The morning of departure arrived without fanfare.
No crowds showed up, no one cried, and nobody gave a big speech.
Xu Tian locked up Void's Rest for the last time, hung a wooden sign that said "Gone Fishing," and walked off.
Old Duan, Poison Fairy Ling, and Master Zhen waited at the city gate with a rented flying boat. It was small and plain, with no sect symbols.
Xu Tian stepped aboard.
The boat rose quietly into the sky.
Old Duan handed him a cup of wine.
"To new chaos."
Xu Tian drank.
Poison Fairy smiled.
"Three months of travel. Plenty of time to plan your grand entrance."
Master Zhen grunted.
"Or your big disaster."
The system spoke up, full of sarcasm.
[Host is taking a vacation with three walking disasters. This will end well. Placing bets on how many sects get offended before we arrive.]
Xu Tian ignored it.
The first month passed in lazy bliss. They drifted across the continent at leisurely speed.
Stopped at hidden wine springs.
Fished in spirit lakes.
Picked fights with mountain bandits for entertainment.
Old Duan got drunk and challenged a Nascent Soul beast king to a drinking contest.
Lost.
Poison Fairy turned the beast's fur purple as revenge.
Master Zhen fixed an ancient teleport array they found in a ruin, simply because it was broken.
Xu Tian mostly just watched.
Brewed tea on the deck.
Laughed at their antics.
The system grew suspicious.
[Host, you're… relaxed. No scams. No pink dye. No exploding young masters. Are you feeling okay?]
Xu Tian took a sip of his tea.
"Enjoying the company."
[That's actually scary.]
The second month brought little adventures.
They crossed a desert where mirages showed everyone their greatest wishes.
Old Duan saw endless wine oceans.
Poison Fairy saw a garden of rare poison herbs.
Master Zhen saw perfect arrays stretching to infinity.
Xu Tian saw nothing.
The mirage shattered around him.
The desert spirit fled in terror.
The regulars stared.
Poison Fairy whispered.
"What do you desire that even illusions can't show?"
Xu Tian smiled.
"Something fun."
They arrived at the tournament city a month early.
assive floating metropolis was built around the arena. Barriers gleamed, sect banners flew, and geniuses were everywhere.
The city buzzed with tension.
Xu Tian and his group landed quietly in a side district.
They rented a small courtyard.
Nobody recognized them.
Yet.
Old Duan grint least, not yet.
"Time to have fun."
They spent the next week watching the preliminaries from the shadows, and sold "luck pills" to desperate competitors.
Master Zhen took bets on barrier durability.
Old Duan started a drinking ring with rogue experts.
Xu Tian brewed tea Xu Tian made tea in the courtyard.
The system commented [That holy son has a fake immortal bone.]
[That fairy's technique is stolen. Sloppy.]
[Host, you could win this blindfolded.]
Xu Tian listened.
He smiled.
But he didn't say a word.
The night before the tournament started.
The four of them sat in the courtyard under the stars.
Old Duan raised his gourd.
"To tomorrow."
Poison Fairy smiled.
"To beautiful chaos."
Master Zhen nodded.
"To unbreakable barriers."
Xu Tian raised his cup.
"To something interesting."
They drank.
Silence fell.
Then the sky tore open.
This wasn't a metaphor.
A massive black rift split the night above the continent.
Demonic Qi poured out like ink.
Bone warships descended.
Alien voices boomed in every mind.
"The Azure Cloud Star is now property of the Nether Bone Realm. Submit or be harvested."
Panic broke out.
City barriers activated.
Sects mobilized.
Geniuses screamed.
The tournament forgotten.
Old Duan stood, sword drawn.
"Finally. Real fight."
Poison Fairy's cauldron spun, poisons ready.
Master Zhen's arrays flared.
They looked at Xu Tian.
He stayed seated.
He watched the invasion unfold.
He saw cities fall in the distance.
Watched the warships spread.
One hour.
Two.
The regulars prepared to charge.
Xu Tian sipped his tea.
He finished his cup.
Stood.
The system spoke quietly.
[Host…]
Xu Tian lifted his hand.
The massive rift, kilometers wide, began to close.
Slowly but surely.
Bit by bit.
Warships tried to flee.
Crushed as the edges sealed.
The entire invasion force vanished.
Gone.
The rift healed.
Everything went quiet again.
The continent was safe.
Without a single casualty on their side.
Old Duan's sword dropped.
Poison Fairy's cauldron stopped spinning.
Master Zhen stared.
Xu Tian turned to them.
"Boring."
He looked at the stars.
"One-sided wars are worse than tournaments."
The system spoke in a low voice.
[just ended a planetary invasion like closing a window.]
Xu Tian raised his hand again.
Space cracked beside him.
A void tear appeared, black and endless.
Leading elsewhere.
He stepped toward it.
The regulars shouted.
"Kid!"
"Where are you going?"
Xu Tian paused.
Looked back.
He smiled for real this time.
"Sorry. New planet. Better games."
He waved.
"Find me when you ascend."
Then stepped through.
The tear in space closed up.
The courtyard empty.
The three regulars stood frozen.
Old Duan whispered.
"He was never from here."
Poison Fairy touched her cup.
"He'll be bored there too."
Master Zhen looked at the sky.
"And then he'll leave again."
Far beyond the stars.
Xu Tian emerged on a new world.
Bigger.
Stronger auras.
New cities.
New geniuses.
New tea leaves.
He took a deep breath in.
The system spoke, sounding both tired and excited.
[New planet?]
Xu Tian smiled.
He was ready.
"New everything."
He walked toward the horizon.