"After they left the Central Kingdom and entered the winter season, they found the Frost Queen. Following a chaotic battle, the Frost Queen was killed by 'Little Green,' 'Turquoise Pool,' and 'Mosquito,' and they obtained 'Winter.' They are currently resting and recuperating."
"But they won't come in the spring season, Turquoise Pool said. They will return directly to the Central Kingdom to continue searching for the 'Crown.'"
"Four days," Street Dance Girl repeated, "Is that enough?"
The two seemed to be talking to themselves, as everyone else pondered the same question.
"We have to make it enough," 'Jumping Off Buildings' let go of the last person's forehead, looking somewhat weary, but his eyes shone like the stars that twinkled even in the moonlight.
He said nothing more, only asked, "Don't you want to go back?"
"Of course, I do!" Street Dance Girl sat up straight, crossed her legs, and shook the blood from her hair, "By the time this planet invents loudspeakers, I'll be too old to dance!"
"You're only 16, you'll definitely see that day," said the Bonsai Enthusiast.
"But by that time, I won't have anyone to dance with," Street Dance Girl pursed her purple lips involuntarily.
The Bonsai Enthusiast wanted to say something, but remained silent, looking down at the glass cabinet of bonsai in his hands.
"Let's go back together," said the female Sand Painter, her voice gentle.
"Yeah."
Land watched the 22 people in front of him, their expressions calm but their eyes fierce, then stealthily turned and disappeared into the ground amidst a wisp of white smoke.
◇
Desert.
The forest of stone pillars, wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, looked very much like spinning tops shaped by the wind.
A group of warriors clad in steel and rock, weapons in hand, hid among these spinning top-like pillars.
"We failed in the autumn season, and we lost in the winter season too," said the Central King's daughter, tall, slender, and agile, dressed in flexible, light armor that alternated between gold and blue.
"King."
The Guard Captain looked at the princess, who had already become the Central King.
"Surrender the 'Crown,' the Earth God has promised us a land free from disturbance and will not interfere with us," he said.
"Surrender the 'Crown'?" asked the Court Mage, his voice filled with coldness, "Iron Stone, do you know what you're talking about?"
The Mage's staff glowed, and the stones on the ground seemed ready to transform into projectiles, ready to pierce the Guard Captain's body at any moment.
Iron Stone stared at the profile of the Central King:
"King, I'm not afraid to die. Once this is over, I'm willing to turn into stone on the ruins of the Capital, and rest eternally with the former kings. But our faith must not be severed, and you cannot die. As long as you're alive, as long as we survive, there will always be a chance."
The Central King looked at the spinning top-like rock pillars.
She said, "The day the Capital fell, I heard the Earth God tell my father that they were a flood, but eventually, the flood would recede. After it receded, whether anything would be left behind, and what would be left behind, my father could decide."
The rock pillars stood like devils, looking down on this group of refugees.
The Central King lifted her gaze; beyond these devilish pillars, the galaxy was brilliant.
"My father said that stones do not need to remain, for they are stones on the earth but will become stars in the sky," she said.
The Central King turned to face the Guard Captain: "To survive?"
Then she looked at everyone else.
"We will survive!" she declared, her voice overpowering everything else, "I want us to live on with the dignity of the children of the Monarchs of Wind and Light! Fight to defend our honor, or fall and become stars in the sky!"
"I hear the era challenging me," she drew the sword from her waist, pointing to the night sky, "so—"
Everyone pulled out their weapons, the Guard Captain and the Court Mage included.
Together, they chanted:
"I let the Morning Star burn, the dusk to pause, here I drop my anchor."
"I crown myself, lord of the world, I am the Monarch of Wind and Light."
◇
Winter.
The cold wind lashed out, and the snow struck the face, as the magnificent Ice Palace collapsed.
The enormous body of the Frost Queen turned into a small iceberg, lying among the snowflakes that danced all around.
The gloomy sky offered low visibility, while 'Pass By Earthquake,' 'Deadly Light Flame,' and others who had exhausted their 'Abilities' couldn't stop shivering.
They looked enviously at Li Changzhou, who was sitting atop the head of the Frost Queen.
Yang Qinglan stood beside Li Changzhou, her hair lightly fluttering, emitting a warmth like that of spring.
Li Changzhou sat cross-legged, as the snow and wind between heaven and earth poured towards him like water into a drain, forming long dragons of snowflakes and resembling tornadoes.
Before the battle, to replenish the energy of 'Winter,' he once again exercised his 'Divine Body.'
Having the Five Elements Qi Blade, he could now instantly unleash his full Strength. But even though ice and water share the same source, they are still different; it took him a full five seconds to grudgingly "tune" the ice. Only after the addition of the energy from the dead Frost Queen did 'Winter' appear.