Volume One, Chapter One Hundred Fourteen: Void Voyage

Three people—two men and a woman—arrived from Feng'an City. The team leader, a young woman named Ling Yingxue, greeted everyone during breakfast but did not disclose the specific reason for their group's delay.

After breakfast, thirty-three elite students from various safe cities and seven accompanying teachers boarded a shuttle to the Jingcheng City Air Transit Center. From there, they boarded an airship bound for the destination of this North China regional winter camp: the Third National University of Ability.

The Third National University of Ability is located in the East China region. As it happens, the group from Lancheng that had previously arrived in Qin City to oversee the grand assessment at Tianshui High School came from this very university.

Chu Fengyi sat quietly in her seat, her phoenix eyes half-closed as she gazed at the sea of clouds outside the porthole. Meanwhile, a young teacher named Chen Yue stood in the aisle, explaining the specific details of the winter camp trip.

The destination for this North China regional winter camp was set within "Anhai City," where the Third National University of Ability is situated. All activities would take place entirely within the university campus, so the students and teachers did not need to worry too much about safety.

Mo De sat beside the fast-asleep Su Ziwen. While listening to Teacher Chen Yue explain the itinerary and precautions, he secretly glanced at the seat to the right of the teacher. Sitting in that chair was a woman in a black windbreaker wearing tea-colored sunglasses—none other than that woman, Mu Qing. He would have to keep a close eye on her throughout the journey to ensure she didn't cause any trouble.

Seemingly sensing his gaze, Mu Qing didn't turn around. Instead, she stretched lazily and, whether intentionally or not, raised her right thumb to give a thumbs-up to Mo De, who was watching her. Facing this provocation, Mo De chose to ignore her. After all, having spent so much time together, he had developed a certain level of "Mu Qing immunity."

In front of Mo De and Su Ziwen sat Yu Jiuchuan and Ivanoti von. Little von was pressed against the porthole, her silver eyes sparkling as she watched the colorful clouds outside. When the little one was first brought back to the Huaxia region of the Central Continent from the Land of Strife, she had spent almost the entire journey curled up in Eleven's arms, crying until she was exhausted, then sleeping, only to wake up and cry again. She had no energy to notice the scenery outside the airship.

The shifting sea of clouds churned beneath the airship, dyed golden by the rising sun. Naturally, no strange beasts appeared in the airship lanes, but in the distant dome of the sky, Ivanoti could still faintly see a colossal creature, appearing as if it were tearing apart and swallowing a patch of clouds with its massive mouth.

That was a Sky-Dome Behemoth, a creature that lived in the celestial vault. It stood in opposition to another lineage known as "Atmospheric Organisms," and the two factions jointly ruled the skies of the new world following the Great Catastrophe. However, the Sky-Dome Behemoths and the Atmospheric Organisms were mortal enemies. When they encountered one another, they would engage in fierce battles, the aftermath of which would affect the sea of clouds for dozens of miles, causing localized abnormal weather.

Although the Sky-Dome Behemoths possessed immense individual strength, their low intelligence made them impossible to communicate with. Fortunately, these giants shared a common trait: they had an extreme aversion to a specific type of ore found in the depths of the Earth Abyss. As long as an airship carried this ore, it generally would not attract active attacks from the behemoths. As for the Atmospheric Organisms, which were an intelligent race, human peak experts had negotiated with them to establish fixed flight paths, ensuring that the two sides kept to their own territories.

After finishing her tense presentation on the trip's safety points, Chen Yue returned to her seat, her body still trembling slightly. Partly, she was naturally timid and stage-frightened, and secondly, her superior, Ms. Chu Fengyi, was right there. Speaking in front of her made Chen's heart race even faster.

"Oh!" Chen Yue, whose nerves hadn't yet settled, let out a soft cry. Fortunately, it didn't attract the attention of those around her. Turning back to look at the woman who had poked her waist, Chen Yue shielded her sensitive spot and whispered a complaint: "Why are you doing that, Qing?" The ticklish spot on her waist was arguably Chen Yue's greatest weakness, and just after she had sat down, Mu Qing had secretly poked her.

"Why so nervous? You did great," Mu Qing replied with a grin, adjusting her tea-colored sunglasses. Chen Yue knew she was trying to ease her tension and looked at her with a hint of gratitude, but she hadn't expected another surprise attack on her waist while her guard was down.

"Ah!!!" This time the sound was slightly louder, causing those nearby to glance over. Under their gaze, Chen Yue’s cheeks turned bright red. Beside her, Mu Qing had long since withdrawn her finger, sitting upright with a serious expression. *Such a slender, soft waist, and such a cute sound.*

Once the gazes of others had faded, Chen Yue, still shielding her waist, looked at Mu Qing in a mix of anger and embarrassment. She heard the woman lean in and say in a soft, low voice: "You just need to practice more when it comes to stage fright. Once you get used to everyone's eyes, you'll be fine."

The blushing Chen Yue was stunned once more, her view of Qing shifting again. *What a simple-minded girl.* Mu Qing rested her hands behind her head, struggling to keep her smile in check.

...

Mo De, sitting in the back half of the airship, didn't notice the little interlude in the front. Instead, following the direction of little von’s finger, he joined Yu Jiuchuan in the front row to look at the massive creature in the distant sky. After tearing apart and swallowing that patch of clouds, the behemoth seemed to sense the repulsive aura of the "Earth Abyss Stone" and immediately flapped its giant wings, turning away and disappearing into the edge of the sky.

"Oh, it flew away!" Ivanoti sounded disappointed; she hadn't even gotten a good look at what the giant beast really looked like.

Mo De, sitting behind them, had seen Sky-Dome Behemoths several times—he had even ridden one. Unlike the cloud-based lineages of the Atmospheric Organisms, the types of Sky-Dome Behemoths were diverse; some resembled giant birds, others giant lizards. Because of their low intelligence, most were very irritable and temperamental, but on certain occasions, they could appear quite simple and docile, just like a big, foolish giant. For instance, when Li Changsheng had stood upon one, that mountain-sized behemoth had been incredibly obedient, carrying the man and a young Mo De across the heavens to make up for the small mistake of Li Changsheng oversleeping and missing his airship.

Beside Ivanoti, Yu Jiuchuan narrowed her eyes, but she could only see a black dot the size of a needle tip rapidly shrinking and vanishing. She didn't possess the keen eyesight of Ivanoti or Mo De, which would have allowed her to see the true form of the beast. The range of the Earth Abyss Stones installed on the airship was limited to the maximum perception range of awakened ability users. Those with low cultivation levels would never even realize that such massive monsters were living near their transit route.

Yu Jiuchuan rubbed her eyes, closed the book in her hands, stopped studying, and began to rest with her eyes closed. Listening to the quiet discussion between Ivanoti and Mo De behind her about the Sky-Dome Behemoth, Yu Jiuchuan began to wonder if she had been studying too hard lately, causing her eyesight to decline.