Him and their stars.

Chapter 2160 Awaiting Victory, Weighing the Future
However, before it can be completely assimilated, it might be swallowed up by Jormungandr first. Sure enough, the master's dojo has already been swallowed up in one go, and after the snake's tongue took away the last bit of spiritual light, it slowly shrank back into the gray mist like a well-fed predator.

This is certainly not the end.

Beyond the churning ethereal gray mist, the outline of the colossal maw was slowly taking shape.

Yu Lian sensed the complete collapse of the canopy surrounding this small world. It was a strange sense of oppression, as if space had been distorted and reversed; all his senses perceived a deep-seated pull and distortion.

The shattered spiritual energy field resembled a shard of glass collapsing on the spot, swirling and drifting in all directions into the gray mist.

"It's now!"

Lan Jiufeng had long since shaken off his previous grief. His hair and beard stood on end, his eyes blazed, and he drew his divine sword, slashing it fiercely into the air before him!
The sword light flashed, avoiding the gray mist, but it seemed to have drawn a path of light in the virtual realm.

Yu Lian glanced meaningfully at the colossal maw behind the gray mist, as if he were seeing that sky-covering vertical pupil again. Before it, he felt as insignificant as an insect, but he still bowed to that being before following his teacher and leaping into the path of light.

The master and disciple transformed into streams of light, breaking free from the constraints of this space.

The dizzying sensation of dimensional shifting washed over Yu Lian once again, but this time, he felt a sense of joy.

Together with his master, he rampaged through the battlefield, finally managing to escape the "Conflict Zone" that the emperor had confined his master for over two months. Of course, he also narrowly avoided being devoured by Jormungandr at the last second.

However, at that moment, Yu Lian suddenly felt a jolt in his heart.

This happened at the very moment their bodies were about to enter a normal virtual realm, just as they were about to reach a safe space.

However, another strange event occurred!
Yu Lian wasn't surprised at all; in fact, she almost laughed. This kind of development was bound to happen sooner or later.

He clearly saw that the sharp and murderous dark golden dragon shadow seemed to have been lurking in the dimensional rift, seizing the moment when the old power had just gone and the new power had not yet been generated, and suddenly attacked!
Its target was none other than Lan Jiufeng, whose form was not yet fully stable!
This is no dragon; it's clearly a scheming venomous snake.

"Hmph! A despicable scoundrel!" Yu Lian and Lan Jiufeng both snorted coldly and made this assessment at the same time.

Yu Lian flicked his index finger in a shooting motion, and with a silent "bang," a barrage of whistling spiritual bullets rushed toward the ferocious dragon shadow.

The silver bullets fell into the golden dragon shadow like raindrops falling into a calm lake, seemingly absorbed and assimilated instantly. However, the arrogant dragon shadow did not advance even a single step.

The two sides remained evenly matched.

Sure enough, when it comes to the crucial moment, it still comes down to a direct confrontation! Yu Lian shook his head.

The battle-hardened Master Lan would certainly not let such an opportunity pass by, and he immediately unleashed a sword strike. What a profound sword strike it was, as if severing cause and effect and annihilating all laws.

Yu Lian thought that when his master ambushed and destroyed the emperor's physical body, he must have used a similar slash.

"Zheng——!"

The clear, resonant sword cry seemed to pierce through dimensional channels, precisely severing the dark golden dragon shadow, which was bound by the barrage of spiritual bullets, in two. The uncontrolled surge of energy sounded like the dragon's screams of agony.

However, this lightning-fast clash ultimately triggered a powerful pull at the boundary between the virtual realm and the conflict zone, causing the originally stable spatial passage to become violently disrupted.

A violent spatial turbulence swept in like a hurricane, instantly separating the master and disciple.

Yu Lian didn't even have time to shout before he was pulled out of the spatial passage by a tremendous force. In the end, he only had time to give his master a thumbs up.

Lan Jiufeng frowned slightly, but the ancient longsword in his hand emitted a steady hum, freezing the space and time around him.

He glanced deeply at the direction where Yu Lian had disappeared, but did not forcefully pursue him. Instead, he used the momentum of his sword to stabilize his own existence like a rock.

The next moment, all was calm.

He had already set foot on solid ground, on a square painted with a giant Tai Chi symbol.

The real person looked up and was startled to see rows of buildings still under construction, stretching from in front of him into the distant mountains. It resembled a city under construction, although most of the workers within were alchemical golems. It was also an unfamiliar illusory floating island, yet it felt strangely familiar.

Lan Jiufeng soon saw a Taoist mountain gate that had already been built. On those ancient and sturdy pillars, there was clearly a plaque that read "Spiritual Energy Cultivation and Technical Vocational College".

Master Lan felt the gentle breeze, smelled the fragrance of soil and grass, and clearly heard the unique noise of the construction site.

It was a noisy, bustling sound, a stark contrast to the devastating scene just moments before. Master Lan stood there for a moment before letting out a sigh. Then, a group of disciples, led by Tantai Jing, appeared before the mountain gate.

His two attendants, a tortoise and a crane, suddenly appeared, emitting joyful long cries, and danced around him.

"Master." Led by Tantai Jing, everyone bowed to their beloved master, whom they had not heard from in a long time.

"You're missing quite a few people!" Master Lan scanned the crowd.

Tantai Jing paused slightly, his eyes concealing a deep sorrow, but he reported in an unusually calm tone: "Junior Brother Grant perished in the Ring of Miracles, and Junior Brother Hyuga perished in the Pure Garden Sector. Junior Sister Elinco was also seriously injured in the Battle of Pure Garden and is still recovering. In addition, seven other third-generation disciples have also died on the battlefield in various places."

Lan Jiufeng lowered his eyelids, his expression remaining calm and composed: "He died a worthy death. This is war, but it is also the way of nature."

"The disciple understands."

"...However, I should probably have Nat and Daigoro meet up with your junior brother earlier."

"They were pioneers, rangers, and warriors, but not soldiers. Their contribution to the war was to send out so much data during the guerrilla warfare and exploration of the Miracle Ring and to destroy the Herald Machine Workshop in the Clean Court Sector."

"Yes, I am ultimately just an unruly outsider, and I don't know how to train soldiers." Lan Jiufeng gave a self-deprecating smile, a fleeting sadness in his eyes: "Then, disciple, pass down the order that I need to go into seclusion for several years. I hope I can wake up before the day this technical academy officially opens and begins teaching."

"You've worked hard." Tantai Jing's eyes swept over the sword Lan Jiufeng was holding, and he immediately understood most of the situation, but he still couldn't help but ask, "Then, what about Tianyu?"

"As for you, you only need to wait here for news of our victory. At that time, the relationship between the Spirit Research Association and your junior brother, as well as your future in the new country, will be something you will need to consider and weigh."

Tantai Jing cupped his hands and said, "Master, rest assured, I already have a plan."

……

It was still that familiar, turbulent flow of spacetime, the same dizzying, swirling consciousness, and the same bizarre fragments of dimensions, all flashing through my vision like a fleeting glimpse of dazzling yet eerie scenes.

If nothing unexpected happens, the next step will probably be another setting where a single glance reveals a lifetime of change, and everything is but a fleeting dream.

Yu Lian felt that this kind of operation, which allowed him to experience many lives in a short period of time through psychic energy, was quite exciting once he accepted it, but if it happened every time, his narrow little heart couldn't handle it.

He stabilized his mind in the shortest time, forcibly circulated his spiritual energy, and his ethereal body managed to maintain the mysterious balance between spirit and matter in the void.

Once he regained his balance amidst the turbulent dimensional currents, his spiritual senses and perceptions naturally returned as well.

Yu Lian quickly spotted the retreating golden dragon shadow. It looked like a snake with its tongue and fangs cut off, constantly shrinking back towards the intersection of dimensions.

He sneered, mobilized his spiritual energy, flung his already ethereal body away, and followed the fleeing dragon shadow.

A moment later, or perhaps a long time later, he once again felt the solid ground beneath his feet. His body gradually regained its physical form in the stabilized air.

His body, like a stone thrown into the air, finally landed on solid ground.

Yu Lian familiarized himself with the solid feel of the ground beneath his feet, confirming that this was an unfamiliar floating island, yet the environment felt very familiar. In short, it was no different from any of the other virtual floating islands he had ever visited.

He looked closely and, of course, saw once again the unchanging gray mist of the ethereal realm, composed of even more elusive ether and spirit particles.

For ordinary people, this scene might seem like seeing a creature from a virtual world, but Yu Lian felt a real sense of familiarity, as if he were in the small park behind Fujie Street in his hometown of Jincheng.

Of course, it would be even more welcoming if the island were a barren, rocky landscape.

Unfortunately, what Yu Lian saw was a neatly arranged steel "forest" that stretched to the edge of the island. The trees were actually three-meter-tall cylindrical transparent cultivation tanks, which were also supported by mechanical devices that were also over three meters tall.

The tank was filled with a translucent, colorless liquid—a nutrient solution that emitted faint psionic fluctuations. Enveloped in this nutrient solution were the "Emperors of Elither," each with their eyes closed.

Of course, unsurprisingly, it's the younger version.

They were young and robust, their faces identical to those of the puppets he had slain in the realm of conflict. These supreme beings of the Galactic Empire, like parts awaiting assembly on a factory assembly line, were imprisoned within these bio-battery-like devices, resembling a vast jungle of bio-batteries.

(End of this chapter)