Asura in Arknights

However... contrary to what they thought, the reason for the change in the astrological spells was not because of the remains of the Path Shaper.

Rather, it was those constructs that descended from the sky before that, disturbed by the launch of the spaceship. They were very likely the source of the power of the astral magic. This would explain why Li Ang could sense a similar aura, and why the degenerated Minghen of the Pathfinder still had such high resistance to Elena's starlight rays.

Because the Road Shaper was killed by the same attack.

In this way, everything is connected.

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Chapter Seventy-Five: The Visitor

By a stroke of luck, some of the mystery surrounding those constructs was finally revealed to Li Ang.

Although Li Ang had no intention of uncovering this truth, as he and Adele traveled, they found it increasingly easy to come across the many secrets of this world.

These issues, though complex, all ultimately share a common origin—

For unknown reasons, the once-thriving pre-civilization was destroyed by a disaster, and the survivors built this world on the ruins.

But this does not mean the end.

The final madness of the previous civilization left the people of Terra with a huge mess, some of which have even become new sources of destruction.

Moreover, judging from various signs, the crisis that led to the destruction of the previous civilization has not gone away and is still threatening the world today.

Of course, mentioning an apocalyptic crisis now might be too far off, but judging from the current situation, Li Ang will definitely be dealing with those mysterious constructs a lot in the near future.

The director of Rhine Labs was probably doing research in this area.

Upon hearing Li Ang's bold conjecture, the Ubika sisters were both lost in their own thoughts.

The gloom that had been hanging over Xingji's heart finally dissipated, and after many years, she finally felt a sense of relief.

If Li Ang's conjecture is correct, then there is indeed no need to save the Ubika family's astrological magic.

Repairing a device from a pre-civilization that is gradually collapsing is not something that their small family could do, and no one on the entire continent of Terra could do such a thing.

The decline of astrological magic is a foregone conclusion, which is actually a good thing.

At least Xingji can finally break free from the shackles imposed on her by her family, no longer have to desperately pursue that slim possibility, and have time to do what she wants to do.

But amidst the relief, Xingji felt a sense of bewilderment.

Astrology permeated almost every corner of her life, and now someone suddenly told her that she didn't need to continue studying those things, and Xingji didn't know what to do next.

Perhaps this will be the first major challenge she will face in the second half of her life.

Compared to her older sister's complicated thoughts, the younger sister's ideas were much simpler.

Elena's mind was now filled with thoughts of whether she could use her family's heritage to find the device and see if she could disassemble it for research.

If the elders in the family knew about this idea, they would definitely scold her for being rebellious.

But who told Elena to be the biggest rebel in the history of the Ubica family? It's not surprising that she would have such thoughts.

"Miss Star, do you have any plans to return to Columbia recently?"

Hearing Li Ang's question, Xingji looked over in confusion, then shook his head. "My condition is rather complicated, so I will stay on Rhodes Island for observation for a while. I probably won't be going back in the short term."

"Is there anything I can do for you? You've already helped me so much, so if there's anything I can do to help, I certainly won't refuse."

Li Ang not only saved the two sisters' lives, but also provided an important clue about their family's inheritance. Xingji had no idea how he could repay this person.

“Actually, I’m quite interested in the astrological documents preserved by your family. I wonder if I could borrow them to take a look,” Li Ang replied. “Of course, they are just ordinary records and will not involve your family’s heritage.”

Hearing Li Ang's request, Xing Anzi breathed a sigh of relief. This request was not difficult for her, so she shook her head slightly and replied, "Actually, it doesn't matter if you want to borrow the inheritance. Those things... will probably become a pile of waste paper soon."

Astrological magic will soon lose its effectiveness, so what's the point of clinging to those traditions then?

“If that’s all there is to it, I can take some time to accompany you to Colombia.”

Xingji could tell that Li Ang wasn't interested in astrology at all; he just wanted to find some clues in the family records.

He certainly didn't choose the wrong person. In terms of the number of these kinds of documents that have been preserved, no one in the entire Astronomical Society can compare with the Ubica family.

After thinking for a moment, to avoid any misunderstanding, Xingji added, "The family has preserved a lot of information, and I don't know what you're looking for, so I'll have to go to the library to look through it myself."

"This...isn't it inconvenient? After all, your health is more important." Li Ang feigned hesitation for a moment.

Just as she had predicted, Elena quickly volunteered, "Then you can stay here and continue your treatment, sister. Anyway, I'll be going back in a while, and I can take him with me then, right?"

Investigating the documents preserved by the Ubica family was secondary; how long would it take him to investigate so many documents? Finding a way to make contact with Elena and Ferdinand was the real priority. Those stars in the sky were too far away, while the internal strife within Rhine Lab was something that was about to happen.

However, Xingji glanced at her younger sister and said indifferently, "Are you serious? Are you sure you won't get kicked out by Father with a stick when you go back?"

Upon hearing this, Elena's smile froze on her face. She scratched her head awkwardly, "N-no... I'm not sure, but I don't think so..."

"Think carefully, how long has it been since you last went home? Think it through before answering my question," Xingji said quietly.

Elena fell silent. She thought about it carefully, and the situation that Xingji described seemed... to be quite possible.

"You don't need to persuade me anymore. I really should go back after being away for so long."

Moreover, it is necessary to tell my father about the speculations I just heard.

Xingji silently added a sentence in his mind.

Seeing that her sister had made a decision, Elena stopped insisting. She knew that Xingji wouldn't change her mind so easily.

The two sisters then agreed that once Elena finished her work, she would return to Colombia with the Rhine Life team.

Li Ang can go with them, or he can go on his own later. Xingji will probably stay at home for a while.

Having said the most important thing, the three quickened their pace and caught up with the main group ahead.

"You're finally back."

Seeing the three people catching up, Warfarin greeted them with a smile, "How did the talks go?"

"Thankfully, everything went smoothly." Li Ang nodded.

Warfarin didn't press the matter further, and instead brought up another issue, "I've been thinking about something just now, why do those Sealings absorb Originium radiation and accumulate so much energy in their bodies? It seems a bit illogical, doesn't it?"

Thinking about it carefully, this does seem a bit off; it completely goes against Hai Si's instincts.

"You should know more about those creatures than I do. What are your thoughts on this?"

After thinking for a while, Li Ang replied, "One possibility is that a more advanced sea creature controls them to do this, and the other is that they have to evolve into their current form due to environmental influences."

Both of these guesses are possible.

First, there is indeed a high-level sea creature in the Great Knight Territory that is secretly controlling everything.

Secondly, this is just a simple coincidence. If you carefully imagine the final form of the Pathfinder, it is not difficult to understand why these Nether Marks evolved into this form.

With its thick skin and flesh, ability to survive in extreme environments, capacity to absorb and convert radiation, and ability to store large amounts of energy internally, this certainly meets the requirements for interstellar travel. Furthermore, the Sea-seed has no lifespan limit. As long as it has sufficient energy, even without the talent for warp drive and psionic leap, it can eventually break out of this galaxy by slowly accelerating.

What the universe has no shortage of is all sorts of messy background radiation.

Perhaps it was just a coincidence that the wreckage of the road builder landed in Ayin's lab.

Upon hearing Li Ang's answer, Warfarin frowned, and it was unclear what was troubling her.

Feeling a bit strange, Li Ang casually asked, "Why are you so concerned about this issue? Logically speaking, this shouldn't be your responsibility to solve."

"Yeah, why should I worry about this nonsense?"

Warfarin paused for a moment, then slapped her leg as if suddenly realizing something, making the protective suit thud loudly. "Why didn't you just leave this to Kal'tsit? What am I thinking about all this nonsense?"

"Hey... It's been too long since I led a team on a mission, and my skills have definitely declined. Just pretend this didn't happen, I'll go find Kal'tsit myself later."

Warfarin rubbed her hands together, looking ready to go back and give Kal'tsit a good job.

Seeing this, two elite operators who were quite familiar with Warfarin couldn't help but tease her, saying things like, "Dr. Warfarin, aren't you afraid of being dragged out by the neck by Dr. Kal'tsit again?" and "This time the mast will probably be hanging again. I hope it doesn't break this time. The engineering department has complained about it many times already."

Warfarin's flushed face filled the group with a joyful atmosphere.

"Sigh, forget it, I'm too lazy to talk to you guys anymore."

When it comes to arguing, Warfarin alone was no match for those two seasoned soldiers, and in the end, she could only helplessly raise her hands in surrender.

"Pack your things, clean off the radiation dust, and get ready to go back."

By now, they could see the passage that Viviana had created.

Just as everyone was preparing to pass through the crack in the door one by one, a crisp knocking sound suddenly came from the depths of the ruins, like a hammer striking an anvil.

Is that... the voice Viviana mentioned before? It's actually real?

Everyone was stunned; none of them had expected that this voice would appear just as they were about to leave.

Li Ang's expression changed slightly. He no longer cared about Ferdinand, who was reading a newspaper. He quickly withdrew his senses, paused for a moment, and then enveloped the entire ruins.

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"clang--!!"

As the hammer fell heavily, sparks flew from the red-hot metal on the anvil.

"Ah!"

At the same time, Nian, who was sitting cross-legged to the side, sneezed, startling Maria so much that she almost dropped the hammer she was holding.

"Master, are you alright?" the little girl asked with some concern.

"It's okay, you can continue."

Nian rubbed his nose and waved at Maria.

"Could it be that my silly little sister is nagging me again?" Nian muttered to herself.

What could make the Year Beast sneeze was no small matter, so Nian naturally began to slander his younger sister, "So what if I asked her for a few more paintings? Does she have to be so stingy?"

"Master...I don't think it's because of that..."

The two were very close, so Maria also heard Nian's mutterings, and she glanced at her master subtly.

Before leaving, Nian went to see Xi again and woke her up from her sleep. Xi was obviously angry because of this, not because she asked for a few paintings.

Sometimes, Maria really couldn't tell whether her master was genuinely stupid or just pretending, especially when it came to angering her martial uncle. She really... didn't know how to describe it.

"Hey, that's not important. Anyway, how many days a year does my silly sister not get angry?"

Nian seemed indifferent. "By the way, why did you stop? Is it finished forging?"

"Yes, it's done." Maria nodded obediently.

"Let me see."

As he spoke, Nian jumped up from the ground.

She walked over to Maria and reached out to pick up the red-hot sword blank from the anvil.

After examining it closely for a moment, Nian gave a good evaluation: "It's not bad. At least it looks like a sword. You've made rapid progress."

"Hehe..." Maria laughed shyly.

"Then let's rest for a while and come out with me."

"Ah."

After ending their morning contact, Nian took Maria and left the painting.

Although she only took on this apprentice for fun, Nian did not hold back at all when teaching Maria. Even without using her powers, Nian's level was enough to call her a Grandmaster.

Maria was also a diligent student. No matter how difficult the tasks assigned at the end of the year were, she completed them all meticulously and conscientiously.

Years ago, I asked Maria why she wanted to learn this ancient technique. You see, even without the added power, weapons made by modern industry are in no way inferior to this traditional craft, and in many ways even have advantages. At least you don't have to go to great lengths to learn the craft of forging.

Maria's answer was that she wanted to personally craft a set of equipment for her beloved sister.

This answer pleased Nian greatly, and he found his little apprentice even more pleasing to the eye. So, when Nian went out this time, he also took Maria with him for convenient teaching.

"Alright, you should go take a shower first. It seems like we have some guests. I'll go check on them."

Not long after the two emerged from the painting, they heard a knock on the door.

Chapter Seventy-Six: A Familiar Voice

"Okay, I'll go right away."

Maria nodded obediently, while glancing curiously toward the doorway.

Unlike her master, who could reach directly into the furnace to check the situation inside, the young girl was already covered in sweat after sitting by the forging table for a while.

Although she was a little curious about who the visitor was, Maria couldn't wait to take a shower.

With that, Maria walked toward the house next door.