I alone am the Honoured One!

After hearing the story, Rei Wuyin lowered her gaze "I see, thank you for saving me from the rupture."

She looked at Zhao Tian in amazement "Even cultivators at the peak will crumble to ruptures; you are the first man I know who has survived a rupture and saved others too."

"Truly admirable."

He just waved his hand and smiled heartily.

Yan Zijin who was sitting beside her on the bed, looked at her in pity "What are you going to do from now on?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Ruyin's gaze trembled "I... don't know. I lost my family, I don't know how much time has passed since I was last trapped."

"I also lost my cultivation. I am unsure what to do from here on."

Yan Zijin's gaze softened and she placed her head on her shoulder "It's okay. You can decide slowly."

"For now, you can stay with us. We will go to Azure Star soon, after that, we will return to Jade Eclipse Star."

"In our jade Eclipse Sect, you can join if you want... I will talk to the Sect master."

Wei Ruyin's eyes trembled in relief, and she lowered her head "Thank you very much, Miss. I am ashamed to say but I have to rely on you for a while."

Yan Zijin shook her head and muttered "You should only thank him."

He just smiled and replied "No need to; for now just focus on taking care of yourself."

Yan Zijin stood up from the bed and spoke "Yeah, you can rest now. We will come again later."

With that, the two of them left the room, leaving her alone.

Wei Ruyin closed her eyes as for a moment 'Sorry... I lied to you even though you are my saviours.'

As she opened her eyes, a cold glint passed through her gaze 'I need to find my people first.'

...

Sitting in the command pod, Zhao Tian stared ahead of him.

The vastness of space stretched infinitely behind them, but his focus remained solely on the radiant planet growing larger in the distance.

Azure Star.

Yan Zijin let out a deep sigh "We're finally here…"

Zhao Tian gave her a slight nod, "Hm.."

Behind them, reclining against one of the passenger alcove chairs, Wei Ruyin slowly lifted her gaze.

Her face still bore a faint pallor, and her robes hung loosely from her thin body.

But her eyes, those haunted eyes that had once known nothing but the suffocating void of the spatial rupture now reflected a fragile hope as she looked upon the living world ahead.

As the ark began its final descent, the defensive wards folded into aerodynamic layers.

The atmosphere welcomed them, and the clouds parted like curtains.

Below them there was a continent of towering mountain ranges, great rivers carving through the valleys, and floating islands suspended over gleaming lakes.

Toward the center of the continent there is a massive landmass encased in a barrier of light, a shimmering dome surrounding the whole Empire:

Zhonghua Imperia, capital city of the Azure Sky Empire.

Tall towers rose toward the sky, connected by skybridges and glimmering runic lines that ferried astral energy through the entire city.

Floating carriages soared through air lanes. Guardian beasts patrolled atop the bastions.

The ark slowed as it approached the outer gates of Celestia Imperia.

There were floating spires around the capital.

Zhao Tian was amused "This star has accepted the technology well enough."

With a nod, Yan Zijin spoke "Hm, the previous ruler of Jade Eclipse Star was quite reluctant to accept these modern technologies."

"But other stars have adapted to it."

As they neared, a soft chime echoed inside the pod.

"Identifying vessel… confirmed. Clearance: Suspicious."

A sigil of the note appeared in the air, recognized by the monitoring arrays.

A ripple passed through the barrier, allowing the ark entry.

Zhao Tian took one last look at the glowing city ahead.

Without much thought, he guided the ark down.

The ark landed gracefully upon a floating stone platform outside the outer city plaza, one of many designated arrival points for cultivators and nobles.

Hiss-

With a faint exhale, the ark's doors slid open.

Zhao Tian was the first to step out and behind him, Yan Zijin followed.

Wei Ruyin stepped out more slowly.

She squinted under the evening light, one hand shielding her eyes as the wind, laced with astral energy, brushed through her pale hair.

She took a single, trembling breath.

"It's beautiful…" she murmured.

Zhao Tian turned his head slightly.

Then, with a wave of his hand, the ark shrank into a golden wisp and vanished into the storage ring on his finger.

The storage ring pulsed faintly before dimming again.

They began walking down the stone path that led from the landing platform toward the outer city gates.

As they neared, a squad of Azure-robed guards emerged from a side watchtower.

One of them stepped forward and looked at the three of them "Your ark was detected to be suspicious. May we know the reason why you are here?"

Yan Zijin gave a nod and spoke "I have ties with the Rui Clan, I am one of their heiresses, Rui Lian's Master."

The guard's brows furrowed slightly at the mention of the Rui Clan.

A flicker of doubt crossed his eyes.

The Rui Clan is indeed powerful, but a powerful woman at peak stage of cultivation traveling with an unregistered ark and two unknown companions raised questions.

"Lady Zijin! Lady Zijin."

Hearing the noise, all heads turned as a young woman in a maid uniform rushed toward them from the gate checkpoint.

Her long black hair fluttered behind her as she ran.

Yan Zijin turned to look at the rushing woman in a maid dress and smiled faintly "Cheng'er."

The woman hurriedly reached the guards and took a token belonging to the Rui Clan from her sleeve "They are the Rui Clan's guests."

The guard looked at the token, and then he turned his gaze to Yan Zijin before bowing slightly "My apologies for the inconvenience."

Yan Zijin shook her head "It's alright. You were just doing your job."

The guard nodded his head and looked back at another one "In the system, change their ark from the suspicious list to the clearance list."

"Mhm."

Zhao Tian, Wei Ruyin and Yan Zijin walked past the guard, and the woman Fen Cheng greeted them warmly.

"It's been a long while since I last saw you, Lady Zijin."

Yan Zijin nodded her head and Fen Cheng looked at Zhao Tian in amazement "Brother, you are so handsome... what is your name?"

With a soft chuckle, he replied "You can call me Tian."

Fen Cheng gave a delighted giggle, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear "Brother Tian, then! You can also just call me Cheng, I am a maid in the Rui Clan. Nice to meet you."

"Hm."

She looked toward Wei Ruyin then and her gaze turned gentle "Oh dear… You look so pale. Are you alright?"

Wei Ruyin gave a quiet nod, "I… I'll be fine. Just not used to all the noise and light."

Fen Cheng's eyes softened "You've had a hard journey, haven't you? Don't worry, once we're in the manor, you can rest. We have hot springs, gardens, even healing beds!"

----------------------------------------

I hope you guys liked this chapter!