More often than not, people only find the strength to strive, unleashing power far greater than usual, once they have a goal or something they wish to protect.

Lin Luo was this way; so too was Zhidao.

The two lived in this mundane world for a week. Zhidao experienced the life of an ordinary girl—the warmth of family, the sweetness shared with a lover. This made her feel incredibly happy, as if all her wishes had been fulfilled at that moment, yet she knew it was merely an illusion.

The happiness she currently experienced was nothing more than a castle in the air; beautiful to behold, but it could shatter completely with a single misstep. To preserve this happiness forever, she had to keep moving forward!

Thus, on this very day, Zhidao bid farewell to her family and prepared to return to the Bright Realm with Lin Luo.

“Before we leave, is there anything you wish to say?” Standing on the hillside overlooking the small town, just as when they first arrived, Lin Luo asked the girl beside him.

“I am content,” Zhidao gazed at the utterly familiar environment before them, then after a moment, turned to say softly, “Let the time in this world slow down a little.”

Opening a world gate in the Weapon Race World was a necessity of the situation, something Lei desired, and a favorable path for the Seraphim Angels. However, for this commonplace world, neither Lin Luo nor Zhidao had ever considered linking it to the Bright Realm. To avoid causing trouble for this world, temporarily drawing a clear line between it and the Bright Realm was the most suitable course.

Besides, reaching the Celestial Tier would allow her to leap beyond the world; Zhidao was not without a chance to return.

The only question was how long the God War would last—perhaps a few years, perhaps several centuries. With Zhidao's current strength, maintaining eternal youth was trivial, and possessing a lifespan of several millennia was entirely achievable. But ordinary people clearly could not live for thousands of years. To avoid never seeing her family again when everything ended, she could only ask Lin Luo to alter this world's timeline.

Lin Luo certainly did not object. Since the time-tracking watch, the "Heavenly Realm Time," given to him by Yao Yao, could speed up the timeline, it could do the reverse as well. As the binding pact between the two activated, this world's timeline was rapidly dialed down significantly.

Time in this world slowed; consequently, time in the Bright Realm would accelerate. To avoid delaying important matters, the moment the timeline shifted, Lin Luo immediately activated the Starlight Avenue... the strongest World Passage, which shielded against all physical and magical attacks, isolated all unbound entities, and was unaffected by timeline shifts.

Swish!

Just then, a single white pinpoint of light suddenly rose from somewhere within the small town, rocketing like lightning toward the Starlight Avenue that had not yet completely detached from this world.

“What is that?” Lin Luo and Zhidao both froze upon seeing the light point. It was clearly drawn to them because it sensed their departure, but how could such a thing appear in this ordinary world... Ah!

Lin Luo suddenly recalled that this world did indeed possess extraordinary mysteries. He had known this all along, but he had never imagined that something he caused could embody the light representing happiness—a Lumina Gem!

It was less that the gem was flying toward the Starlight Avenue and more that its target was Zhidao. In the blink of an eye, it zipped into the Starlight Avenue, which had just lifted off the ground, and began to hover gently before her.

The Lumina Gem, an existence of profound mystery, could even interfere with timelines, causing events that had transpired to replay along different trajectories. Alternatively, one could say the Lumina Gem could generate multiple parallel worlds.

Yet, for something so miraculous, its essence was merely a flickering mass of white light. Though exceedingly beautiful, it conveyed none of the mystery one might expect.

“I heard legends about this town—that when happiness flashes in people’s hearts, a light rises,” Zhidao gazed at the gem, seemingly enlightened, and gently extended her hand. “Could this be the light that represents my happiness?” It appeared to be exactly so. When Zhidao's finger touched the Lumina Gem, its brilliance intensified dramatically, then with a bip, it flew up above Zhidao’s head. The light shattered, showering down upon her like scattering embers... Bathed in the gem's happiness, Zhidao instinctively closed her eyes.

Watching this scene, Lin Luo was abruptly reminded of Fujibayashi Ryo’s divination from a few days prior—she had said Zhidao would obtain something beautiful that would allow her to ascend in one step. Could she have been referring to this Lumina Gem? And by "ascend in one step"... did she mean the Celestial Tier?!

Fujibayashi Ryo’s divination could arguably be considered a form of mystery, but such low-level obscurity should never affect beings of their caliber. Thus, Lin Luo had never taken the divination seriously. However, with the appearance of this Lumina Gem, he could no longer dismiss it.

Regardless of whether the divination was true or false, Zhidao acquiring the gem was undoubtedly a massive advantage.

Realizing this, Lin Luo muttered a silent regret. If he had known this world had a side quest involving collecting Lumina Gems, he shouldn't have missed it. He should have guessed days ago when he encountered the lively Ibuki Fuko that the gems could be found. But now that the Starlight Avenue was activated, no amount of regret would help.

Of course, Lin Luo did not know that, besides this one belonging to Zhidao, all other Lumina Gems capable of being generated in this world had already been taken by Hatsune. Even if he had known earlier, completing that side quest would have been impossible. It was precisely because Zhidao was the Host that Hatsune was powerless regarding her Lumina Gem...

She could do nothing about it, and only now had it returned to Zhidao.

One minute later, the two had returned to the Sky Citadel, and Zhidao had snapped out of the light's embrace. Although the Lumina Gem hadn't granted her any special abilities or overwhelming strength, she could sense a subtle difference between herself now and one minute ago. Her inner spiritual realm felt broader, deeper, and she could faintly glimpse the direction of the "Heavens."

With this realization, even without being certain she could break through to the Celestial Tier, Zhidao was too eager to wait. After a hasty farewell to Lin Luo, she immediately rushed toward the main hall.

Lin Luo didn't mind. Inspiration was fleeting; once lost, it became incredibly difficult to recapture. He had experienced Zhidao's current state of mind many times before and understood it perfectly.

“Speaking of which, only a day and a half has passed here. I wonder if the third Lord of Noses has emerged from seclusion yet?” Lin Luo muttered as he walked toward the main hall, vaguely feeling that Fujibayashi Ryo’s divination held some special significance that made him uneasy.

(A brief explanation: The time comparison between the Bright Realm and other worlds only occurs after a connection is established between the two worlds; otherwise, time is immeasurable and indeterminate. For example, the protagonist's second entry into Gensokyo occurred when his daughter was two years old, and his third entry into Type-Moon was the Fifth Holy Grail War—I will never admit that was due to plot necessity.)

“Master, here is a letter for you.” As soon as Lin Luo stepped inside, the head maid rushed over and presented him with an exquisitely wrapped parcel.

“A letter? Who sent it?” Lin Luo took it, unable to suppress his question. The “technology” in the Bright Realm was so advanced; it was strange that someone was sending him a physical letter.

“I do not know,” the head maid shook her head.

Lin Luo did not press further, thinking that if she didn’t know, how did she know it was for him? He waved her away and opened the parcel. Inside, he retrieved a piece of pink, faintly scented stationery. Written on it were the words: “I await you in the Land of Covenants. If you do not come, death sentence... Meow meow meow!”

Pfft!

Lin Luo nearly coughed up blood. What in the world was this bizarre mix of the grotesque and the cute?

When did I ever make a covenant with a cat person? I’ll mess with you!

Lin Luo gave up trying to make sense of it and rummaged deeper into the envelope, finding it as empty as his remaining decency. He knew the message contained only those few lines, but the problem was, there was no name, no hint of a location—only the Land of Covenants, which was who-knows-where!

“Hmm,” Lin Luo decided the ‘death sentence’ part sounded more pressing and chose to think seriously. He closed his eyes, hugging one arm to his chest and tapping his chin with the other, slipping into visualization mode. Soon, a scene appeared in his mind: a girl with long, straight black hair, dressed in a Gothic Lolita outfit, complete with cat ears and a tail, standing before a magic mirror, waving her ‘paws,’ wiggling her hips and waist... Meow meow meow!

Crack!

The moment he opened his eyes, Lin Luo snapped his fingers with casual elegance. Through that visualization, he was reasonably certain he knew who had written the letter. Now, where was this Land of Covenants?

Recalling every encounter he had with that cat-girl, Lin Luo genuinely could not remember having established any covenant with her—in fact, he didn't seem to have had time for any sort of arrangement with her yet!

“Damn it, this one is proving more troublesome than the Martial Emperor. Indeed, the mental structure of the chuunibyou is different from ordinary people; it’s nothing but strange frequencies.”

Lin Luo felt a major headache coming on, yet he couldn't afford to treat this lightly. After being trained by Yao Yao, that chuunibyou's strength must have increased significantly. If she had genuinely reached a realm where she could curse him to death, and he failed to arrive at the Land of Covenants in time, he might very well face that death sentence.

After all, the logic of a chuunibyou was not the same as that of a normal person.

A moment later, Lin Luo left the Sky Citadel. Since the chuunibyou had given the mail to the head maid, it was clear the Land of Covenants was not on the Citadel, and she likely hadn't returned to her own world either. While the Bright Realm was boundless, he could at least find some clue by searching along the paths they had once traveled together.

“First, the place where we first met.” Lin Luo hovered in mid-air, carefully observing the land below. The Bright Realm had merged with the Crimson Realm, making it difficult to locate that hidden sanctuary, as everything had changed after the fusion—that place might even cease to exist.

But it wasn't entirely without a trace!

Since the Bright Realm and the Crimson Realm had fundamental differences, even after merging, he, with his ability as the King of Worlds, could still detect the subtle disparities across the land.

Then, ignoring the Bright Realm and piecing together the scattered remnants of the Crimson Realm in his mind—while an incredibly tedious endeavor—...

“Sigh, I suppose I have no choice but to take this on,” Lin Luo sighed, concentrating all his attention on the earth below.