war leader.
It wasn't that their individual strength had decreased, but rather that the different tribes harbored ulterior motives and rarely fought together anymore.
Sometimes, while locked in a fierce battle with the Cloud Knights, they would become even more vigilant upon hearing that other hunting packs were approaching.
It was as if they weren't afraid of being wiped out by the Cloud Knights, but rather afraid of being stabbed in the back by their own kind.
The reason for this was simple.
Now that they were leaderless, the Nest Fathers of different tribes and groups were acting independently, each wanting to become the new war leader.
Unfortunately, to become a war leader, one must possess a pressure that can suppress the entire race with a single howl.
Without the ability to exert bloodline suppression, it is difficult to win over the masses.
The Divination Commission speculated that for a long time to come, no new war leader would be born among the Borisin race.
Unless... Yaoshi intervenes.
The Divination Commission can deduce many futures; whether true or false, real or illusory, or whether they are set in stone, as long as the prerequisites for deduction exist, there will always be a result.
But once an Aeon is involved, it becomes forever unpredictable.
Even the Reignbow Arbiter cannot foresee when or where Yaoshi's mercy will descend.
It wouldn't be surprising whenever an Emanator appeared among the various groups of Abominations of Abundance.
Just thinking about that day made one's skin crawl.
A single Shuhu had already made the Xianzhou Alliance pay a heavy price; if another were to come, heaven only knows if two more Xianzhou ships would be buried.
Fearful of this, each Xianzhou ship intensified its efforts to hunt down Abominations.
It wasn't so much that the Xianzhou Alliance feared an Emanator of Abundance, but rather that they dreaded their irresistible appeal to the Abominations of Abundance.
Not to mention, an Emanator of Abundance could vitalize existences beyond common logic, giving a whole planet consciousness and turning it into an undying Abomination.
With the case of Shuhu as a precedent, the Alliance had to plan ahead... Qi Zhimu's leave had ended, and he could go on missions at any time.
However, at the moment, the Yaoqing was sailing through a vast allied star zone consisting of eight star systems.
Although this civilization's strength was not as great as the Xianzhou Alliance's, it still had the capability to contend with the Abominations of Abundance.
They did not fear small to medium-scale allied Abomination forces, so this star zone was relatively peaceful.
Regarding the passage of the Xianzhou Alliance's flagship Yaoqing, the allied civilization sent out a signal of friendship.
If there was a need, they were welcome to dock temporarily for cultural exchange.
The Yaoqing was sailing on the front lines of hunting Abominations and had no current need to dock for rest and reorganization.
After the Six Sovereigns deliberated, they decided to send a high-specification diplomatic mission to visit, while the flagship continued forward at its current speed.
However, at the Yaoqing's current cruising speed, it would take at least a year to completely leave this star zone.
Expeditionary campaigns were thus reduced by more than half, which made many Cloud Knight veterans feel a bit unaccustomed.
The remaining campaign missions were often dozens of light-years away from the flagship at the very least.
Jingliu didn't care if the mission coordinates were far from the flagship or not; as long as she met the participation criteria, she would definitely volunteer for battle.
She wanted to progress so badly.
More urgently than anyone.
In just four months, she had gone through two medium-sized campaigns.
Resting for two days before quickly moving on to the next, her vigorous and resolute style left a deep impression on many officers responsible for related work.
With her outstanding strength and cold, ethereal temperament, she unsurprisingly attracted the admiration of many Xianzhou men.
Discovering that Jingliu never responded to these people, there were also quite a few women who admired her.
Unfortunately, let alone making her heart flutter, it was difficult for them even to become her friends.
The closest bond one could achieve with Jingliu stopped at being comrades-in-arms or fellow soldiers; it could go no further.
A tiny number of survivor Cloud Knights from Azure City, upon learning of Jingliu's background, understood best why she was like this.
For someone whose home was destroyed and family was lost, the rest of their life was only filled with endless hatred for the Abominations of Abundance; very few people could truly enter their hearts.
This campaign took a bit longer, nearly half a year to achieve victory, liberating two secondary star system civilizations from the rule and plunder of the Abominations.
On the starship bound for the Alchemy Commission, Jingliu listened expressionlessly to her comrades' complaints.
"...Unlucky, we actually ran into a Wing-Maker ambush, otherwise we could have come back a month earlier."
"What can we do? The Wing-Makers' home was destroyed by the Antimatter Legion. These birdmen who have become galactic wandering mercenaries can only drift around."
"They're like ghosts that won't leave. Fortunately, there weren't many ambushers, otherwise it would have been dangerous with our numbers."
"If the Wing-Makers were numerous, it would be a large-scale campaign. A Vanguard would have to lead the expedition; it wouldn't be our turn."
"By the way... Jingliu, you seem to have met the requirements to follow a Vanguard's team for a long time. Why do you keep participating in medium-sized campaigns?"
The topic suddenly turned to Jingliu, and several gazes looked toward her simultaneously.
Not just them, many comrades had been curious for a long time.
To say she was afraid of death, yet she almost never took long post-war breaks and participated in continuous expeditions without stopping.
"..." Jingliu remained silent, a faint shadow blooming in the depths of her eyes.
Seeing that she had no intention of answering, everyone tactfully stopped asking.
No one thought she was arrogant or supercilious; anyone who had fought alongside her on the battlefield knew she just had this personality.
A standard ice beauty, one often wouldn't hear her say a single word throughout an entire campaign.
Cold as she was, she never hesitated for a moment when it came to saving comrades or killing Abominations.
Everyone inside this starship had directly or indirectly received her life-saving grace.
Silently all the way.
After passing the post-war inspection, Jingliu piloted her own starship and flew home at high speed.
But she never expected—
Just as she arrived above the Martial Arts Field, she inadvertently glanced down and actually saw Clear Cold lying naked in Qi Zhimu's arms.
"...?"
Jingliu was stunned.
She had excellent eyesight and saw everything clearly.
Not only Clear Cold, but even her master was only wearing training pants, revealing his well-defined and sturdy upper body.
Sweat from intense exercise could be seen on both their bodies, and Clear Cold's skin was flushed white and red, exceptionally striking.
Below, her master took an outer garment to wrap around Clear Cold, carefully picking her up and walking toward the house, looking incredibly gentle and patient.
Witnessing this scene and realizing what had happened, the highlights in Jingliu's crimson eyes gradually faded, becoming uncontrollably more blood-red.
So... Master is only not gentle to her...