My sister is Luna

Chapter 141 Observatory

At the end of the Zhuji ceremony, the Jixia Academy secretly welcomed a great figure.

In Zhuangzi's room.

Zhuang Zhou sat cross-legged on the ground, his head slightly lowered, making it impossible to see his expression. He seemed to be asleep. Opposite him sat a silver-haired youth, casually resting one hand on the table and holding a piece of paper in the other.

"Star Team Captain, recruiting members. Are these your students? The ad's been posted all the way here." A calm yet authoritative voice came from across from Zhuang Zhou.

The young man's magnificent attire, a blend of gold and black, made him appear exceptionally solemn and dignified, inspiring awe and a desire to submit to him from the bottom of one's heart. Wearing a golden crown, his seemingly casual movements exuded an aura of majesty. "King" was the best word to describe him. Indeed, this young man was a king, the ruler of Xuanyong in the Great Qin Dynasty—Ying Zheng.

He is an ally of Jixia Academy, investing in its construction and extending an olive branch to its graduates. As long as they are capable, they will receive generous treatment, including room and board and extra bonuses. It can be said to be the first choice for Jixia's top talents to join them.

Today, this king has returned to Jixia Academy after a long absence.

"Speaking of which, didn't you notice... that even the Three Kingdoms have realized the benefits of Xuanyong?" Zhuang Zhou said slowly, his eyes still closed, conversing with Ying Zheng in a state between sleep and wakefulness.

The rise of Xuanyong was witnessed by the entire continent. Despite its desolate and barren geographical environment, it was able to achieve such a momentum, leaping from a barbaric small country to become the second strongest country on the continent, comparable to the Tang Dynasty. This naturally attracted the attention of its neighbors, who were curious about what power gave Xuanyong such strength.

"You mean this? All you do is fight and fight. Can't you learn from Xuanyong when you have three parts of territory?" Ying Zheng said nonchalantly.

"The rulers of the three kingdoms were all men of great talent and ambition; none of them were willing to yield to the other..." Zhuang Zhou said, seemingly in admiration.

"Talking with 'Strategist Zhuge' about the rise of Xuanyong..."

"Let them talk."

Ying Zheng interrupted Zhuang Zhou directly, replying that he didn't want to concern himself with such matters and that Xuan Yong should just focus on its own affairs; strength was the only true measure of success.

It seemed they had run out of things to talk about, and the two suddenly fell silent.

At this moment, Ying Zheng remembered that he had come today to see the chosen one and... to understand that troublesome dream.

"Thanks to you, I had a strange dream last night," Ying Zheng broke the silence.

"But I find it hard to believe this warning," Ying Zheng said with a grave expression and an uncertain tone.

"I don't even know what those things are... monsters?"

In his dream, he saw Xuan Yong being attacked by an unknown monster. He had never seen such a monster before, and it was not described in ancient books. He found it hard to believe that such a monster could exist in reality. Unfortunately, he did not see the ending. He only saw the monster attacking Xuan Yong before he woke up from his dream.

"Where did they come from?" Ying Zheng asked, hoping that the great sage before him might know some clues.

"I don't know." Of course Zhuang Zhou knew about Ying Zheng's dream, because he had unintentionally guided the dream, but he had never seen these monsters before, let alone known their origin.

"I only allow people to have dreams that suit them," Zhuangzi said. Everyone's dreams are different, and they change—sometimes happy, sometimes joyful, sometimes terrifying, or even carrying a warning, showing a glimpse of the future at a certain moment.

"These dreams have the power to warn, but I cannot fully comprehend them." Zhuang Zhou surprisingly opened his eyes, stood up, looked at the brilliant sunlight outside the window, and spoke slowly.

"Has such a monster ever been recorded in the history of the mainland?" Ying Zheng asked Zhuang Zhou. He was inquiring about deeper historical details; perhaps Zhuang Zhou knew some buried secrets?

"They seem to possess terrifying power, and..." Zhuang Zhou paused halfway through his sentence, as if he were pondering how to proceed.

"Like a race with the creator god," Zhuangzi said after a long silence.

The monsters in the dream had bodies that were somewhere between biological and mechanical, somewhat similar to the creator god race that the old master had once described. But what was even stranger about those monsters was why they wanted to attack Xuan Yong.

"You didn't just come here to talk about this dream, did you?"

Zhuangzi decided to change the subject, for who can know what the future holds? Besides, it was just a dream, and prophecies don't always come true.

"Of course, I remember I came today to see the Chosen One... Are there any candidates?" Ying Zheng replied, thus taking over Zhuang Zhou's new topic.

Let's keep this dream in our hearts for now and be more careful.

"Of course, please come in," Zhuang Zhou called out towards the door.

A tall, white-haired woman walked in calmly.

……

Nighttime at the observatory.

The place where Zhuangzi observed the stars at night and made some sudden decisions is now a star-gazing observatory that can be transformed into a professional giant star-gazing device when activated, magnifying stars in the distant universe right before your eyes.

If the weather is nice, the students can even go see a meteor shower together.

Tonight, unusually, no classmates came to the observatory; only Yao was there alone.

The stars twinkled, adorning the night sky like a curtain.

The boundless, pitch-black space stretched out, crowding and surging into my eyes, while the twinkling stars made the universe stand out clearly in black and white.

The universe is truly amazing. The more you look at the starry sky, the more you realize how small you are. What could possibly be beyond your own planet?

As Zhuangzi once said, the star beneath one's feet is but a drop in the ocean of the universe, and as an individual, one is even smaller than a drop in the ocean, insignificant within insignificant. Yet, this seemingly insignificant existence has been tenaciously surviving. The universe is thus analyzed by such beings in their struggle for survival and progress.

Tiny yet great, this truly aligns with the consistent philosophical and aesthetic traditions of the Jixia Academy.

Yao was particularly confused, his head hanging low. Stars were scattered throughout the universe, and with so many places, would there be a place for him in the radiance of the Milky Way?

Yao wanted to be recognized, to become the brightest star, to be admired, but he had lofty ambitions but no action to move forward, because he was lost and didn't know where to go, so he could only go around in circles.

Now that he's been abandoned by his teammates, he's getting angrier and angrier. He's extremely depressed, hating his sister, his teammates, and even more so, himself.

"This is my seat."

At that moment, a man patted Yao on the shoulder from behind and said something.

I'm so unpopular, everyone tries to take my place!

Yao suddenly sprang to his senses, like a child throwing a tantrum, and began punching and kicking the man without any apparent reason.

Lian Po was taken aback and at a loss for what to do. He would come here to relax after dinner every day. When he saw someone occupying his usual spot, he wanted to say something, but the person hit him without saying a word. When he came to his senses, he also angrily threw a punch.

"Boom-"

A fist the size of a sandbag slammed solidly into Yao's stomach, sending him flying.

"boom--!"

Yao fell heavily to the floor, wincing in pain as he braced himself with one hand while clutching his aching, muscle-twitching stomach with the other.

"You are... Yao?" Lian Po asked in surprise when he saw who was attacking him.

……