Skyfire Avenue

“Was summoning your Domain like this tiring?” Lan Jue asked.

Qianlin’s response was thoughtful. “At first it was, since I was using my dharmic image. But in the scope of this arena I don’t think it’s necessary, my Domain alone should be enough. The mist from these people seems to absorb my powers, but they return quickly. I’m not sure what happened, but it felt like my powers increased and became more stable.”

Lan Jue gaped at her. “Your protogenia is really something extraordinary. What is it? I mean, what is its true essence?”

Her response was somewhat vague. “I don’t know! I was always a little mystified by it, even before becoming a Paragon. I never really knew my Path, I suppose I’m lucky to have even broken through.”

Lan Jue was at a loss, for he wasn’t expecting such an answer. However, it was clear that Qianlin’s protogenia was something spectacular. Although it didn’t have much implication in a fight, its benefits to all was undeniable. The stronger she became, the more integral her presence.

“Her protogenia is Salvation.” The Photographer’s voice joined the conversation.

Lan Jue swept his eyes her way. His mother could speak while in the breakthrough process?

“Salvation? Deliverance? Guanyin, Queen of Heaven is certainly a worthy name.” Lan Jue mused with a smile.

“Wait until mother finishes, then we’ll go on saving people,” Lan Jue confidently told Qianlin. “With my help we’ll return them to normal as quickly as possible.”

After their simultaneous breakthrough, the two of them could still merge. In doing so their powers would rise to the level of Nirvana, which in turn would increase the scope of their Domain. This would certainly help them in quickly saving the victims of the progenitor. What’s more the fusion ceased to be one-sided. Now both of them could take control.

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Angel had quickly begun to shed the purple hue left behind by its alien oppressors. Without the progenitor’s support, the planet’s own restorative abilities were coming into play. After all, the progenitor had not been here long enough to completely drain the world of its energies. With the addition of the vital energy released at the moment of the progenitor’s death, Angel had the chance for a full recovery.

With the dissolution of the purple stain, a pink hue had come to take its place. At first the color was pale and hardly visible, but with time even the clouds above were painted pink. If one were to witness this through a telescope they would discover that the color was the result of many thousands of humanoid images layered one on top of the other. As they became clearer, the color deepened. The scene was nothing short of marvelous.

When Lan Qing saw it on his screens, he figured it could only be his mother rising to the next level. He just couldn’t believe she would chose this moment to do so. The Infinite… was this the extent of her newfound powers?

After learning that Qianlin could heal the infected, and in a large area, Lan Qing’s worries eased. This solves a serious problems, for whether now or later it would have proven a tremendous burden – a disaster waiting to happen. Hundreds of millions of people! Practically all of the people of the West, their leaders among them.

The West was gone, but its people could still be saved. If they could be healed then reconstruction efforts could be undertaken. Politically speaking Qianlin’s assistance would mean they would be beholden to the East. It would mean great things for their alliance in the future.

For now they would wait to learn more about the other planets. Many scout ships, equipped with cloaking devices, had been dispatched to learn what they could. This included the fate of Europa.

The chances were high that Europa was where they would find the alien home worlds. The last battle had been intense, yet the home worlds had never appeared. The ferocity and sheer number of the alien defenses spoke to the high probability that the evil planets were indeed in the midst of their evolution. The only question that remained was how long this process took.

All they could do was pray. Once the evolution process was complete humanity didn’t have a ghost of a chance, this was certain. How terrifying would immortal aliens be? Beyond anything they could contend against.

However his father’s determination, along with Lan Qing’s own and the opinion of several others, was that creation of an immortal realm like what existed in the ancient days was no easy feat. It certainly wasn’t something that could be achieved in a short time frame. The alien home worlds had chosen this time to attempt it because they thought humanity no longer had the ability to stop them. Or lacked the desire.

They may have won their first battle, but there was still much to come. They had to tread carefully, for a single mistake could spell disaster. A single mistake could mean utter destruction for their species.

Lan Qing looked calm on the outside, but how could his heart not be straining under the pressure? The fate of humanity lay in the balance!

As he fretted over their task, he saw the color surrounding Angel suddenly thicken. Then the unthinkable happened. Angel vanished.

Indeed, the whole planet simply ceased to be. When the pink color had covered the whole thing it simply disappeared without a trace. All he could see was empty space and a backdrop of stars.

“What…” Lan Qing rubbed his eyes. It didn’t matter who witnessed it, no one would believe it. How was this possible? How could a whole planet simply evaporate into nothing?

Just as he was struggling to comprehend what had happened, the planet returned in a flash of pink light. He was surprised to note it had returned to its original rotation.

He witnessed it all in crystal clear clarity, and knew it meant Angel had recovered. This bode well for the future of the planet.

Did his mother do that? Lan Qing had some doubts. The three alien planets were immensely powerful, so it was conceivable they could halt a plant’s rotation. But his mother was just one person. For her alone to return the planet to its former state would have required tremendous ability.

A faint smile spread across Lan Qing’s face. His hands linked in front of him. Everything was beginning to go their way.

Suddenly he saw all the pink light begin to converge on a single point on Angel’s surface. They flowed like rivers until all of it was swallowed up. For a moment the planet was back to normal, then there was a blast of pink light, and once more the planet disappeared…

Lan Qing just stared in disbelief. He might have been able to explain away the last one, but twice in a row? The planet was really disappearing. This…

What amazing power, to simply cut a whole world from reality! Was this what happened when interdimensional protogenia was perfected?

Angel reappeared and promptly disappeared for a third time. When it came back once again it seemed to finally return to normal.

This is the power a Paragon who joined the Infinite could command. The soldiers who witnessed it would surely remember the scene all the rest of their days. Lan Qing had to quickly alert the troops that Angel’s dramatic and perplexing behavior was the result of their own side and not to be alarmed. The planet was under their control.

After their recent victory, Lan Qing’s prestige among the allied forces was legendary. Their triumph over the alien forces had been nearly absolute, instantly making the God of Wisdom a treasure of humanity.

Video of the battle quickly made it back to the Eastern and Northern Alliances. Copies of it were transmitted across video feeds throughout all the human occupied planets, including those in the West.

It served to pacify the fear and rage among the populace. Humanity’s victory would mean nothing without the support of the people. Loss after loss had eroded the people’s faith in their governments, which frightened their leaders terribly. Without the faith of the people, all was lost.

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There was a flash of light, and Lan Jue smiled. As he watched the flows of pink light swirl around like a dream, looking upon the ethereal form of his mother, he knew she’d broken through.

The Infinite, boundless and eternal, present in all things. It was a sensation that could only be felt and not expressed, but Lan Jue could sense the astounding change in his mother. She was no longer like a Paragon. In this moment she was an arbiter of time and space.

A white light extended from Zhou Qianlin to settle over the Photographer. It isolated her from everything, especially universal protogenia.

Luo Xianni looked younger than before, no older than Zhou Qianlin in fact. Her breakthrough had restored her to a young woman.