A pity—it was only a silver chest.
In the universe of the Astral Railroad, many civilizations had mastered spatial folding technology.
It wasn't exactly rare.
From long-distance travel
to simple storage solutions—
spatial folding showed up everywhere.
What was rare, however,
was a civilization like the Xianzhou,
one that used spatial folding on such a massive, systematic scale.
The reason was simple.
Spatial folding required enormous energy consumption,
something most civilizations simply couldn't afford.
The Xianzhou could only sustain its Hollow Domains
because a large portion of that energy
came directly from the blessing of a Path and a Star God.
Evan stored the technology away for now.
It might be useful later.
The Astral Express itself didn't really need it—
the train was protected by the Path of Trailblaze.
Even though the Star God had fallen, the Path still endured.
And honestly,
one person per room was already more than enough.
But Jarilo-VI?
Jarilo-VI did have a star.
The Plasma Spark Tower had only been built
because the planet's energy reserves were failing—
Something Svarog himself had told Evan.
If this Hollow Domain technology could be adapted…
Could it support a small domain
and improve the living conditions in Belobog?
"…I'll think about it later."
Worst case, he could ask Master Gongshu,
or even consult Jing Yuan or Dan Heng.
He finished storing everything.
Then—
Evan felt it.
A gaze.
Curious.
Cautious.
Watching him from somewhere nearby.
He turned his head calmly.
"Cloud Knight Lieutenant Yanqing," Evan said.
"You've been following me since Xuan Night Avenue. Care to explain?"
Back then, on Xuan Night Avenue,
the surge of power while fighting mara-struck soldiers—
That aura had come from this kid.
After Evan left, the battle ended almost immediately.
And then… the shadow followed him all the way here.
"You recognized me?" the voice replied coolly.
"Sneaking around the Artisanship Commission like this—
you don't look like a good person."
Whoosh!
A figure leapt down from the rooftops.
A blond youth with a single ponytail landed lightly in front of Evan,
a flying sword hovering at his side.
"I am Yanqing, Cloud Knight Lieutenant of the Luofu," he announced.
"I was ordered to protect you Nameless visitors."
"But—"
"You don't quite match what the General described."
"You act strangely. Suspiciously."
"You slipped past the Cloud Knights and entered the Commission alone."
"You saved the artisans, yes—"
"But you really don't look trustworthy."
Yanqing stared at Evan like a hawk.
Evan had noticed someone tailing him the whole way—
an Emanator-level perception didn't miss things like that.
He just hadn't expected it to be this kid.
Yanqing.
The youngest Cloud Knight Lieutenant of the Xianzhou Luofu.
Disciple of Jing Yuan, the Arbiter-General.
Grand-disciple of the former Sword Champion Jingliu.
Young, brilliant, battle-hardened.
Even among the Xianzhou,
Yanqing was famous.
Some even called him "The Undefeated of the Luofu."
…Though Evan mostly remembered him as
"The One Who Loses Every Big Fight."
To be fair—
Yanqing could defeat ninety-six percent of opponents on the Luofu.
The problem?
He kept picking fights with the remaining four percent.
Jingliu.
Blade in his mara state.
Dragon-transformed Dan Heng.
Bad life choices.
[Beep—beep!]
[Treasure detected! Location marked!]
Evan's eyes flicked downward.
At Yanqing's feet,
a faintly shimmering treasure chest had appeared.
Ah.
A challenge chest.
Interesting.
Yanqing should be good enough
to drop at least a gold chest, right?
After all—
pure talent, razor-sharp sword intent, peerless potential.
Among the younger generation,
only Yunli of the Zhuming Xianzhou could rival him.
"Nameless!" Yanqing barked.
"I now suspect you are connected to the Stellaron incident!"
"Draw your sword!"
"Prove your innocence—now!"
His blade pointed straight at Evan,
sword intent surging forward like a wave.
Evan sighed.
This kid really didn't know when to stop.
Such talent, such youth—
with Jing Yuan retiring someday, becoming Sword Champion would've been perfect.
Look at Jingliu—
single-handedly suppressed Hulian so thoroughly
that the beast wouldn't even cross the boundary.
Even Feixiao, the Sky-Shattering General,
had nearly failed to put Hulian down.
And Yanqing?
Picking fights with walking disasters.
Evan chuckled softly.
"Hey, kid," he said lazily.
"Your sword hand is steady?"
"Hmph! I may be young, but I've slain countless Abundance abominations!"
"Don't underestimate me!"
Yanqing tightened his grip, anger flashing in his eyes.
"In here?" Evan asked calmly.
"If you wreck the Artisanship Commission,
the craftsmen will complain to Jing Yuan."
Yanqing hesitated.
His sword lowered—just a little.
"…Then what do you suggest?"
"How about this," Evan smiled.
"Let's see who clears more monsters in the Artisanship Commission."
"If I win, you stop challenging me."
"If you win, I'll let you point your sword at me all you want."
"Deal?"
Yanqing froze.
Then his eyes lit up.
The Commission was full of rogue automatons—
nothing he couldn't handle.
More importantly,
he was a local.
He knew this place far better than an outsider.
"…I accept," Yanqing said firmly.
"By numbers."
"Oh?" Evan grinned.
"So you're no longer accusing me of bringing the Stellaron?"
Heh.
With Herrscher of Reason authority,
this entire place was already mapped in Evan's mind.
Flying swords versus funnel drones—fair fight.
The next second—
Evan vanished.
A blue mechanized unit—a mimetic Bunny construct—
wrapped around him as he shot forward
like a racing vehicle inside the Commission.
"HEY! That's cheating!!"
Yanqing sprang onto the rooftops,
sword flashing as he gave chase.
Minutes later.
Artisanship Commission — Creation Furnace.
Yanqing stood there, pale-faced, gasping for breath.
One hand clutched his sword.
The other braced against his knee.
Meanwhile—
Evan sat casually atop the furnace, smiling.
"You cheated…" Yanqing panted.
"You used transportation!"
"And your flying sword isn't transportation?" Evan replied mildly.
"Besides, spatial displacement is just my ability."
Dimensional Shift—
one of the Herrscher of Reason's applications.
Not true teleportation like the Herrscher of Void,
but more than sufficient.
Not to mention—
Evan had already reconstructed Aleph (First Bullet).
Time-stop and instant movement.
Using it was fair game.
Yanqing stared at the ground.
Scattered parts.
Broken cores.
Total defeat.
This wasn't even close.
Funnel drones like flying swords.
A blue mechanical mount with its own intelligence.
Perfect knowledge of the terrain.
This man had solved every problem
before Yanqing even arrived.
Which meant only one thing—
The gap between them
was enormous.
"…143 automatons destroyed," Evan said casually.
"All cores accounted for."
"Mara-struck enemies too—but I didn't bring the bodies."
"Lieutenant Yanqing," he smiled.
"You lost."
Yanqing exhaled, then bowed deeply.
"…You're right. I lost."
"I didn't expect the Nameless the General mentioned
to be this strong."
"Seems you don't need my protection at all."
He straightened.
"Formally introducing myself—Yanqing."
"I was sent by the General to protect you."
"And… I apologize."
"I suspected you because of your actions."
Evan glanced at the still-glimmering chest.
Good.
Time to collect.
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