This was undoubtedly the darkest year in the history of the Interstellar Youth Tournament.
The moment Su Cha hoisted someone up with a sturdy vine, the light vanished from the Pritts’ eyes.
Their superiors had promised them benefits in advance if they won this round, so they were willing to sacrifice a bit of dignity to achieve victory. Besides, Pritts weren’t exactly known for having moral boundaries—
Until they ran into Su Cha.
“Let me go,” the unfortunate contestant growled.
Under the dark moon and chilling wind, Su Cha ignored him. Riding on a white tiger, he dragged his trophy behind him.
“Shh,” Su Cha warned. “Don’t yell. You’ll wake the beast.”
The captured contestant forcibly calmed his nerves, gathering his spirit energy into his still-mobile right hand. He was planning to fight back the moment he broke out of the encirclement.
Meanwhile, the two other Pritts had also made their preparations.
If one teammate got eliminated, the rest would be forced out too—how could they play like that?
One teammate was about to rush forward, but their captain held him back. He knew that chasing after Su Cha would only draw them into another mess. The outer-ring members were already planning their retreat. If they were the last ones left behind, no one would come out well.
Then, completely beyond anyone’s expectations, the Pritt captain suddenly accelerated to full speed and appeared next to a contestant from another planet. He forcefully grabbed the person’s left shoulder, kneeing them in the stomach. Pritts were skilled in close combat, but this time no one was in the mood to admire his moves. The captain seized the contestant and flung them high into the air.
“Trade.”
Su Cha’s mouth opened slightly, and instinctively, he caught the flying person with a vine. After a moment, he finally spat out: “So dirty.”
“…” Oh, look at you. So noble and above it all.
Su Cha glanced at Ji Tianjin, who gave a slight nod.
Capturing a Pritt was easy. Shaking them off, though, was tough. Dragging it out any longer would be pointless.
Su Cha manipulated the vine and flung the original captured contestant off into the distance. The moment the person landed, they didn’t even have time to curse—because Su Cha had thrown them right next to a few strange beasts. Their two teammates had no choice but to run over and help.
“Let’s go,” Ji Tianjin said in a low voice.
This time, they were retreating for real—no more lingering in battle.
Human grief isn’t universal. For the livestream viewers, everything just felt intense and terrifying.
The commentator took a moment to find his voice: “The emergency supply drop has pushed the match into a fever pitch. Four teams have already been eliminated in the scramble. Interestingly, the Jialu Empire and the Pritt team seem to have had prior arrangements. The Jialu team gave up competing for the supplies and instead joined in targeting Fog Star’s players. Fascinating.”
He was almost outright saying the two teams had cut some backroom deal and that one had entered the match to covertly assist the other.
It was blatant provocation—but also the truth.
Setting aside the kidnapping aspect, Su Cha and Ji Tianjin’s coordination was actually superb. The commentator didn’t deny this, though he added: “All that effort for just one person—it’s kind of anticlimactic.”
The emergency supplies weren’t only dropped in that zone. Players headed east had gained a clear advantage.
“And the match’s only halfway through the first day. Burning so many bridges this early might just backfire.”
The commentator continued analyzing from various angles, but among the spectators—especially those seated near Fog Star—there wasn’t much chatter.
Cyril was like an iceberg, a far cry from the calm and gentle persona he once posted on social media.
A full minute passed before he closed his eyes, feeling as if the very air reeked of blood—like Su Cha’s bleeding wounds were seeping out of the screen.
The contestant who ambushed Su Cha was from the Jialu Empire. The person in charge, sensing Cyril’s frigid aura, quietly changed seats.
“Look at you,” a familiar colleague teased.
Ambushes and assassinations within the rules were commonplace—Cyril knew that. He wouldn’t lose composure over something so standard.
Still, the Jialu Empire’s official spoke seriously: “But he just glared at me like he wanted to kill me.”
He had no doubt that after the match, the other party would come for a private showdown—and vent his fury with a beating.
“…”
***
The rainforest was living up to the “rain” in its name.
A fine drizzle fell relentlessly.
Su Cha and his group had retreated to a relatively safe location.
Even though he hadn’t moved much while lying on the white tiger’s back, Su Cha’s wound had reopened during the escape.
“I’m so pitiful…” he murmured, wallowing in self-pity while extracting spirit energy from the captured Pritt. He sighed at their shamelessness.
Trading a person for a person? Seriously?
With the white tiger’s paw looming overhead, the captured contestant didn’t dare move and grit his teeth. “Maybe you should take a hard look at yourself.”
Knowing that losing his spirit energy meant elimination, the contestant resisted the urge to fight back and added in a trembling voice: “You’re done for. You’re dead meat. The teams that got away will definitely regroup and—”
He didn’t even get to finish before being punched hard enough to trigger the safety ejection.
“Throw him out,” Ji Tianjin said calmly, withdrawing his fist.
The spirit energy was pretty much drained anyway. Keeping the person around was pointless.
Di Yuansi hauled the contestant off, returning a few minutes later. “He’s been picked up by the warship.”
His brow remained furrowed. He emphasized warship on purpose.
The Federation could’ve used aircraft, but landing a whole warship revealed their location—just like last time.
Liu Xiqin tilted her head toward the sky. “That guy had a point. Once the sun rises, we’ll likely be surrounded.”
Tonight, though, after fending off strange beasts and seeing other areas break out in chaos over the emergency supplies, everyone needed to catch their breath.
“Rest first,” Di Yuansi said, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed. “For once, we’re going with the crowd.”
Just like the other players, it was time to recover.
Su Cha sat up and winced as he pulled at his injury. Ji Tianjin sighed and patiently re-bandaged the wound. “Stop moving.”
Before he could finish, Su Cha waved him off. “Sleep? Nah, get up—it’s party time!”
Unfortunately, he was quickly pushed down again for more treatment. Seeing blood soak into the half-healed scab, Ji Tianjin sighed. “What kind of party are you thinking of?”
Su Cha didn’t respond well to threats—but give him a little pampering, and he’d behave immediately. He straightened up and said solemnly: “Everything that happened today… I totally saw it coming—ow…”
Ji Tianjin raised an icy eyebrow. “Go on.”
“…Okay, fine, I didn’t expect to be ganged up on.” Su Cha perked up again. “But after a battle like that, it’s the perfect time—everyone’s exhausted.”
Di Yuansi looked over. “Surprise attack?”
Su Cha shook his head. The amusement in his eyes slowly settled. “With a gash like this, I doubt I’ll sleep tonight.”
He wanted company in his insomnia.
Ji Tianjin glanced at him. He already knew what Su Cha was planning.
It took Di Yuansi a beat to catch on, and then he remembered those sleepless nights back in the dorm: when Su Cha’s spirit energy overflowed, all the spirit forms had gathered outside his door, and the instructors had to step in.
The worse the owner’s injuries, the worse their spirit forms behaved. Back in school, even a minor guided awakening caused chaos. The top-tier students handpicked for the academy couldn’t handle it. At night, those creatures would unconsciously swarm people, draining them. And now?
The earlier battle had taken its toll, and the toxins in the air meant both players and their spirit forms were already exhausted.
Su Cha’s calming, nurturing energy was exactly what they needed—it was like a gentle spring rain.
Di Yuansi swallowed hard. “You’re really doing this?”
Su Cha nodded. “Can’t keep stealing people all the time. It’s wrong.”
He had reflected deeply—he really had.
“……”
Su Cha released his spirit form. “I’ll have to trouble you a bit.”
Just like during his awakening, he once again performed a “sky full of blossoms” act. The dazzling magnolia lotus disappeared, replaced by countless palm-sized flowers.
Tens of thousands of tiny flowers drifted through the night sky, so gentle that they were lighter than moonlight itself. They carried no offensive intent—just like the rain tonight, they quietly seeped in with the wind.
The flowers floated far and wide, suppressing their scent. One drifted near a cave, finding its first target. It dissolved into the raindrops and gently melted into the fur of a crouching lion, who then stood, shook out its mane, and walked off in another direction.
The team member on night watch glanced at it without concern. It was common for a spirit form to patrol on its own. The lion belonged to a teammate in shallow sleep—clearly restless. In such a state, it was even more normal for the spirit form to stay alert.
But he missed one thing: his teammate’s furrowed brows were slowly relaxing, as if sensing something soothing… or as if dreaming a sweet dream.
The spirit form’s gait was slightly illusory, and the lion’s eyes had lost their usual sharpness—acting more on instinct now.
Soon, similar scenes began playing out all over.
An eagle took flight near the riverside, a pangolin dug into the mountainside, a leopard paced gracefully across a ridge… all unconsciously heading in the same direction.
Goodbye, masters. Their long journey was about to begin.
Even at night, the hovering warships in the sky saw everything clearly. These ships from various planets could clearly see their native players lost in sleep, and the crew practically wanted to slap them awake:
“Sleep, sleep, sleep—look! Your spirit forms are being stolen!”
There were only a bit over a hundred players left. Yet now, dozens of spirit forms were converging from different directions. It wasn’t obvious, but it was happening.
Su Cha wasn’t being too greedy—at most, only two flowers drifted into any given team. If all three spirit forms from a team left, that would be too suspicious.
With no other teams within a kilometer, Su Cha boldly expanded his spirit power to envelop the area. Even his own teammates began to feel an indescribable comfort.
Di Yuansi stayed high in the trees, staying vigilant in case anyone—or anything—other than spirit forms got drawn in.
The first arrivals were a manul cat and a red panda. Su Cha’s eyes lit up. “Come here, my darlings.”
This was the true benefit of deep awakening. With abundant spiritual power, Su Cha quickly reformed a complete spirit form to further subdue the newcomers.
Di Yuansi murmured, “He really stole them…”
They had known the plan was feasible, but seeing it with their own eyes was another matter entirely.
Liu Xiqin, ever practical, raised a concern. “Once the spirit forms wake up, we’ll be their first targets.”
Directly destroying them wasn’t realistic. If they sensed a threat, they’d wake up instantly.
Su Cha was blunt. “If nothing goes wrong, I can drag this out for a while. But if they strongly sense their owners’ will, I don’t know how long I can hold them.”
Still, he seemed to have another plan in mind. Just as he was about to rise and deliver a stirring speech, Ji Tianjin pressed his arm down lightly. “Your wound.”
Su Cha obediently laid back down on the white tiger and continued, “First, I’ll create distance. I’ll take them out for a spin, preferably near some strange beasts. If any spirit form gets agitated, I’ll let a common enemy distract them.”
Di Yuansi’s eyelid twitched. Those terrifying beasts had now become… tools? Move them where you need them?
Ji Tianjin nodded and added, “Different teams need different approaches.”
They’d eliminate the weaker planets’ players first. Without their spirit forms, half their strength would be gone. This was the easiest time to strike. Pritt’s team, however, was tough even without their spirit forms, thanks to their allies. They’d need a separate strategy.
Su Cha added, “For the teams with emergency kits, we’ll just act like bandits. If they don’t hand it over, we destroy the ‘hostage.’”
With the plan in place, Ji Tianjin looked at Su Cha, who nodded. “I’ll head out now.”
Ji Tianjin: “Have Di Yuansi follow you in secret. Go as far as you can.”
That way, when Ji Tianjin moved in for an assassination, even if the stolen spirit forms wanted to help, they wouldn’t make it back in time.
Su Cha called over the leopard and mounted it, taking a few steps forward before glancing back reluctantly.
The white tiger lightly brushed his palm with its tail, clearly displeased with being replaced.
Su Cha stroked its round head. “I’ll be back.”
Ji Tianjin came over and rechecked his pack, stuffing in extra bandages. “Be careful. Don’t push yourself.”
Su Cha: “Maybe I’ll walk out of this rainforest altogether.”
All the way to the edge of the Dawn-Dusk Star.
The farther he went, the weaker the link between spirit form and host would become.
“Let’s call it a vacation,” Ji Tianjin said, ruffling his hair. “Dawn-Dusk Star does have some pretty sights.”
Liu Xiqin recalled something she read from the map. “This planet’s special. There are auroras on the rainforest’s edge.”
Su Cha pressed his lips together. “Then I really am going.”
The floating magnolia lotus drifted just above the ground, followed by a flock of spiritual companions.
The scene reminded his teammates of the day they parted at the Empire’s docking bay. Liu Xiqin felt a pang and waved. “Have fun.”
Ji Tianjin smiled. “Go on. Take lots of photos.”
Without hesitation, Su Cha turned away and said hoarsely, “Goodbye.”
“Goodbye.”
Ji Tianjin and Liu Xiqin watched as Su Cha disappeared into the night with a train of spirit forms behind him.
Above, on the monitoring warships.
In the data control room, the main tournament official finally came to his senses. “What is that Fog Star guy doing?”
A staffer gulped and whispered, “Going to see the aurora.”
“…”
The official’s mustache practically twitched off in rage. To h*ll with your aurora!
“Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.”
The staffer, even quieter: “But… within the rules.”
No one ever said you couldn’t go sightseeing mid-competition.
“……”
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