["To speak frankly, legends are rare upon these Xianzhou ships."]
["After all, with eternal life in sight, what room remains for legends to take root?"]
[The man's vigorous voice carried the cadence of a storyteller, enthusiastically narrating to his audience.]
[As his voice echoed, a glowing lantern slowly materialized on the celestial screen, its light casting shifting silhouettes of various figures in paper-cut artistry.]
["Yet, when speaking of the Cloud Knights' generals, one cannot help but begin with a distant [legend]..."]
["This history began eight thousand years ago, when an emperor of an ancient kingdom sought immortality, desiring his achievements to endure eternally."]
["Thus, the ancestors of the Xianzhou set sail across the starry seas, embarking on a long and arduous journey. Truly, it was a time of 'galaxies stretching ten thousand miles, lone ships without horizons in sight.'"]
[The rhythmic verse, delivered with the flair of traditional opera, accompanied the shadow-puppet depiction of an ancient emperor raising his hand in command. Countless Xianzhou ships followed, venturing into the vast sea of stars.]
"Eh? Weren't we just on the train? What's this...?" Inside the mansion, Tokugawa stared puzzled at the sudden scene unfolding in midair.
"Probably some exposition by the celestial screen before we move to the next world."
Miyamoto Musashi pondered the terms that had appeared—"Cloud Knights' generals," "Xianzhou," "ancient emperor," and the catchy, elegant poetry. "It has a very Chinese-esque flavor to it."
"Hmm, he resembles a certain emperor from our history."
A voice, aged yet brimming with vitality, suddenly came from outside the mansion. Everyone recognized it—even Yujiro didn't need to look up to know it was Kaioh Kaku.
At 146 years old, Kaioh Kaku was a pure-blooded Chinese native. If one were to ask who in modern Chinese could represent its vast 4,000-year martial history, there was no one else but him. Not only was Kaioh Kaku one of the very few alive who comprehended the "principles of fist," he was also among the rare individuals who had forced Yujiro to activate his Demon Back and survived.
—That feat alone was enough to command reverence from every martial artist present.
Retsu Kaioh had also arrived but stood humbly behind his master, observing and training under the elder's guidance.
"...Qin Shi Huang?" Miyamoto Musashi suddenly spoke up.
"Oh? I'm surprised you're familiar with our history."
Kaioh Kaku adjusted his sunglasses, a faint smile visible beneath the narrow slits of his eyes. "Not bad, kid."
"Heh, your country's history is profoundly rich and fascinating." Miyamoto Musashi's expression turned eager. "If possible, I'd love to test my skills against the legendary warriors of your history... I look forward to crossing blades with them."
"Tch, 'No king surpasses Xiang, no general surpasses Li, no fist surpasses Jin'... We'll see." Kaioh Kaku waved dismissively before pointing upward. "For now, let's focus on this."
"After all, the martial arts displayed here have already given us plenty of surprises."
[After more than two millennia of solitary voyaging, the Xianzhou people finally beheld divinity.]
The scene depicted the silhouette of the Aeon of Abundance, who bestowed a single branch. As it touched the ground, it rapidly grew into a towering tree that blotted out the sky!
[The Plagues Author manifested, granting the Xianzhou people boundless longevity.]
"Isn't that the Aeon of Abundance?"
Frieren suddenly recalled the introduction to the Aeons she had seen earlier, which mentioned this deity—a slender, ethereal yet eerily unsettling figure.
"From what the celestial screen said... it seems the Xianzhou people are all immortal, and it was this Aeon who granted them such a gift." Stark couldn't hide his envy. "Looking at it that way, this Aeon of Abundance seems pretty great... I'd love to have a long life like Frieren's."
Frieren, however, sensed something amiss and frowned. "Haven't you noticed? The title used here is... [Plagues Author]. That doesn't sound positive at all. If immortality came without a price, why would they refer to the benevolent deity with such a moniker?"
"Hmm..." Stark was still mulling it over when the scene shifted once more.
["Yet, blessings are also curses."]
["Beings who transcended mortality became undying calamities that poisoned the cosmos. Alas, alas."]
["The Xianzhou were tainted by the curse of longevity, alliances fractured into discord. External threats arose, and the battlefields were littered with shattered bones."]
With a sigh, the scene showed an ordinary man suddenly sprouting countless woody tendrils from his body. As his form grotesquely expanded, he transformed into a mindless, monstrous abomination, unleashing a storm of bloodshed.
"Uh... I take back what I just said." Stark, who had been excited moments ago, quickly covered his mouth.
"Told you so." Frieren placed her hands on her hips, wearing a smug expression as she slightly raised her chin. "Nothing in this world comes free. That's the wisdom of an experienced big sister, hmph~"
"But..." Fern looked puzzled. "If Aeons possess such boundless power, why wouldn't the Aeon who bestowed this gift also relieve humanity's suffering?"
If a deity could grant eternal life with a mere thought, surely removing their agony should be just as effortless.
"With an Aeon's power, it shouldn't be impossible, right?"
"That's what confuses me too." Frieren pointed at the transformed monstrosity on the screen, her brow furrowing slightly.
"My guess is that the Aeon of Abundance itself lacks any emotional regard. It doesn't seek human worship... It's just an emotionless entity, fulfilling its 'Abundance'-driven purpose."
"Aeons each have their own mission, their own 'instinct'—like the Preservation Aeon's instinct to forge 'protective' walls for civilizations, while the Abundance Aeon's instinct is to sow 'abundance' across the cosmos."
"Though it's hard to grasp what exactly its 'abundance' entails... at the very least, in its eyes, the near-immortal Xianzhou people have achieved the 'abundance' it desired. What happens afterward... it couldn't care less."
["At this critical juncture of survival, the Reignbow Arbiter descended upon the mortal realm, sheltering the adrift Xianzhou within the starry seas."]
The Aeon of The Hunt drew its bow, an arrow of light nocked and loosed into the cosmic void. Its radiance pierced through the darkness, illuminating one patch of the universe after another like beacons of hope.
["The Xianzhou ships gallivanted across the stars, purging demons and scourges, embarking on a 5,000-year-long Hunt—fulfilling divine will, eradicating the curse of longevity!"]
["And leading these six Xianzhou ships were the sharpest arrows of The Hunt—the Reignbow's Seven Arbiter Generals!"]