Chapter 216 - 26: Preacher of the Heavens
A piercing alarm blared, and almost everyone in the restaurant instinctively shot to their feet.
Including Wan Qi.
"What’s going on? What’s happening? Is everyone from the nearby garrison?"
Westheid was taken aback, looking at the people who had all stood up in unison.
"No, our post isn’t on the border of a fallen zone."
Wan Qi shook her head and sat back down, her gaze grave as she watched the broadcast on the large screen, biting her finger.
"I just didn’t expect it to fall so quickly."
The other patrons in the restaurant also sat back down after the initial commotion, but unlike Wan Qi, they looked utterly demoralized.
"Another major assault?"
"Sigh, I wonder how long we can hold on..."
"Heswira fell not long ago. As a neighboring country, how can we expect to be spared?"
"And Chang Yun is also on the brink of collapse."
"We can’t win. There’s just no way! Those Monsters..."
"We’ll be devoured too. We’re all going to die..."
"..."
’A bunch of defeatists!’
Listening to the disheartened words around her, Wan Qi’s beautiful crimson eyes widened and then suddenly narrowed. She opened her mouth to speak, but then held back.
After a moment of silence, she began to tap her fingertips lightly on the tabletop and started to sing in a low voice.
"The night sky glitters, the Star Sea sways."
"Shimmering lights wane, meteors fall in a vibrant display."
"Merciful Lord on high, sky of clearest blue."
"Protect us, that we may ascend to the heavens."
An ethereal and holy song flowed from Wan Qi’s lips, one that seemed capable of stirring the most delicate of souls. Though it wasn’t loud, the cheerful, out-of-place melody still captured everyone’s attention.
"Is that... a Cultivator?"
"A preacher of the heavens..."
More and more people turned to watch the singing girl. Wan Qi’s voice gradually shifted from its initial ethereal quality to one filled with passion and indignation, sweeping away the once gloomy and oppressive atmosphere.
When the song ended, while the mood still lingered, Wan Qi immediately hopped onto her chair. She placed a hand over her chest and surveyed the crowd.
"Everyone!"
The grey-haired, red-eyed girl declared with impassioned fervor:
"Don’t give up! Even if we’ve suffered a setback, we must never give up the fight."
"We will reclaim the sunlight! We will reclaim the land! We will fight until the birds and the scent of flowers return, until civilization endures, unextinguished!"
"As long as tomorrow is still worth looking forward to, we have a reason to fight!"
"So what if we face Chaos? Nothing can defeat indomitable Warriors!"
"Wanqi! With the azure heaven’s protection, we shall ascend to the heavens!"
Wan Qi’s final words were met with a widespread response, as the crowds both inside and outside the restaurant roared:
"To the heavens!"
"Our Lord Wanqi!"
"We shall all ascend to the heavens!"
"May the heavens protect us!"
"..."
"Phew—"
Wan Qi sat down, sighing in relief, and looked at Westheid apologetically.
"The announcement didn’t order us back, but as a Cultivator, I’ll most likely be mobilized. I have to return to the Monastery."
"I’m sorry. This was a rare vacation, and now it has to be cut short."
Westheid shook his head. "It’s fine. I don’t really care about vacations anyway. But I’ve been meaning to ask... they said you’re a... Cultivator?"
"You really have lost your memory, haven’t you..."
Wan Qi gave Westheid a strange look, but still explained patiently:
"Yes. I grew up in the Monastery, so I naturally inherited the position of a Cultivator. I suppose you could also call me a preacher of the heavens. It’s my duty to enlighten people and spread the faith."
Westheid was even more confused. "By ’the heavens,’ you mean..."
"The god who will lead us to the heavens, of course. The shared faith of us Xuli People, and indeed the entire world."
Wan Qi’s matter-of-fact answer nearly made Westheid choke.
’Hasn’t the Venerable Master of the Azure Heaven been born yet? Isn’t the Venerable Master of the Azure Heaven, before her Ascension, sitting right in front of me?’
’Could it be that the Venerable Master of the Azure Heaven wasn’t the first Celestial God? That there were other powerful beings before her?!’
Westheid’s eyes widened in disbelief, and he was plunged into deep self-doubt.
Wan Qi’s long, slightly curved eyelashes fluttered. She lowered her head, clasping her hands to her chest.
"Even though it’s just a beautiful wish, a faith—no matter how false—is a good thing as long as it gives people courage and hope."
’Oh? So it’s a simple faith, without a physical deity. Never mind, then.’
Westheid’s knowledge from a future era was so ingrained in his mind that he’d forgotten that faith doesn’t require a physical entity. It is born from spiritual need.
It was just that the existence of Celestial Gods had rendered all false idols worthless.
After the alarm, Wan Qi was no longer in the mood to enjoy her vacation. She hastily finished her dinner and quickly left with Westheid.
It wasn’t just the two of them. The entire city’s gaudy facade had been torn away. Passersby no longer forced themselves into a "vacation" Status, and a heavy, grim atmosphere began to spread.
One moment, it was a vacation Holy Land; the next, it had become a massive military camp.
Wan Qi led Westheid to the airport. One after another, fighter jets and transport ships took off from the vast platform, their hovering tail wings spewing orange or deep blue flames, kicking up powerful gusts of air as they departed.
Meanwhile, colossal ships resembling mobile islands lowered their boarding ramps. Tens of thousands of people were boarding, rushing to reinforce the front lines.
Wan Qi’s fighter was an ornithopter, painted red and white, with elegant lines and four prismatic, crystalline wings.
"Hold on tight. I’m going to fly fast."
The grey-haired girl leaped into the pilot’s seat, her eyes resolute.
"WHIRRR—"
The ornithopter began to beat its prismatic wings rapidly, their afterimages weaving deep blue Light Wings around the fighter. The next moment, it shot straight into the sky.
"THUMP-THUMP-THUMP—"
The powerful G-force made Westheid stumble a few times before he regained his balance.
Through the fighter’s observation window, he saw they were gradually pulling away from the city. As they ascended, the full panorama of the resort city unfolded before his eyes.
"A Floating City?"
The concrete jungle, forged from countless skyscrapers, was built upon the foundation of a floating island. Countless modifications riddled the island inside and out, holding the entire metropolis aloft.
’It was floating, but not completely.’
Compared to the miraculous capital of the Celestial Vault Kingdom, which floated high above the clouds, this Floating City was only a hundred or two hundred meters off the ground. It was barely even floating.
This made Westheid ask:
"Why not just ascend higher?"
’A Floating City was indeed a weapon that held an overwhelming advantage against Chaos. The murky Chaos originated from the earth, while the clear heavens were beyond its reach.’
’With air superiority, you could completely dominate Chaos, or at the very least, be in an invincible position.’
’But this altitude wasn’t nearly high enough for Chaos to consider it the "unreachable" heavens.’
Wan Qi glanced back at Westheid again. She had probably grown used to his "amnesia" by now, and explained:
"This is the limit. We can’t go any higher. There’s an invisible barrier in the sky that traps us close to the ground... If the entire land hadn’t been almost completely corrupted, why would people even need to flee toward the sky?"
The girl tilted her head back slightly, reaching out a hand as if to touch the star-studded firmament above.
A faint mist glossed over Wan Qi’s crimson eyes as she sighed.
"Only that sky above is free from the corruption of Chaos. That’s why we all long... to ascend to the heavens."