Chapter 220
Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW
You can buy coins here to unlock advanced chapters: https://gravitytales.com/coins-purchase-page/
Chapter 220: Title
What kind of world is Blue Star? A realm of technological advancement.
Certainly more developed than both Heavenly Inquiry and Outlets worlds.
Most nations across Blue Star maintain dense monitoring networks with patrolling guards roaming the streets—those dressed in eccentric attire would stand out conspicuously.
This particularly applied to the pre-Awakening of Spiritual Energy era.
After the Spiritual Energy resurgence, diverse fashion trends emerged, liberating people from sartorial constraints dictated by contemporary mainstream norms.
Zhongxia’s streets now showcase scholarly robes with flowing sleeves, ethereal feathered garments, and the practical attire of wandering heroes… Gothic Lolita skirts and JK sailor uniforms pass by without eliciting curious stares.
Similar phenomena manifest globally, with most nations favoring mythological-inspired attire over foreign fashions.
Cultivation permeates Blue Star’s culture. While older generations maintain traditions, even among fashionably dressed youths—pick any ten at random—all possess basic cultivation knowledge.
Over twenty-four hours since the World War’s commencement, temporal synchronization between the three worlds complete. Ye Linlang commands her system to replay archived footage rather than observe real-time developments.
Anticipating outcomes prematurely spoils the intrigue, though she doubts Blue Star’s governments could miss the sudden surplus of "people".
Rewind to moments after Li Canghai, Merlinka, and ten thousand others vanished…
Shanghai, Zhongxia’s Magic Capital—an iconic metropolis glittering among Blue Star’s constellation of great cities.
This newly inaugurated plaza pulses with life, its architectural splendor matching the urban prosperity. The surrounding shopping complex projects highlights from the exchange meeting across colossal screens, drawing intermittent viewers.
By the screen-facing fountain, two girls lounge on a bench, sipping bubble tea through pastel straws.
"Final day of the exchange meeting already? Daoist Priest Li skipping the closing ceremony’s such a letdown."
The announcement minutes prior on Zhongxia’s official Weibo and government portals sparked widespread disappointment at the Practitioners’ absence.
Unbeknownst to the public, the Special Bureau scrambles in turmoil. Their elite’s mysterious disappearance overshadows ceremony concerns—Li Canghai and Xu Li, tier two cultivators representing national pride, now vanished alongside numerous peers.
Near the fountain’s mist, a Western youth in classical robes plucks haunting melodies on a huqin-like instrument. Coins glint at his feet as admirers linger.
"Check out that busker," nudges one girl, "not bad-looking eh?"
"Decent," her friend shrugs, "but pales next to my idol."
"No curiosity?"
"Just another down-on-his-luck performer. After the disasters, we get loads of these—foreigners blew their cash realizing Zhongxia’s not like home."
Post-cataclysm visa restrictions tightened globally, yet Shanghai’s streets brim with cultural crosscurrents—sword-carrying locals, flute players, even daredevils performing chest stone-breaking.
(The latter being body cultivators and martial artists, naturally—crushing boulders doubles as physical refinement despite Spiritual Energy’s free flow. Monetary needs drive creative hustling, though some do it purely for thrills.)
Meanwhile at Shanghai’s Special Bureau branch: Information Section 2 hums with urgent activity.
Due to the escalating number of missing persons cases, the entire Special Bureau has mobilized all divisions from headquarters to regional branches, tasking Information Section 2 with investigating the circumstances surrounding these disappearances.
Zhongxia’s Sky Net surveillance system, established two decades ago with ever-expanding camera networks, ensures that any activity within its coverage inevitably leaves traces. While not omniscient, its vast reach has proven invaluable.
Over twenty years, Sky Net’s meticulous web has cracked countless kidnapping and disappearance cases, rescuing trafficked children and lost citizens alike—a testament to its exhaustive coverage.
In Shanghai Sub-branch’s expansive monitoring room, the Division 2 Chief addressed the facility supervisor: "What’s the progress on headquarters’ assignment? Any breakthroughs?"
"We’ve compiled most missing persons data, but uncovered peculiar findings. Observe, Chief."
The screen illuminated with surveillance stills—subjects ranging from antiquity-themed attire to magic warrior garb, including a green-skinned goblin-like creature.
The internet-era seasoned Chief instantly recognized the image. "That’s straight from a fantasy game’s goblin design!"
Sixteen images flashed across monitors.
"Setting aside the creature," the supervisor continued, "these individuals don’t match Shanghai’s databases. Their emergence patterns suggest… extradimensional origins."
"Small world travelers?"
"Evidence?" The Chief’s partial acceptance demanded substantiation.
Zhongxia’s citizens knew of parallel realms—the Mountain and Sea Realm, England’s fairyland, Western magic domains with wizards and dragons.
"Footage from public cameras captures their materialization."
Sky Net’s protocol for unidentifiable content had preserved these clips through human review.
"Notice how they manifest mid-air, mirroring the missing persons’ sudden vanishings…"
The first video showed a black-robed wizard materializing abruptly in a shopping mall, staff in hand, his confusion evident as crowds scattered.
"This magic practitioner kidnapped a woman post-appearance. Current fugitive status."
Next footage revealed a jeweled noblewoman in palace outfit materializing by West Lake. Her initial bewilderment shifted to recognition before she strode purposefully toward surveillance cameras, crimson whip contrasting her regal attire.
"Sourced from tourist footage. We’re tracing her via adjacent cameras…"
Subsequent clips through the sixteenth showed similar anomalies—each newcomer committing legal violations reminiscent of the Awakening of Spiritual Energy era, when ancient practitioners clashed with modern norms.
During that turbulent period, practitioners like the vengeance-driven Yazi required moral recalibration rather than suppression—a societal stabilization effort succeeding through mutual understanding.
"Immediate escalation." The Chief’s furrowed brow deepened as he briefed the branch director via secure line. Returning moments later, he ordered: "All sixteen targets for Special Operations Section. Apprehend first, verify later."
From her World Tree office, Ye Linlang observed events unfold with resigned clarity. While global responses might vary, Zhongxia’s interdimensional intruders faced inevitable capture—modern surveillance eclipsing archaic powers.
Her created worlds Heavenly Inquiry and Outlets, despite initial threats, crumbled against Blue Star’s technological ascendancy. The outcome relieved yet frustrated her—a lopsided conflict where ancient warriors fell to coded algorithms.
In low-tier World Wars devoid of cosmic interference, Blue Star’s dual-tech cultivation approach dominated fragment worlds. As the cosmic favorite, its universe absorbed weaker realms to strengthen collectively.
Contemplating her next moves, Ye Linlang acknowledged the urgent timeline—three months until confronting unknown worlds. Releasing Galactic Empire and Rise of Wizards might propel technological leaps, but could Blue Star assimilate four realms before the deadline? Failure risked catastrophic strategic disadvantages.
