March 7th and Stelle were both clearly excited about the upcoming Trailblazing journey.
After all, the last time had been way too short.
They'd finally set off—
only to step off the train and immediately hit the ending.
What was that even supposed to be?
Dan Heng, on the other hand, didn't seem interested at all.
Before the warp even began, he made his decision—
He would stay behind on the train.
…Right.
Almost forgot who Dan Heng actually was.
This guy was the reincarnated Dragon Sovereign.
His previous life had been none other than Dan Feng,
one of the legendary High-Cloud Quintet of Xianzhou.
And the story tied to him?
That one was complicated.
The High-Cloud Quintet—
Plenty of people had written about them.
At the core of their conflict was a foxian girl named Baiheng.
She, too, was Nameless.
To walk the Path of Trailblaze didn't require boarding the Astral Express.
Those who practiced Trailblazing were Nameless—regardless.
Baiheng's lifelong wish was simple:
Just like most Nameless—
She wanted to board the Astral Express.
But in her era…
The age of the Nameless had already faded.
Some had disembarked.
Some had left.
Others scattered across the universe.
And the train Baiheng longed for—
Had already ceased operations.
It lay dormant, quietly awaiting the arrival of the next Nameless.
Then—
Much later, Himeko appeared.
The train once again ventured into the cosmos.
Along the way, in a certain star sector, it picked up a fuel-depleted spacecraft.
It wasn't large.
There were two people aboard—
One wearing glasses.
One a blond young man.
That was Welt Yang and Void Archives.
Later on, for reasons unknown, Void Archives managed to offend Pom-Pom—
And was promptly kicked off the train.
As for what exactly happened?
That remained a mystery.
After that came Dan Heng, then March 7th, and finally Stelle.
When they first found Dan Heng, he was in the middle of dealing with a massive space beast.
No one ever asked about his past.
No one knew—
That he was the former Dragon Sovereign who had violated Xianzhou law,
used forbidden arts,
lost his dragon form,
was reduced to an ordinary Vidyadhara—
And exiled from Xianzhou.
"I've just checked the star chart,"
Pom-Pom announced.
"With two warp jumps, we can reach the current star route of the Xianzhou Luofu."
"Passengers, please hold on to the handrails."
...
Next stop: Xianzhou Luofu.
Warp preparation complete.
"Passenger March 7th, please take your seat. Do not wander around the observation car."
"Passenger March 7th!"
"Aiya—Conductor, I know, I know!"
"This isn't my first time, okay? Relax, nothing's going to happen."
March 7th muttered.
"Passenger Stelle, the same goes for you. Don't let March 7th lead you astray."
Pom-Pom gave a brief reminder, then glanced at Evan and let out a small sigh.
Honestly—
One by one, they were all less reliable than the brand-new passenger.
Not reassuring at all.
And so—
The warp began.
Because the timeline had shifted slightly earlier,
the Stellaron crisis on the Xianzhou Luofu had not yet erupted.
There were less than twenty-four hours left before it would.
At the same time—
One of the Stellaron Hunters, Blade,
had already infiltrated the Luofu—
And been captured.
He was sent to the Shackling Prison for interrogation.
...
A moment later—
"Evan…"
"Where exactly is your hand right now?"
March 7th's face flushed red.
The first warp fluctuation ended.
The shaking eased slightly—
And March 7th, without warning, crashed straight into Evan.
Before he could react, his hand brushed against something soft.
"..."
"Uh… if I say you were the one who jumped over, would you believe me?"
Evan immediately sat upright, expression righteous.
A real man never takes advantage in the dark.
If he was going to make a move—
It'd be broad daylight.
"I believe you…"
Stelle chimed in dryly from the side.
"What just happened?"
"Why did the train shake like that?"
Evan pushed March 7th back onto the sofa and stood up.
Through the window—
Dan Heng, Himeko, and Welt were all staring outside, faces tense.
"What's that?"
"Borisin warships… and—"
"Wreckage of a Xianzhou Alliance star skiff."
...
Borisin warships?
In a star region this close to Xianzhou?
Did that make any sense?
Evan was certain—
During the first arrival at the Xianzhou Luofu,
there wasn't a scene like this.
So why did this timeline feel… wrong?
Right then—
A warship flying the banner of the Borisin
blocked the Astral Express's path.
A figure that closely resembled a foxian stood at the viewport, watching cautiously.
"Boss! That train ahead—it looks like the Nameless!"
"The Nameless' Astral Express?"
"Now that's a rare prize!"
"They've been gone from the universe for centuries!"
"And now, of all times, they show up?"
"Akivili is dead. The Nameless are just headless flies now."
"If we disguise ourselves as them and infiltrate the Luofu—"
"Rescuing our leader from the Shackling Prison will be easy!"
"Yes! After hundreds of years—"
"We can finally return to the leader's side!"
The Borisin warriors laughed, fangs bared.
"Hmm…"
The warship's captain stared into the distance, unease etched on his face.
"The Nameless are troublesome opponents."
"Boss! What are you worried about?"
"That junky antique—just blast it in one shot!"
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