Him and their stars.

Chapter 2024 Yu Lian's Wuji Academy

When the colossus's armor fully expanded into a silver flower, and after the arc of light, resembling a miniature black hole, flickered for half a minute, all the fluctuating gravitational signals and heat source fluctuations on all the terminals fell silent.

Then, another hour of silence followed.

The officers, soldiers, and scientists who were silently watching everything dared not even breathe, as if they were waiting for a trial to begin.

Just as some impatient people began to have doubts, a continuous buzzing sound suddenly rang out from the observatory. It was the resonance of a deep-hole probe from another galaxy.

A star in a galaxy 3.7 light-years away from "Miss Jade Lotus" is emitting a shriek that most existing scientific instruments cannot interpret.

That was an extremely low-frequency vibration generated when the star's magnetic field was torn apart. It penetrated the thin interstellar medium and directly acted on the deep space probe, thus generating a tiny, subtle signal that was transmitted to a distant cosmic location.

However, Princess Rainbow Rose, standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, stared directly in the direction of that planet, as if she could already see the scene 3 light-years away with her naked eye.

“The stars’ reactions have accelerated,” said Amida Berencaster.

"Are you facing the death of a star?" the old man asked with great interest.

"I'll see a lot of death sooner or later, and by facing the death of stars, I might get used to it," she said.

“It’s best not to adapt. My child, don’t forget what I told you about the anchor point of life,” Ott Berencaster said. “You can accept it, you can face it calmly, but don’t adapt to it, and certainly don’t be indifferent to it.”

"Before the stars, humanity and civilization seem insignificant."

“But you are already slaying stars. So everything is precious.”

The two then fell silent again.

Half a minute later, the command center's terminal belatedly began flashing a communication signal. The densely packed numbers, verified by the smart terminal, formed a series of formulas, constituting a complete representation of the astronomical phenomenon.

"CS9527's reaction has accelerated! It's accelerated by at least a hundred million times!" a science officer shouted.

In reality, this is a very conservative figure. The so-called 100 million is merely the limit that current astronomical models can demonstrate.

Then, the graphics from the scene were transmitted over.

Even through those blurry images, ordinary people could barely make out that boiling plasma was peeling away from the surface of the star, and countless plasma vortices rose and fell on the orange-red planet's surface, forming a series of super flares.

The prominence erupted to heights thousands of times greater than usual, as if it were about to devour its galaxy.

In fact, one of the screens actually recreated the entire process of a planet being swallowed by a solar prominence of a star. This purple planet, the same size as Venus, shone brightly before disappearing completely into a vortex of energy ions.

Then, the screen went completely dark. This was, of course, because the probe closest to the star was swallowed up by the burst of ion vortexes.

However, by this time, no one could stop the death of the CS9527 star.

On screen, Princess Rainbow Rose witnessed the final struggle of a star, a struggle that could perhaps be described as heroic.

A burst of neutrinos, equivalent to billions or even tens of billions of times the normal amount, evolved and erupted inside the star. The orange-red star resembled an orange squeezed flat by an invisible hand, with countless cracks appearing on its surface, and light seeping out from the cracks.

Then, before it fell silent, an eruption began. The brightest star in the night sky ended its life in a brief but intense release of energy.

The shockwave spread outward at one-tenth the speed of light, instantly igniting all celestial bodies in the entire galaxy.

Of course, all the pre-positioned probes within the galaxy also vaporized.

All the screens displaying images fell silent, but on the other terminals, a large number of data strings continued to jump continuously, and green light shone on everyone's faces, revealing different complexions.

Then, suddenly, cheers erupted from the researchers in their white lab coats. They seemed to release decades of pent-up frustration, jumping and shouting hand-in-hand, letting out emotions they had suppressed for who knows how long.

The students have just learned that they got good results in the college entrance examination, and that's about it.

They withstood the pressure imposed upon them by the entire universe and this war, and finally succeeded in passing this major test.

The officers and sailors of the space fleet quickly joined in the celebration. They certainly felt that their colleagues in the research department were being a bit too excited; it was only the second successful experiment, why make it seem like the first time?
Regardless, the experiment was a success, and even if it's just for the visible bonus and vacation, a little celebration is necessary.

Of course, at the top of the command structure, Amida Berencaster remained impeccably calm and composed. In her vision of the future, the chances of the Colossus succeeding this week were almost 100%.

Under the watchful eye of the patriarch, she even slowly and deliberately gave the subsequent orders to the cheering crowd: "One last scan of CS9527 to determine the condition of the gravity well. I need a report within five minutes."

She didn't actually wait that long.

Just two minutes later, her subordinates sent her the latest observation report.

“The original gravity well is still there, but it's in a state of regular collapse. We need to observe it for a long time. And, and…” The voice on the phone was filled with obvious disbelief: “According to gravitational data, the original star CS9527 hasn't completely disappeared, but has transformed into a neutron star. This, this…”

“Excellent, Doctor. The Colossus weapon you have completed is more stable and controllable than the Empire's. You and your colleagues are heroes of the Alliance, and soon the Grand Master of the Azure Palace will award you the highest honor.” Yani said.

Of course, in addition to the Medal of Honor, there are generous bonuses, promotion opportunities at various universities and research institutes, free security and medical care, tax-free villas, and even a significant increase in the amount of research funding one can apply for. These and many other benefits need not be detailed in the phone call.

Compared to empires, alliances are never stingy when it comes to truly pillars of the state. In this respect, they are so pragmatic that they are almost unlike capitalists.

But wasn't it you who gave us the formula? You're clearly the biggest contributor. The doctor on the phone thought this, but could only express his admiration for "Your Highness's" noble character.

As Yani put down the microphone, the command center's central control AI issued a notification: "President Fino Berencaster of the Azure Palace has sent a congratulatory message. His Excellency is online, please..."

Yani turned off the notification and said to the old man, "Well then, with things settled here, I'm setting off too. The Alliance Space Fleet will cross Canchuan within forty-eight hours and launch deterrent fire on all Imperial combat aircraft entering the Spiral Nebula traverse. Within two weeks, we will concentrate at least 3000 warships and at least six Titans in Canchuan and enter Femor." "The supply base in Canchuan began construction a year ago. Yani, you didn't foresee this happening back then, did you?"

“Ancestor, you also said not to be superstitious about this.” She pointed to her eyes and pressed her temples: “But you must believe in this part of yourself.”

"So, do you believe that what you're doing now is a rational judgment?"

"Didn't you say that you would help me find happiness in being human? I, who am doing all this, feel very happy now."

"..."

She coughed forcefully again, her face now serious and dignified: "If we succeed, the alliance will gain the upper hand. But even if we fail, it won't matter. After all, we won't suffer any real consequences, and we can always retreat to the rear of Canchuan."

"Then, the real Miss Yulian will need to remain a secret for a while longer."

“The real Miss Yulian has always been here. We don’t need to do anything.”

Ott Berencaster pondered for a moment, then chuckled: “Very well. Well then, child, you are at my disposal. I will be stationed in Nefic for the next year. Although I am an old man from the previous era, I should still be able to keep an eye on them.”

Princess Rainbow Rose expressed her gratitude to her great-great-grandfather and took out a golden virtual token from her spatial bag.

As she sent the spatial password to the Void Realm, she witnessed her ancestor already activating the terminal and loudly rebuking his seventh-generation great-grandson, who was also the current leader of the Alliance:
“I’m going back to Nefi right away, what’s the rush? Didn’t Yani already leave you a speech? Just read it verbatim! So what? What else? What do you think the president’s job is? Don’t get me wrong!”

A hazy mist rose in Yani's vision, obscuring everything and everyone, but after a brief moment of movement, she felt a warm and solid touch beneath her feet.

She was already standing on the edge of an island suspended above endless chaos. The island itself was not made of earth and stone, but rather resembled some kind of solidified spiritual jade that emitted a soft glow. The halo flowed through the cracks in the island's foundation structure, and the moment it reached the edge of the island, it turned into tiny specks of light that dissipated and merged into the indescribable gray mist of the surrounding ethereal realm.

However, even more points of light spilled out from the gray fog and merged into the island's torrent of light.

Of course, all of this was actually the result of Princess Rainbow Rose's spiritual perception. As for the naked eye, it was clear that this enormous island was slowly moving and sailing against the backdrop of a bizarre and colorful subspace, like a silent ark.

Behind that indescribable gray mist of the illusory realm, monsters that have existed for countless ages roam within it. Their auras seem to be very, very far away, yet in an instant, they seem to be right within reach.

Their senses seemed to have solidified into tangible claws, as if they could tear this fragile dust apart at any moment.

Yes, to ordinary people, this is an island large enough to house a city. But compared to those indescribable behemoths, it is nothing more than dust.

Thus, the indescribable thing's attention naturally swept over, and then naturally moved away.

They slowly moved away from this place.

This is a deep fold of the Void Realm, a subspace composed of pure psionic energy and fragments of concepts. It may also be the safest place in the Void Realm.

Even mortals can survive here, provided their physical bodies can withstand the spatial passage that traverses the void.

Yani took another step forward. In this world where space and time intertwined, the ripples of spiritual energy carried her hundreds of meters forward. Then, the sensation beneath her feet was no longer the warm, smooth jade, but a polished obsidian floor inlaid with dark gold energy patterns.

She stood in the center of a magnificent square, where the fountain that once symbolized supreme imperial power was still in operation, its gushing water shimmering with a crystalline light, as if dispelling the smog above.

A slowly rotating celestial globe floats atop the water column.

Surrounding the square are still magnificent and imposing typical imperial palace-style buildings. Towering columns support huge domes, and the walls still faintly reveal beautiful and exquisite reliefs.

On the steps of the main hall, there still stands a giant with a dragon's head.

However, this palace, this island, has been completely "renovated" and infused with a completely different soul.

Yani could sense this.

Even someone as knowledgeable as her had to admit her admiration.

Then, she sighed resentfully, expressing her indignation to a certain heartless person across the void and the sea of ​​stars: "Such a fun and valuable treasure, and you didn't even tell me? You heartless bastard."

Amida Berencaster blushed and cursed a few times on the spot before striding towards the open door and giving a slight nod to the middle-aged man standing at the entrance.

"It's been a long time since I last greeted you, Master Tantai. You are far more conscientious than him."

"You've misunderstood him, Your Excellency. Granting certain permissions to the Alliance at the appropriate time was a result of our collective discussion," said Tantai Jing.

"The result of the discussion?" Princess Rainbow Rose repeated the question, her gaze then sweeping from the face of the current leader of the Spirit Research Society to a Flammore man beside her: "You are Mr. Herito River? I have heard of your name. You made the right choice to follow the side of justice."

“Yes. He’s already a guest elder of my Spirit Research Society. Once this academy is built, he will also serve as the dean of studies and professor of alchemy, and occasionally teach some political science and imperial history.” Tantai Jing introduced him in this way, with a subtle but real sense of accomplishment in his tone: “My disciples will call him teacher.”

“Very good, you have indeed made the right choice,” said Amida Berencaster.

It was merely the best option available. I just wanted to stay alive; I wanted to survive, to try and survive. Herito Rivers, concealing the bitterness on his face, bowed to Princess Rainbow Rose.

He bowed very low. Even when he was still a civil servant of the empire, he bowed just as lowly to the emperor.

Although the Flammore has now taken on the form of the Spirit Research Society and seems poised to become a promising educator, he still decides to try his best to disguise himself as a piece of furniture in front of Princess Rainbow Rose.

“This place was once the family heirloom of the Werrent royal family, and it’s the only space ark I know of that allows free movement within the virtual realm.” Yamida surveyed the surrounding palace, noticing that the imperial dragon emblem on the gate and porch had been removed and replaced with a book-shaped symbol. “And now, this palace has become an academy. This is a historical achievement of the Spirit Research Society.”

“I choose progress. An academy is better than a palace. According to my junior brother’s idea, this new academy will probably be called Wuji Academy.” Tantai Jing paused for a moment: “Of course, that’s the name he came up with.”