In this Luminary Wardance Ceremony, Emanators would also participate.
When Hua announced this news, it undoubtedly sent shockwaves throughout the universe, broadcast live through the Interastral Peace Corporation's channels.
After all, aside from the distant and unattainable Aeons, Emanators were pretty much the most powerful beings in the cosmos.
With the power to annihilate an entire star system, it was a rare sight for ordinary people to witness such might bestowed by the Aeons.
Of course, the major universal powers who had been invited weren't too surprised.
They had already received some advance notice the moment they received the joint invitation from the Xianzhou and Glamoth.
And for the Xianzhou Alliance, a martial arts tournament of this immense scale certainly had its own objectives.
First, it was to pave the way for the new Cloud Knight Marshal.
Although martial strength wasn't the most critical aspect of the Marshal's position, for a militant society like the Xianzhou Alliance that followed the Path of the Hunt, strength was clearly a necessity.
Using a tournament like this to smooth the path for Qingque would force any dissenters within the Alliance who objected to her succession to shut their mouths.
Second, it was to bolster the Xianzhou's reputation.
The Alliance had been lying low for many years. While they had a public face like the Yaoqing, which was quite active in the universe, it had to be said that the other Xianzhou ships, for various reasons, had inevitably grown complacent, suffering from a lack of new talent.
The sudden rise of the Glamoth Empire, in particular, had occupied the Xianzhou's original niche. The Alliance was once renowned throughout the universe for helping the downtrodden. The universe had a good impression of the Xianzhou and feared its might. But the Celestial Empire of Glamoth was even more extreme in this regard.
If the Alliance only stepped in to kick a bad guy when they happened to stumble upon them, then Glamoth was like a pack of bloodhounds that would swarm over to knock on your door and "deliver warmth" at the slightest scent of trouble.
After this tournament, the Alliance would become a vassal of Glamoth, much like the Corporation. For the sake of their future standing, making a good showing was clearly essential.
"A clash between Emanators, hmm? Heh, now that's a little interesting. It makes accompanying you on this trip worthwhile."
A mature, light female voice echoed in the air. In a special viewing box, a separate space unto itself, one could see not only the venue and the arena but also the boundless starry sky and the massive Xianzhou ships on display.
A brown-haired woman, dressed like a witch with a pointed hat, leaned against the viewing window. Her thigh, wrapped in black stockings, was propped up, swinging gently with her movements.
Her beautiful face held a look of casual amusement and keen interest.
She was Herta, a member of Genius Society #83 and master of the Herta Space Station.
"Are you going to go up and have a try?" asked Ruan Mei, a beautiful woman in a unique cyan dress, her expression cool and placid.
"Honestly, I'm not interested. You know, Emanators of the Droid-head are generally not the combat-oriented type."
"But... while they can't compare to an Aeon, a clash of Emanators is a rare sight. From the perspective of pure entertainment, I should be able to collect plenty of reference data."
"Hmm? What are you looking at? So intently?" As she spoke, Herta noticed an unusual look on Ruan Mei's face. Curious, she followed her friend's gaze and immediately spotted a strange man talking with a Halovian girl.
"Oh, is that the famous superstar from the Family? I'm surprised the Family would join in on this kind of event. An Emanator of the Many-faced God isn't really suited for this sort of occasion, right...? That man, is he the one you told me about?"
"Yes."
Ruan Mei replied, but Herta didn't press further. She just stared at the man, her eyes narrowing.
...This guy is very, very wrong.
It wasn't that he was particularly special.
On the contrary, it was because he was too natural.
His looks were top-tier, sure—but that wasn't important. From a physical standpoint, based on what she could see, he was just... the "human standard." A healthy human being.
If she had to give him an evaluation, it would be that he was an overly standard human.
Most people might glance at him and find him eye-catching, but they wouldn't pay him too much mind.
But, to a genius... this bizarre normalcy was the most abnormal thing of all.
Especially for someone like Ruan Mei, who studied life itself.
Herta could now understand why Ruan Mei was so fixated on that man.
As if sensing her gaze, their eyes met.
It was just a casual glance, a trivial and ordinary action, but Herta abruptly sat bolt upright.
"Where are you going?"
"You know exactly where."
"I seem to recall when I was consulting you, you said it was the first time you'd ever seen me so impatient."
"Did something like that happen?"
Herta looked surprised, then hastily pushed the door open and left, leaving a wistful Ruan Mei behind.
As the defending champion of this Luminary Wardance Ceremony, Miss Qingque was running late.
Of course, it didn't really matter.
The first few days of the ceremony were reserved for contestants from the Xianzhou and across the universe. This was both to select the new generation of Xianzhou talent and create a stage for them to gain experience, as well as to make up for the previous, interrupted Stellar Wardance Ceremony.
"Qingque, why are you so late?"
Though her tardiness didn't have any real consequences, when Qingque's former supervisor, Fu Xuan, saw her arrive late to yet another important occasion, she couldn't help but adopt her old stern tone and glare at her with dissatisfaction.
Honestly, though, Fu Xuan should have been very happy right now. Before the ceremony reopened, both General Jing Yuan and Marshal Hua had made it clear that she was to inherit the position of General of the Xianzhou Luofu. This long-cherished dream was finally within her grasp; she should have been ecstatic.
She had originally thought Qingque was going to take her place and become her direct superior.
...Of course, it seemed like nothing had changed.
The thought that while she was becoming a General, Qingque was being promoted to Marshal—a position still above her—made Fu Xuan's feelings complicated, even if she wasn't the type to be jealous of talent.
I'm about to become a General, so why can't I feel happy about it at all?
"Master Diviner... I'm just feeling a little... unwell..." Qingque shrank back for a moment before recovering. Faced with Fu Xuan's questioning, she replied with a faint blush and a strange expression.
"...Then it seems I have misjudged you."
Observing Qingque, Fu Xuan could see that something was indeed off. Her face was unusually flushed, and her short legs were trembling slightly.
All of this proved that Miss Qingque wasn't making up an excuse this time; she was genuinely unwell. Her dissatisfaction instantly turned to concern, and she advised in a serious tone:
"Have you seen a physician? At such a critical time, and with such a heavy responsibility on your shoulders, you absolutely cannot afford any mishaps."
"It's fine, it's fine... I just ate something that disagreed with me. I just need to rest a bit... I'll be fine... just let me... recover..." Qingque explained awkwardly. At this moment, her heart was filled with regret, and she was secretly grinding her teeth.
This was all thanks to that bastard surnamed Jiang.
Even though she was the one who launched the surprise attack, that animal showed absolutely no regard for their camaraderie. He seized the opportunity while she was caught off guard and went at her so fiercely he nearly sent her to the heavens and back!
What was even more ridiculous was that the guide from the chat group was completely useless! Her physiological and racial advantages were utterly meaningless against him. All that talk about high HP and stamina was a lie!
Every single thrust was like true damage based on percentage health, and every hit was a critical one. He nearly split her in two.
The most obvious effect was apparent now. Materially speaking, with the powerful life force of a celestial being, she should have recovered in the blink of an eye from being... well, opened up, let alone a small tear.
But after being plowed by that guy, her whole F-ing layout had been changed! The entryway was now perfectly flush, down to the last detail. Miss Qingque felt like a mint that had dissolved the moment it entered her mouth, her mind completely blank.
Even now, that ridiculous feeling lingered, making her legs feel completely weak...
Fraud! This was absolute fraud!
To avoid giving herself away, Qingque could only try her best to hide her abnormal state. She had to hold down the hem of her clothes, keep her thighs clamped tightly together, and force a weak smile as she discussed the matters of the Luminary Wardance Ceremony with Fu Xuan.
—In a corner no one could see, a silent trickle made its way down her leg.
As for the defending champion battle, Miss Qingque wasn't too worried.
Since Hua had announced it so publicly, she obviously wouldn't have done so without informing her beforehand.
...Well, at the time, she had kind of wanted to freak out.
What? Not only do you want little old me to be the Marshal, but I also have to fight in the ring as the defending champion?
Marshal, take a look at me! Do these little arms and legs look like they can fight? Against an Emanator, no less?
But the outcome was obvious.
Hua had regarded her protests as mere excuses.
After all, she had witnessed Qingque's strength with her own eyes.
Although Miss Qingque herself couldn't bring out the full potential of her own body, after being possessed by that man surnamed Jiang so many times... setting aside all the suffering, just the residual power she'd absorbed was more than enough to feast on.
The Mask of Aha. With this mask, Qingque was effectively an Emanator of Elation.
And because Aha was extremely generous, the amount of power from the Path of Elation the mask could channel depended entirely on the user's own ability.
When Jiang Qiao used it, he could draw out its full power, a might almost equivalent to Aha's personal presence.
As for Qingque, while not at one hundred percent, she could at least channel one-third of the Path of Elation's power. This level was already near the absolute limit of what a normal living being could master and wield.
Firefly could reach nearly sixty percent because of her unique nature and the Path of Propagation. Any more power than that would only bring harm, like the insect a certain god of mirth had created, which possessed the full power of the Path of Elation but had an incredibly short life.
Setting aside the mask Aha gave her, because of her connection to the Aeons, even though the "Constellation Mode" was fleeting, many of the Paths remained open to her.
One-third Elation, one-third Hunt, one-third Abundance, one-third Propagation... If not for the fact that Miss Qingque couldn't use multiple Paths simultaneously and had extremely poor compatibility with some of them, she could have at least unleashed a "lite version" of the Constellation power, even if she couldn't replicate the full mode.
But even without being able to use multiple Paths at once, just in terms of the power she could command as an Emanator, she was already among the strongest below the Aeons. The only ones stronger were the broken types, like the Emanators of Harmony or the Imaginary.
Moreover, according to the agreement between the Xianzhou Alliance and Glamoth, this exhibition-focused ceremony would most likely pit Miss Qingque against Brunhilde of the Royal Guard in the final match.
In that case, their final battle would likely end in a draw—a perfect and expected outcome for both the Alliance and Glamoth.
If... nothing unexpected happened.