The defeated saint is also on the way to tame the evil god today

　"Little ancestor, are you a repeater?"

　Xingmo pinched Aurora's shoulder, and the latter giggled.

　"Actually, we can see if there are any fish coming, but I just think it's fun to keep asking you."

　"Okay, repeater," Xingmo suddenly became serious, "Wait... I think... it's coming!"

　With a "splash" sound, Xingmo pulled the fishing rod, and an unnamed sea fish was pulled out of the sea, and then she waved her magic wand to keep it in suspension.

　Aurora jumped up, scooped up the fish, and rubbed its head.

　"The food chain," she said gently, and threw the fish into a bucket beside her.

　"Food chain?" Xingmo was curious.

　"Tell it the cause of death," Aurora smiled brightly. "It's part of the food chain, so it's destined to be eaten today."

　So rigorous...should we say that he is worthy of being the God who controls life?

　Speaking of which, Aurora has always been very dedicated to "protecting life and nature", but she doesn't feel guilty when eating.

　Xingmo was about to ask Aurora, but she seemed to be able to read her mind, anticipating her question and answering:

　"The strong prey on the weak; this is the law of nature. Not every flower or grass can be safely protected. It's better to say that as long as we survive, the lower levels of the food chain must be sacrificed."

　"But you treat Bai Ling... differently..." Xing Mo gently stroked the white scales under his body.

　At first, Aurora was in a very bad mood because the storm narwhal was captured by the factory to extract whale oil.

　"Because Bai Ling is just like me," Aurora replied softly. "I've always felt that even I have few empathetic beings, but Bai Ling is one of them. Unlike those uncivilized creatures, she is a spirit of the sea and storm, possessing a shining soul and wisdom."

　"We hope that all life can thrive under the laws of nature, and that every soul can flourish along its own path, rather than being constrained, interfered with, or destroyed without reason."

　"But the steam revolution couldn't exist without whale oil," Xingmo sighed. "The ironclad we're on uses whale oil to power its steam alchemy engine, which then plucks the strings and draws power from them."

　"That's why I hate sitting on it," Aurora whispered.

　For a moment, Xingmo understood the emotions that Aurora had felt on the ironclad ship before.

　Yeah...in a sense, it's an irreconcilable contradiction.

　The whale oil of the storm narwhal can pry the power of the string and is the absolute raw material for the alchemical steam engine.

　Until a replacement is found, humanity's atrocities against an intelligent being will be difficult to stop.

　"I'm sorry..." Xingmo touched

　Feel the scales beneath your body.

　"It's okay, it's part of the laws of nature."

　An ethereal voice answered Xingmo, startling her.

　She turned her head and saw light blue wind swirling together, slowly outlining a human figure.

　White hair like wave foam, eyes as blue as the sea, a quiet and gentle face, and a slender and graceful figure.

　A young girl had sat down next to Xingmo and Aurora at some point, her feet dangling in the air.

　Looking at the girl, Xingmo subconsciously wanted to take out his wand, but he could not sense any hostility from the other party.

　Just as she was stunned, not knowing what to do, Aurora waved her hand gently:

　"You need to put on some clothes."

　"Ah...oh..."

　Green branches and leaves formed a simple skirt, outlining the girl's body and covering her torso.

　"Little ancestor, what is this...?" Xing Mo asked.

　"Bai Ling," Aurora patted the scales beneath her body, "you can't recognize me?"

　Bai...Bai Ling?

　Xingmo looked at the beautiful girl again and his mouth slowly opened.

　""

　Looking at Xing Mo, Bai Ling tilted her head and said blankly:

　"Miss Saint... don't you remember me? Back then... you crushed an immortal to death with my jaw?"

　It seems to be her... Xing Mo exhaled and said:

　"...Hello, nice to meet you."

　"Isn't this our first meeting? You've been sitting on my back for so long?"

　"I mean... meeting him like this..."

　Xing Mo looked at Bai Ling weakly, then looked at Aurora, and finally couldn't help but said:

　"So...why can Ghost also transform into a human form?"

　"Isn't Vivian also a humanoid dragon? Why are you making such a fuss?" Aurora didn't care.

　"I mean..." Xingmo pondered, "Why humans?"

　In fact, Xingmo has been curious for a long time. Whether it is Bahamut, the Dragon King of Fire Dragons, or Vivian, they are both dragons with human form.

　The key lies in why it is "people".

　And...not only dragons, even Aurora is humanoid.

　""

　Facing Xingmo's question, Aurora simply smiled faintly:

　"Is it possible that this isn't a humanoid?"

　"Hmm?" Xing Mo looked Bai Ling up and down. "But, she looks exactly like a human?"

　"What I'm saying is, whether it's Bai Ling or you humans, your forms are actually shaped based on another existence?"

　"Another existence?" Xing Mo was stunned. "What is that..."

　Before she could finish, the answer was already apparent.

　Xing Mo raised her head and looked at the clouds in the sky and the endless sky behind the clouds.

　"It's an angel, isn't it?"

　Aurora nodded calmly, cast out her fishing rod, and said in a low voice:

　"Actually, I don't really understand this either, so my sister told me a little bit about it."

　"It's probably like this... beings with spiritual awareness will eventually converge towards a certain direction to shape their bodies. This body is the shape of spiritual awareness, but also the shape of constraint..."

　"The shape of an angel..." Xingmo muttered.

　"That's not accurate. Not all angels can take on this form," Aurora shook her head. "When the Transcendent loses control, the angel's appearance is equally ferocious. Only by maintaining spiritual awareness can they maintain a stable form."

　The greatest advantage of human beings is spiritual knowledge.

　"So I love you..." Aurora leaned on Xingmo's shoulder. "On the scale of the universe, you are so small, yet so similar to us...with intelligent...shining souls..."

　The tone of her voice when she said this lost its earthly air and sounded more like something a god would say.

　In response, Xingmo gently pinched Aurora's cheek and whispered:

　"Take them off."

　"Eh... possessiveness..."

　Aurora raised her head, hesitated for a moment, and then pecked Xingmo on the cheek.

　"This treatment is only available to you." She smiled brightly.

　Xingmo also smiled. She rubbed Aurora's head and gently hugged her in her arms.

　"Okay, there's a third person here." Aurora gently scratched Xingmo's chin.

　"It's okay. I'm enjoying this wonderful experience," Bai Ling said calmly. "After the shedding ceremony, my spirit body is still unstable. I need some relaxation."

　Wait... shedding ceremony? Xingmo keenly grasped the key words.

　She recalled the description that the Dragon King Bahamut had given to herself and Vivian, humanoid dragons... "dragons of shed scales."

　"What does the shedding ceremony mean?" she asked.

　"When spiritual knowledge and transcendence achieve harmony, the savage scales that bind the soul will fade away," Bai Ling explained in a disembodied voice. "For the Storm Narwhal, this means achieving leadership within the pack. The entire pack will turn their hearts to one individual, allowing them to complete their transformation within the Canyon of Eternal Darkness and move closer to spiritual knowledge..."

　"In other words, Little White Spirit has made some progress and has a spiritual anchoring mechanism similar to an anchor point," Aurora added.

　So that's how it is... When a supernatural being's power and spiritual awareness reaches a certain threshold, they have the opportunity to transform into a form "closer to an angel."

　That is, a form similar to that of a human.

　This made Xingmo understand a lot of things at once, for example,

　In the long river of fate, she had glimpsed two forms of the golden sun: a crazy divine bird roaring in the clouds, and a handsome man with huge wings.

　These are the two forms that a deity can take depending on the variable of "whether or not it possesses spiritual awareness."

　All things ascend towards angels, becoming more and more like angels in the process...

　Once they lose their spiritual awareness, they will collapse into their original appearance and become even more hideous.

　"Have you heard of the dragon that shed its scales?" Xingmo asked Bai Ling.

　Hearing this, Bai Ling was slightly startled, and then replied in a respectful tone:

　"That is a dragon with extremely pure blood. It is the leader of its species and the overlord of the extraordinary world."

　"However, such great beings are rare now. Most of the dragons that have fought against our race are subspecies without any spiritual awareness."

　Hmm... there isn't much useful information... it seems the supernatural beings aren't that familiar with each other.

　"I see..." Xing Mo nodded, "Thank you."

　She hesitantly stretched out her hand, wanting to touch Bai Ling, but the latter took the initiative to move her head closer and rubbed Xing Mo's hand.

　"Don't thank me, Miss Saint..." she whispered, "I like you very much..."

　This sudden confession left Xingmo stunned, while Aurora beside her covered her mouth and laughed.

　"Bai Ling has always been thinking about you. After all, you saved her, but she is very shy."

　Shy...?

　Looking at Bai Ling rubbing her hand gently like a cute little animal, Xing Mo felt embarrassed for a moment.

　Is it possible that in Aurora's opinion, she herself is also one of those shy and introverted girls?

　Xing Mo gently rubbed Bai Ling's head. Looking at her well-behaved appearance, his mind recalled the poor animals that were bound and exploited in the steam factory.

　Yes... She is a free species... A soul nurtured by the sea breeze and waves...

　Maybe... we should try to change something.

　Thinking of this, Xing Mo took a deep breath and whispered to Bai Ling:

　"I won't let them keep killing your people."

　But Bai Ling just tilted her head blankly and smiled obediently.

　"It's okay," she said. "The sea breeze is still blowing."

　"So, you are also a graduate of Nefera Beta?"

　"Of course Miss Alice, I'm a big fan of yours."

　Inside the dining room below the Academi's bridge, Alice looked at the admiral across from her, chuckled, and shook her head.

　"There's nothing about me that deserves to be admired."

　"You may not realize how famous you were in our class," the Admiral smiled. "In fact, we were in the same class, but you rarely came to school later, so you may not be familiar with me."

　"After joining the Bell Guardians, I've had less and less time for socializing." Alice shook her head.

　"Let me introduce myself. My name is William Armster," the admiral said with a smile. "It was only after the war that I was given the command of such a steel monster."

　"Nice to meet you, William," Alice nodded and pointed to Vivian beside her, "This is my lover, Vivian Xia."

　Hearing the word "lover", William was stunned for a moment, then scratched his head:

　"It's actually true...you and Miss Vivian."