Central Teahouse, Exalting Sanctum.
Evan sat alone, sipping tea while quietly contemplating the mysteries of the Cloud Hymn Art he had just acquired.
The tea itself was decent.
But the real problem wasn't the tea.
It was the gold-haired kid now sitting across from him.
Yanqing—
Cloud Knight Lieutenant of the Xianzhou Luofu.
Evan's expression turned subtly awkward.
He really hadn't expected Jing Yuan to pull this kind of move.
Not only had the general handed him a massive headache—
asking him to secretly investigate the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus and dig out the mastermind—
He'd also casually dumped a child soldier on him.
Yes. This one.
Right in front of him.
"Master—!"
Yanqing suddenly clasped his hands and bowed deeply, performing the formal master-disciple salute of the Cloud Knights.
"Please teach me the Taixu Sword God!"
"I will study diligently—
I swear I will never disgrace your swordsmanship!"
His expression was dead serious.
Despite his young age, Yanqing had already fought in countless battles.
He had personally slain three Borisin Nest-Fathers.
And yet—
Only now did he truly understand what heaven beyond heaven meant.
Evan's strength was on an entirely different level.
And according to the general himself—
Evan was an Emanator.
An existence standing on the same plane as Jing Yuan.
Someone like that…
who had still taken the time to "play" with him back in the Artisanship Commission?
Where else would he ever find such a teacher?
Yanqing's mind replayed that moment again and again—
The ancient sword descending from the heavens.
The sky itself bending beneath it.
That instant when death flooded his senses.
That strike—
Taixu Sword God.
If he could learn it…
His future would be limitless.
So when Jing Yuan learned of Yanqing's thoughts, he didn't hesitate at all.
He shoved the kid straight over.
Which led to the current scene.
Evan had just used Cloud Hymn Art to draw the tea into a hovering spiral above his cup—
And before he could even drink it, Yanqing had already bowed.
"Master Evan! Please pass on the Taixu Sword God to me!"
Evan stared at him.
"…Jing Yuan really knows how to throw problems at me."
Yanqing's background was clean.
An orphan, raised and trained personally by Jing Yuan.
And don't forget—
Jing Yuan himself was a disciple of Jingliu.
One of the Five High-Cloud Quintet.
Bearer of the title Flawless Radiance.
A woman who abandoned mortal limits in pursuit of god-slaying power.
After the Imbibitor Lunae Rebellion, she succumbed to mara and vanished.
Since then, the position of Sword Champion of the Luofu had remained vacant.
And that seat—
Was Yanqing's dream.
"To learn the Taixu Sword God?"
Evan smiled faintly.
"I can teach you."
"…Huh?"
Yanqing froze.
Wait.
He didn't refuse?
Yanqing had been fully prepared for rejection.
After all, Evan was an Emanator—
and he was just a Cloud Knight lieutenant.
Even being turned down would've been reasonable.
But instead—
"You're a Cloud Knight. Go find a training ground."
"Let's practice properly."
Evan placed his teacup down and stood up, smiling slightly.
Yanqing's mind blanked for a second.
Then—
"Y-Yes!!"
But just as Evan set the cup down—
The corner of his eye caught something.
A figure appeared… and vanished.
Purple.
Elegant.
Dangerous.
"…Hmm?"
"One hundred and eight billion credits?"
"…Kafka?"
That fleeting violet silhouette—
There was no mistaking it.
Kafka.
One of the Stellaron Hunters.
Evan frowned.
By all rights, she should've already infiltrated the Shackling Prison to break out Blade.
Then get dragged into Fu Xuan's divination array.
Why was she here?
His interest in Kafka herself was limited.
What truly intrigued him—
Was Elio.
The so-called Slave of Fate.
A man who held the script of destiny itself.
Did Elio's script… include him?
"Looks like I flapped the butterfly's wings…"
"But the timeline is still correcting itself."
Yanqing followed Evan's gaze but saw nothing.
"Master Evan? Did you sense something?"
"…No."
"Go find a training ground. Send me the coordinates."
"Oh! Understood!"
Yanqing ran off eagerly.
Evan, however, turned down the alley where Kafka had vanished.
She was there.
Leaning against the wall.
Black coat patterned like a spider's web, white shirt beneath—
sharp contrast.
Her violet hair spilled over her shoulders as she smiled.
"So…"
"The Nameless from Jarilo-VI."
"Genius Society, Seat No. 85."
"Co-founder of the Jarilo-VI–Herta Space Station Stellar Energy Project."
"Evan."
Her fingers moved as if weaving invisible threads.
Evan knew that gesture well.
Spirit Whisper.
Even Blade couldn't resist it.
"Stellaron Hunter Kafka."
"The IPC has put a 108-billion-credit bounty on you."
"For a treasure hunter like me… you're priceless."
He smiled.
Kafka laughed softly.
"Treasure hunter… is that your true identity?"
"Who knows?" Evan shrugged.
"Out in the universe, you make up your identity as you go."
"I say I'm an Emanator of Nous—would you believe me?"
"I would."
She answered instantly.
"Because you're the one variable Elio can't calculate."
"Your appearance has already gone off-script."
"As long as you don't encounter a Star God, the Astral Express should remain safe."
Evan's eyes sharpened.
"'As long as we don't encounter a Star God'?"
"Did Elio foresee something?"
"Besides Nanook—are we meeting another?"
Kafka only smiled.
"That, he didn't say."
"But you?"
"I'm very interested in you."
She stepped close—
far too close.
Her finger brushed past Evan's lips.
Then she withdrew, laughing softly.
"Oh—one last thing."
"Tonight…"
"Remember to lock your doors and windows."
And just like that—
She vanished into the crowd.
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