Chapter 1 Under the Starry Sky

Mount Eyue, under the starry sky.

In a boundless wilderness.

"Hush~ hush~" A slender figure stealthily approached a tent, making soft sounds towards a massive figure.

Inside the tent, the massive figure was already highly alert. Hearing the sound, he abruptly opened his eyes, shifting from lying on his back to lying prone. He saw a small opening in the tent flap, with a figure outside smiling at him.

Fei Xue knew who it was. She was from the same batch of night watch apprentices as him, and could be considered... well, his Second Senior Sister—Yin Ni.

They also had a First Senior Brother, but that brother never interacted with them, just like a mute... no, Senior Brother wasn't a mute. Fei Xue had once heard Senior Brother have brief exchanges with Officer Er Wei. This led Fei Xue to speculate that Senior Brother might be autistic.

"Fei Xue, let's go see the stars." Yin Ni said with a grin from outside the tent.

Fei Xue didn't like that nickname. His surname, Fei, was pronounced with the third tone. But this lively senior sister always called him "Fat Xue."

Fei Xue wasn't fat; it was just that he was too huge compared to others.

He was 206 centimeters tall and weighed over 150 kilograms.

When a giant over two meters tall weighs more than 150 kilograms and still doesn't look fat, you can imagine his muscles and steel bones.

"Here." Yin Ni reached in with her right hand, her index finger and thumb holding a candy that emitted a faint blue light.

Obviously, this wasn't real candy but candy made of star power.

Only then did Fei Xue get up, muttering under his breath. He grabbed the candy, shoved it into his mouth, and climbed out of the tent.

The Mount Eyue other-dimensional space wasn't cold, just perpetually dark.

The night wind ruffled Yin Ni's long shawl hair. She wrapped her clothes around herself, looking up at the dazzling starry sky. At the same time, a massive figure crawled out of the tent.

Even though Yin Ni was over 1.8 meters tall, she looked like a child next to him.

The height difference wasn't the main thing; the body size difference was the most terrifying.

Fei Xue crawled out and whispered, "We'll get scolded by Master."

Yin Ni opened her palm, conjuring another light blue candy, and offered it to Fei Xue, saying, "Has Master ever scolded you?"

Fei Xue immediately lowered his head, sucked the candy from her palm, and said with a silly smile, "No, but I've never heard Master swear. But when that sharp gaze sweeps over, half my life is gone."

Yin Ni wanted to express disdain to Fei Xue, but she seemed to think of something and couldn't help but shudder. She left a faint, "Silly giant," and strode forward.

Fei Xue scratched his short hair and followed, knowing their destination was the cliff not far ahead.

There, she could not only see the starry sky but also the boundless wilderness.

The night wind tousled Yin Ni's hair. She reached out, tucked the stray strands behind her ears, and as she walked, her eyes, which had been gazing at the stars, fell on a dark figure in the wilderness below.

To be precise, on a dark figure standing quietly by a huge rock, wielding a giant blade in his hand, moving back and forth.

The figure's movements weren't large; each step was small, and the body's movements were even smaller. But the two-meter-long broadsword was like a close-fitting dagger, attacking and defending the huge rock in various angles and poses.

Although the huge rock had no life, judging from the figure's movements, the rock seemed like a martial artist sparring with him.

Fei Xue stood on the high cliff, looking at the darkness below, and asked stupidly, "You see him again?"

Despite the bright starry sky, Fei Xue couldn't see anything when looking into the distance; he only saw darkness.

"Mm." Yin Ni hummed softly, her gaze locked on the silent, tiny figure in the distance. She suddenly asked, "It's been 35 days. Have you ever heard Xiao Jiu speak?"

Fei Xue said uncertainly, "I think I heard him say a short sentence to Master in the tent, but I'm not sure if it was my hallucination."

"You're so dumb. Really, why wasn't I by the tent then?" Yin Ni said discontentedly.

Fei Xue scratched his head foolishly and said, "Is it because he doesn't talk that he's the official night watchman?"

Yes, although the three were martial siblings, Fei Xue and Yin Ni were only night watch apprentices, while their Senior Brother was a regular night watchman with a code name.

To be precise, a regular Light Chaser, even more special than a night watchman.

Senior Brother's code name was Jiu Wei. Master always called him by his code name during missions.

And Master's code name was Er Wei. What did this represent?

It meant Senior Brother had a place in the Light Chaser group, the Tail Feather Team!

Yin Ni had specifically asked Er Wei about Jiu Wei. According to Master Er Wei, although Senior Brother was already Jiu Wei, he was still considered an apprentice, with the same status as Fei Xue and Yin Ni.

Yin Ni had been wondering who this guy, who was both an apprentice and a regular Light Chaser, really was. Unfortunately, he never spoke, always wearing a night watch uniform, and the black mask on his face had never been taken off.

Why call him "Xiao Jiu"?

Because although the mask had never been taken off, it had been shattered once in battle.

To be precise, the lower half of the mask was shattered, revealing his lower half of his face.

When Yin Ni saw that youthful lower half of his face, she knew this mysterious person was just a child, perhaps even a high school student.

Er Wei's teaching didn't have the rules of a traditional master-disciple relationship. During missions, people called each other by code names.

Yin Ni was Xue Yi, Fei Xue was Xue Er, and that person was Jiu Wei.

From then on, Yin Ni changed her way of addressing Jiu Wei: Xiao Jiu.

Er Wei didn't mind, and Jiu Wei never spoke.

Everything continued naturally.

Yin Ni was once a senior at the Northwest Star Warrior University, and Fei Xue was one year younger than her. Both of them were currently on leave, having been "recommended" by the Northwest Night Watch Army to be trained by Er Wei.

If nothing went wrong, after they were recognized by Er Wei, they would become anonymous night watchmen. As for whether they could become special Light Chasers, that depended on their fate.

Therefore, the diploma and academic qualifications in the secular world weren't much of a concern for the two Star Warriors determined to become night watchmen.

Of course, if their strength or will weren't up to par and they were sent back to school, they could continue their studies. That would be another story.

"The other-dimensional creatures here aren't strong. How long do you think we'll have to stay here?" Yin Ni slowly sat down, hugging her knees, her gaze always fixed on the figure in the wilderness below.

Fei Xue thought for a while and said, "Master said that when we truly calm down, no longer yearn for the chaotic world, and get used to the darkness and solitude, then we'll enter the next stage."

Yin Ni hugged her knees and murmured, "Then I might never qualify. I even need you to accompany me to see the stars."

Fei Xue suddenly smiled. He slowly sat down beside Yin Ni, looking at the dark wilderness, and said, "Then I'll accompany you."

Yin Ni pouted, "You weren't in this mood when I called you just now."

Fei Xue scratched his head awkwardly: "Morning grumpiness, morning grumpiness, please understand."

There's no such thing as empathy in this world.

If the knife isn't cutting your hand, you can't feel the same pain.

Just like the two of them now.

In Yin Ni's eyes, this was a boundless wilderness, with a solitary figure in the distance. Tirelessly repeating simple, monotonous actions.

But in Fei Xue's eyes, it was pitch black below, with only the starry sky above and the person beside him.

He didn't know which was more beautiful, the starry sky or her.

He only knew that the candy was very sweet during the night watch.

Yin Ni's eyes gradually became blurred, and she said softly, "Do we really have to be like him? Become a lonely mute to be a qualified night watchman?"

Fei Xue looked at the darkness and said, "Maybe."

Yin Ni kept shaking her head, "I hate him. I don't want to become someone like him."

Fei Xue was silent for a long time before asking, "Do you have anyone you care about?"

Yin Ni shook her head: "No. Maybe that's an important reason why I was selected as a night watch apprentice. What about you?"

Hearing this question, Fei Xue looked at Yin Ni's lonely profile beside him, opened his mouth, and finally said, "I don't either."

Fei Xue turned his head again to look at the nothingness below: "Since we don't... then it doesn't matter, right?"

Yin Ni's eyes gradually turned red: "But I miss the small road in front of my house, the hawking sounds from the street corner shop, the stray cats wandering at the door, I miss... I miss..."

Collapse, seemingly sudden, but Rome wasn't built in a day.

For 35 days, in this dark world, Yin Ni clearly remembered the time, even every minute.

Fei Xue was silent for a long time, and then asked softly, "Do you want to quit?"

Her voice became more and more choked, covering her face with her hands, constantly shaking her head: "No, no... I just don't want to become someone like him."

Fei Xue's face struggled, and his heart was obviously struggling more. He hesitated for a long time, looked at the sobbing girl, and a burst of starlight gathered on Fei Xue's chest.

A few seconds later, a fat, orange-cat-like creature appeared in his hand, and it didn't seem to realize it had been summoned and was still asleep.

Fei Xue put the orange cat in Yin Ni's arms and said, "Don't tell Master."

Yin Ni hugged the orange cat, but her mood didn't improve, and she was still sobbing softly.

She didn't know when a huge figure had quietly stood behind them, and a hoarse voice entered their ears: "Back to the tent, rest, immediately."

Fei Xue stood up in a fluster, his voice stuttering: "Ma... Master."

Yin Ni also stood up, but she always kept her head down, and tears kept dripping on the orange cat in her arms, finally waking it up.

The cat-like creature leaned forward, constantly licking the tear stains on her face.

And Er Wei just glanced over the two figures, looking into the distance at the figure under the cliff.

She didn't know when, he had already put the giant blade on his back, quietly staring at the boulder in front of him.

At the same time, in the stadium of the Imperial Capital Star Warrior University, under the white street lights, a sprinting, sweating figure constantly slowed down, slowly stopped, and knelt on the plastic track.

His whole body was soaked, as if he had been fished out of the water. He closed his eyes, his mind connected.

A simple message came from within his star chart.

"Xia Family Blade Skill upgraded! Gold Quality Lv.3!"

"Tired... tired?" Beside him, a person who was also sprinting slowed down, stopped beside Jiang Xiao, propped his hands on his knees, and gasped for breath.

Being able to make a Star Warrior with extremely strong physical fitness sweat profusely and become breathless was enough to see the intensity of their training.

"If you want to use a blessing, then, use it, don't, force it." Gu Shi'an's chest heaved violently, and he said stutteringly under the streetlights, reaching out a hand.

On the soccer field, Qin Wangchuan, who was juggling a ball, suddenly stepped on the ball and shouted angrily: "Jiang Xiaopi! Is that your limit? You're not dead yet! You're not dead yet! If you're not dead, get up for me!"

Jiang Xiao grabbed the thick palm with difficulty, stood up, and silently started walking again.

"Gu Shi'an! Aren't you tired? If you don't lap him within three minutes, get out of Team 3 for me!" Qin Wangchuan's angry roars came one after another, "Faster! Faster! Jiang Xiaopi! Your goal is to die on this track!"

Mount Eyue, under the starry sky, in the boundless wilderness.

The solitary figure, looking at the boulder in front of him, silently drew his blade again.