Greycastle, Dawn City, in the Aegis Region. The Observatory.

After Tifieko's downfall, this place no longer bore the name of the royal capital. Astronomer Ermu initially anticipated a period of upheaval, but the city's order remained largely unchanged. People continued their lives: farmers cultivated the fields outside the city, stonemasons repaired the damaged walls, blacksmiths hammered away at armor in their shops, and the patrols continued their cat-and-mouse game with the black market dwellers. At first glance, it remained one of the kingdom's most prosperous cities.

Of course, there were some changes. For instance, people left the old royal capital daily, seeking new opportunities in the Western Region. Moreover, the Astronomer Society's old rival, the Royal Alchemist Association, had relocated entirely from Dawn City. Now, a group of unknown nobles had taken over the royal palace, squabbling incessantly over the division of land and power left behind by the old aristocracy, completely abandoning the sages. No one inquired about the kingdom's fate, nor did anyone divine the future's fortunes.

If the officials left by Roland had not regularly allocated a sum of grain and gold royals to the Observatory, the apprentices would likely have scattered long ago.

Fortunately, they could still maintain the society's operation.

As long as the Observatory existed, the scholars' mission would not cease.

Forever gazing at the stars.

The sun slowly sank into the western mountains, the sky changing from orange-yellow to crimson, finally turning deep purple... After nightfall, the astronomers' work had just begun.

Windproof oil lamps were lit on the high platform, and apprentices carried one astronomical instrument after another from the warehouse. They had to be extremely careful; careless individuals who damaged the instruments faced the double punishment of flogging and wage deduction, especially those few astronomical telescopes Roland had sent, which were treasures among treasures.

When Astronomer Ermu first received these instruments in wooden boxes, he didn't pay much attention to them.

Admittedly, His Majesty had promised to bring more advanced astronomical tools to the Astronomer Society, but instrument production was an extremely complex process. Unlike crudely made telescopes, the adjustable moving parts inside the barrel alone could give the most skilled craftsmen a headache for half a month, not to mention the polishing of crystal lenses. An astronomical instrument took about a year from material selection to completion, costing around a hundred gold royals.

If there was a common thread among the sages' learnings, it was that both were costly. However, alchemical products were often welcomed by nobles and wealthy merchants, while astronomy was not so fortunate. Therefore, only the capital of a country typically had the resources and manpower to build an Observatory. As far as he knew, Border Town in the Western Region had been a dilapidated and barren place two years ago. Even if they had plundered a large sum of money through constant warfare, who would be willing to give those gold royals to unrelated astronomers?

But when the wooden boxes were opened, Ermu was immediately stunned.

It was the first time he had seen such astronomical tools. Unlike the bamboo-like instruments used by the society, its metal barrel was the size of a bucket, and the glass lens embedded in it was so bright that it could reflect a person's image. No matter how closely he looked, he couldn't find a single polishing mark.

Its moving parts were also cleverly designed, with just a thumb-sized knob at the end. By simply pinching and gently rotating, the lens distance could be adjusted, and it didn't need to be locked again after adjustment, making it very convenient to use.

Roland had sent three batches of six new astronomical telescopes in total, and gave it an easy-to-understand name: telescope.

Since Ermu used it once, he never wanted to look at those old instruments again.

The remaining five telescopes were naturally given to the five most experienced astronomers in the Observatory.

"Teacher, all astronomical instruments have been placed," reported Yunhui, the senior disciple.

"Have the star regions been assigned?"

"Yes," he glanced at the record book in his hand. "Astronomer Tianmang, who is responsible for the northern first region, is ill today. Astronomer Xukong is replacing him."

"Then light the starlight and begin observing," the chief astronomer ordered.

"Yes!"

A blazing flame rose from the fire basin in the center of the Observatory. It symbolized the brightest morning star in the night sky. The astronomers standing around the fire basin were its companion stars. The entire platform was strictly arranged according to the constellations. In this way, they were also standing in the sky, becoming one with the stars.

Besides the expensive astronomical instruments, another thing that took time to cultivate was people who looked up at the stars.

They could only rely on their eyes.

Therefore, to become a qualified astronomer, one had to learn how to protect their eyes. Ermu was fifty-five years old, but his eyesight was still better than most young people in Dawn City.

This was not an easy task.

After being selected as astronomical apprentices, the only thing they could see at night was the night sky. Reading books under oil lamps or candles was strictly forbidden. Also, they could not go out at noon during the day, to avoid strong sunlight stimulating the eyes.

The diet would also be changed accordingly. First, animal organs and eyeballs had to be eaten. Second, fish and spices could not be eaten. According to the knowledge passed down from astronomy, eating more blood-rich foods could make the eyes brighter, but fish belonged to the water element, and spices belonged to the earth element. The former would destroy the fire element in land-based blood foods, and the latter would cause the eyeballs to gather dust.

Ermu had persisted for more than forty years.

He believed that the amount of time a person's eyes could be used was limited.

In order to use it for observing the stars as much as possible, he rarely read books or star charts at other times. Anyway, those constellation patterns had been firmly imprinted in his mind.

The scholar put his eyes to the viewing port, which was like a small tube, standing at the end of the stout barrel.

Obviously, there was a beveled mirror placed inside, so that the light could be refracted into his eyes.

An interesting and practical technique.

Although the astronomers understood this principle, they had never thought of using it on astronomical instruments.

Now it seemed that it could greatly improve the astronomical environment. At least when observing high-level star regions, one didn't have to hunch over to look.

Since the telescopes sent by Roland were far better than the old-fashioned astronomical instruments, the society had to re-observe and draw the existing star regions. Since using these six telescopes, they had discovered dozens of previously undetectable faint stars.

Ermu skillfully swept across the area he was responsible for. Although constellations would form different shapes with the change of seasons, which might be difficult for beginners to master, their light was as familiar to him as the freckles on his face.

After observing the first star region, just as he was about to move the telescope, a negligible glimmer suddenly caught his eye.

In an instant, the scholar felt his blood congeal.

He held his breath, concentrating all his attention in that direction.

That was not an illusion...

A dim starlight was hidden between the Six Paths Star and the Fiery Heaven Star. Its light was so weak, as if it would go out at any moment. But what was distinctly different from the surrounding stars was –

It was red.