Chapter 3: Two Sirius
The moonlight was as bright as water.
On the top floor of a skyscraper, Cha Naxue, dressed in a snow-white gown, sat cross-legged on a simple European-style sofa. Her gloved fingertips tapped lightly on her knees from time to time.
In front of the distant window stood a tall man in a neat suit and white gloves, observing the stars through a massive astronomical telescope.
"Your Excellency, the Saint, is truly worthy of being the focus of the Black Moon Church's training. There aren't many Bolo-level astrological lenses like this even in the entire 51st District."
The man carefully adjusted the telescope and asked curiously, "Saint, do you enjoy stargazing?"
Cha Naxue took a sip of tea, her expression calm. "The distribution of galaxies where every star god resides perfectly conforms to the Fibonacci spiral. Studying them helps improve my probability criteria."
Probability criteria? The man was momentarily stunned, then remembered that this candidate saint had her own strict code of conduct. She would conduct precise probability calculations before making any major decision.
Of course, he didn't understand it, but he was deeply impressed.
After a while, one of the men hurried over and whispered something to him. The man nodded, and the subordinate bowed before retreating.
Qi Xiao turned to look at the woman in the snow-white gown on the sofa and smiled faintly. "My subordinates said that Junior Brother Xia rushed to Hydrangea Manor after receiving the marriage certificate from you. He seemed very agitated and even got into a car accident on the way but didn't give up. I suspect he's going to cause trouble to cancel the engagement."
"If he really offends Lord Lister and the Mu family, it will be quite the spectacle."
Hearing this, Cha Naxue frowned slightly and sighed. "As expected, he's still like this—never thinking before acting. Really."
She knew that the competition within the Six-Tails Society was fierce, and the disciples of this generation were battling intensely for the sole inheritance of the Six-Tails.
So far, the only ones qualified to obtain the Six-Tailed Spirit Robe were Xia Feng and his thirteenth senior brother—Qi Xiao.
"In any case, I am very grateful for your help, Your Excellency. By arranging for Xia Feng to marry into the Mu family, he has lost the right to inherit the Six-Tails Society's spirit robe. In return, my family and I will do our utmost to provide Miss Naxue with resources and support in her election as the Saint."
Qi Xiao's voice was calm. In truth, there was still a year left in the competition for the Six-Tails Spirit Robe inheritance, but he couldn't wait that long. By using this strategy, he could eliminate Xia Feng early and end the competition ahead of schedule.
This was also to prevent Xia Feng from advancing to a first-level spiritual master within the year, which would introduce unnecessary variables—though the likelihood of that was slim.
Cha Naxue gazed at the hazy moonlight outside the window, silent for a moment, before murmuring with a hint of guilt, "After all, he went to the Prince's Mansion to cause trouble because he likes me, and I..."
"Saint, in the face of the interests of all three parties, I suggest you not be soft-hearted. Xia Feng's marriage to the Mu family will allow the Mu family to establish a connection with Lord Lister, enable me to obtain the Six-Tailed Spirit Robe ahead of time, and give Miss Naxue another advantage in the competition for the Saint position. At the same time, it will also prevent Xia Feng from pestering you in the future. It's a win-win situation. This is the general trend."
"Moreover, since Xia Feng went to the Prince's Mansion tonight to cause trouble, does Miss Naxue really want to give up her position as a Saint and marry such an impulsive, reckless fool?"
Hearing this, Cha Naxue fell silent, and the guilt in her heart quickly dissipated.
Indeed, for the sake of the Saint position, it was time to let go of this childhood crush. With Xia Feng's talent, he couldn't provide her with any meaningful help.
For someone with average talent like Xia Feng, she could find thousands of spiritual masters with nearly identical growth paths in the Empire's database. After comparing and analyzing a large number of samples, and based on the known information about Xia Feng, giving up on him was the only relatively safe method with a probability of over 60% for her promotion to Saint.
What's more, the eldest daughter of the Mu family whom she had introduced to Xia Feng was indeed quite exceptional. Not only was she beautiful, but she also appeared gentle and kind—clearly a good wife who could take care of the family. Even if Xia Feng married into the family, it wouldn't be a loss.
"Huh?"
Qi Xiao, who had been observing the mysterious starry sky through the telescope, suddenly exclaimed in surprise.
"What's wrong?"
"Two. How can there be two?!"
Qi Xiao's expression was filled with uncontrollable astonishment. He spoke in an incredulous tone, "Two Sirius stars have appeared in the star realm!"
Area 1, Imperial Astrology Bureau.
This was a special institution because whenever someone was promoted to a first-level spiritual master, a corresponding star would light up in the astral world (not the real starry sky).
Thus, the daily work of the Astrology Bureau was to detect and count how many new first-level spiritual masters appeared in the country each year.
A white-haired old man rocked leisurely in a nanmu rocking chair, snoring softly.
Clerks in star-blue cloaks bustled around him.
After an unknown amount of time, the surrounding noise suddenly quieted down. A clerk hurried over to the white-haired old man and whispered, "Director, Director!"
The old man smacked his lips and turned sideways, grumbling in dissatisfaction, "Don't bother me unless it's the end of the world. Handle it yourselves."
The clerk hesitated for a moment.
He continued helplessly, "Director, why don't you get up and take a look?"
The old man frowned, then suddenly stood up, puffing out his beard and glaring. "Boy, this better be important!"
The clerk smiled and said nothing.
The old man snorted and rushed to the observatory in an irritable manner.
One minute later.
White-haired old man: "..."
"Son of a bitch. It really is the end of the world!"
His previously irritable expression vanished, replaced by solemnity as he stared at the horrifying scene deep in the star realm.
"Two."
As the director of the Astrology Bureau, he had lived for nearly a hundred years but had never seen anything so outrageous.
After all, every star in the star realm was unique. How could there be two Sirius stars? Or did it represent the disaster star that would usher in chaos?
The last time Sirius appeared, it caused an uproar among the top leaders of the entire empire, leading to the formation of a special task force to monitor the Sirius region.
No one expected that just a year later, another one would appear!
"Block the news!"
The white-haired old man casually pulled on his star-blue cloak and hunched over as he walked toward the gate. "I will go to the Imperial Gate. You continue to observe and try to deduce the specific time period of its awakening!"
"Yes!" Everyone bowed.
"How is this possible?"
Cha Naxue gazed at the starry sky through the Bolo-class astronomical lens. The two identical dark planets rotated around the central star in a symmetrical posture.
Though they were small planets, they resembled giant cosmic beasts entrenched at the two ends of the galaxy, emitting an inexplicable, terrifying aura as if ready to devour the endless brilliance of the central star.
"When did this new Sirius appear?" Cha Naxue couldn't hide her shock.
"It's impossible to estimate the exact time. The star mist stretched across the Sirius region for a whole month. Just as I was observing it, the star mist dissipated, and then I saw this scene. It seemed to appear out of thin air. Incredible."
Qi Xiao was about to say something when his men entered again and whispered something in his ear. He was momentarily stunned, then stood up and said with a smile:
"My master has returned to the Six-Tails Society. I suspect he's going to hold Xia Feng accountable for going to the Prince's Mansion. Miss Naxue, would you like to come and watch this spectacle?"
"No need," Cha Naxue replied calmly without even turning her head, continuing to observe the stars. Compared to Xia Feng, she was more concerned about who these two Siriuses were.
There were rumors in the empire that Sirius was both a sign of the beginning of troubled times and a symbol of peerless genius.
If she were lucky enough to gain the help or friendship of one of them, under the guidance of the Star God, her chances of becoming a Saint would soar by thirty percentage points to over 90%!