Bai Ming was genuinely happy for Robin.
However, she recalled that during Robin's various tours, the singer had once faced a life-threatening crisis where a bullet grazed her neck. Because of this, Bai Ming felt she should send Robin a little gadget to ensure her personal safety.
She personally crafted a necklace and sent it off to Penacony, delivering it into Robin's hands.
On the surface, it appeared to be a simple necklace, but in reality, it was an optimized version of the Personality Completion System. Even without the stacking effect of multiple Robins to supplement it, the compact system was still capable of objectively boosting Robin's abilities.
At the same time, Bai Ming added some functions to the system similar to those found in the Scepter System.
Claiming it could outright rewrite reality would be an exaggeration, but functions like releasing shockwaves or blocking various attacks were quite refined.
She packaged it up as a celebratory gift and handed it over to little Robin.
Strictly speaking, Robin had already been quite famous in Penacony for a few years now. After all, she was Gopher Wood's disciple and possessed undeniable talent.
So, while she hadn't officially debuted yet, she maintained a personal social media account that had already amassed a considerable following.
This official debut seemed to signal her intention to expand her career into the wider cosmos rather than staying confined within Penacony. One couldn't help but wonder if the current Sunday would still walk his original path.
Equally intriguing was the situation over on the Luofu.
Phantylia had been imprisoned on the Luofu for several years. While things seemed stable enough, no one could say for certain if someone would try to stir up trouble.
Over the past few years, many organizations devoted to Destruction—seeking to prove their worth to the Aeon by rescuing a Lord Ravager—had tried various ways to infiltrate the Luofu.
Unfortunately for those overconfident fools, even if they managed to break through layers of defenses and reach the Shackling Prison, they stood no chance against the sheer might of Huohuo's banner.
In fact, it wasn't just them. On the current Xianzhou Luofu, aside from Jing Yuan, there was truly no one who could withstand Huohuo's flag.
Being struck by the Flame-Wheeled Flag was essentially no different from facing the direct fury of a Lord Ravager.
As time passed, rumors began to spread throughout the universe that the Xianzhou Luofu had produced a Foxian master who had subdued the Lord Ravager Phantylia with a single hand, sealing her inside a command flag for her own use.
The name of the "Wailing Judge" echoed across the stars.
Supposedly, the title originated because whenever Huohuo and Tail faced an enemy, one would be laughing while the other was crying.
This led people to mistakenly believe the Foxian had gone mentally unstable in her struggle to suppress Phantylia.
When Tail found out about the title, he nearly died laughing.
As for Huohuo? She felt she had suffered a total "social death" on a galactic scale. She locked herself in her room for an entire month before Qingque finally managed to coax her out.
Jing Yuan, on the other hand, was quite pleased. The Luofu was growing stronger by the day, with talented individuals emerging from the new generation.
The only downside was that the shadow of Bai Ming, the Arbiter of Myriad Distinctions, loomed behind almost all of them. This made the Alliance quite hesitant about whether or not to promote them to high-ranking positions.
It wouldn't do for the Luofu's leadership to be comprised mostly of people with deep ties to the Arbiter of Myriad Distinctions when they were supposed to be the direct lineage of The Hunt, right?
It wouldn't look good if word got out.
It is worth mentioning that Bai Ming's success in extending the lifespan of the Vidyadhara years ago had been a massive hit.
Over the years, not just among the Vidyadhara, but even within various other dragon-kin groups, many followers of Elation who worshipped Bai Ming had cropped up.
It was a bit absurd, yet it seemed strangely logical.
Bai Ming didn't care much; after all, an Aeon has no need for faith. However, General Xuanquan of the Fanghu was quite helpless about it.
The Vidyadhara who joined the Xianzhou were running off to believe in Elation—what kind of mess was that?
The kicker was that some people actually gained enlightenment and stepped onto the Path of Elation.
There were even some eccentric individuals who used their "wish" opportunities specifically to tread that Path. One could only say that using an Originium game to find Elation was, in its own way, the ultimate practice of Elation.
Bai Ming acknowledged them, and Aha didn't object. Although the person involved seemed a bit stunned that such a wish actually worked, Bai Ming's envoys were not an isolated case on the Xianzhou.
With people like Fu Xuan holding high positions, those Vidyadhara Masked Fools didn't stir up much controversy.
And speaking of Lord Ravagers...
Celenova's fleet was as busy as ever, but the Celenova clone that Bai Ming had snatched and brought home seemed to have completely lost contact with her other selves. It was unclear if the connection would ever be restored.
Bai Ming even felt that if this continued, the little maid she had captured might turn into a completely independent entity.
But considering Celenova's inherent nature, Bai Ming figured that was unlikely—unless Celenova was doing it on purpose.
As for Asat Pramad, the Lord Ravager who targeted the Path of Elation...
According to Bai Ming's current intel, he had apparently planned to set a trap in Planarcadia. However, his tracks were picked up by the Land of Light, and he was hunted down with great fanfare.
We might not be able to control Planarcadia, but can't we hunt you down, Asat Pramad?
This forced Asat Pramad to withdraw from Planarcadia to lure the Land of Light away.
Otherwise, if he really committed to his move, the Land of Light would have an excuse to lead their gang of hooligans straight into Planarcadia.
Currently, it was difficult for the Giants of Light to enter that realm, allowing for some room to maneuver. If the Land of Light was given a legitimate reason to charge in, that would be a real headache.
Recently, Evernight had decided to take the opportunity to "slash" herself, resetting her memories to zero and starting over on the Astral Express.
Unlike the original timeline where she was being chased in a frantic hurry, this time she had Demiurge's help and Bai Ming's backing.
Evernight was much more composed. She even had the leisure to leave a few words of wisdom for her future, newly-born "self."
"Have you really decided? To completely seal away the past and hand the future to a blank 'self'? By then, that new self will definitely be a completely different consciousness."
Demiurge looked at Evernight, seemingly wanting to ask if she truly intended to surrender everything she was.
Having been "pink-haired alliance" partners for several years, Demiurge was quite reluctant to see Evernight go.
Bai Ming, joining the conversation via comms, echoed the sentiment: "Besides, even if you do this, no one is chasing you right now. There's no need to seal yourself so tightly. Who knows when you'll wake up again in the future?"
Evernight wasn't committing suicide, so her "ego" would remain. However, she was asking Demiurge to seal her deep within Six-Phased Ice, ensuring there wouldn't be even a trace of influence from her past.
Evernight wanted to create the purest blank slate and let it grow naturally.
Bai Ming felt there was no need to be so extreme. In the original plot, March 7th had traveled all the way to another Pure Child's home before Evernight woke up.
Now, with Demiurge personally acting and the issues with Amphoreus resolved, who knew when Evernight would ever wake up.
"Isn't that fine? Besides, for me, it's just like taking a nap. When I wake up, I'll get to check out a delicious, fresh set of memories and another cute version of myself. I don't see anything wrong with that."
"..."
"..."
Demiurge and Bai Ming shared a helpless glance. This girl... she was planning to go have a long sleep and leave all the troublesome matters to them, wasn't she?
Ultimately, Evernight's plan was approved.
Although both Demiurge and Bai Ming knew she was saying those things just to get Demiurge to agree, Evernight was so serious about it that Demiurge couldn't bring herself to refuse.
There was plenty of time; she could afford to wait. And just as Evernight said, a brand-new, pure version of her would likely be very cute.
And so, Evernight began her move.
First, she distorted the memories related to herself—mainly blurring the memories of her appearance so that anyone who met her new self wouldn't immediately recognize her.
After meticulously finishing all this, she began the self-freezing process.
She started extracting all her memories and used Six-Phased Ice to freeze herself solid. Demiurge took over once Evernight drifted into her slumber, reinforcing the seal and patching any gaps.
Looking at the delicate pink-haired girl curled up inside the Six-Phased Ice, Demiurge showed a hint of reluctance, but it was quickly replaced by anticipation.
"I look forward to meeting you, and I look forward to our reunion. So, you must become a cute and beautiful girl, okay~"
Demiurge smiled, pressing her forehead against the clear crystal, leaving behind this gentle expectation.
Afterward, she and Bai Ming took the Six-Phased Ice containing the girl and quietly headed toward the Astral Express's flight path.
Watching Demiurge holding the Six-Phased Ice high with both hands, taking aim, Bai Ming found it a bit funny. "What are you aiming at?"
"The front of the train! Otherwise, look how fast it's going. What if we miss?"
With that, Demiurge threw it forward with all her might!
The Six-Phased Ice sealing Evernight turned into a speeding meteor, crossing the sea of stars and falling toward the head of the Astral Express.
Looking at the Astral Express about to experience yet another cosmic "traffic accident," Bai Ming's expression was one of "I can't watch this."
Demiurge wiped a bead of non-existent sweat from her forehead and let out a sigh of relief.
"Phew! this kind of physical labor really isn't suited for a beautiful girl like me~"
Hearing this, Bai Ming laughed and teased, "But your form was perfect and your aim was spot on. You're a total pro."
"That's all because of your teaching!" Demiurge puffed out her cheeks at Bai Ming. Back then, the person who had used her and Peach's faces while punching Irontomb over and over was this very person.
"But you didn't learn that from me. You followed Evernight the whole time to learn how to be a 'beautiful girl.'"
"That's because even if I didn't try to learn it, that deep impression was already burned into my memory."
Demiurge huffed, then took one last look at the Astral Express attempting to salvage the Six-Phased Ice before turning and running away.
Mei and Kiana were on that train; there was no guarantee they wouldn't sense her presence. Better to make a quick getaway.
Mei and Kiana both looked toward the direction the giant ice block had come from. Kiana didn't notice anything.
Mei, however, faintly sensed a trace of a familiar aura in that direction.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL