ABRIWMTHM Chapter 40

Chi Yao had made a decision, and everyone else quickly followed suit.

First were the teachers and the light brain at the Tree Nest. Since Chi Yao had already decided to change course towards the Northern Territory, they naturally needed to return to the Nest as well.

However, to be safe, they did not let the staff and teachers leave that day.

One reason was that they did not know if there would be any new developments with Shi Xing. As the employees of the Tree Nest who understood Blue Star humans the best, it was wise to keep some behind just in case.

The second reason was geographical: the Northern Territory was almost behind the Imperial Capital, requiring a detour around a significant portion of the planet’s surface. The spaceship’s speed was too slow, and once they entered the Northern Territory, the transport vehicles would not have a sufficient safety level. It would take one or two days to call upon the battleships from the Imperial Royal Guard.

Since Chi Yao and Shi Xing’s group wouldn’t be able to leave for a day or two, the mother ship from the Tree Nest didn’t need to rush back either.

Next, since they had mobilized the battleships, the accompanying personnel also needed to match the battleship configuration, making appropriate adjustments and increasing their numbers to ensure Chi Yao’s safety during the journey.

Everyone around was busy preparing for the trip.

Xu Jin arranged the room layout on the battleship and planned for the living service personnel.

The several mother ships belonging to the Royal Guard were also checked by Fu Qing, instructing the technical staff to work overtime. Whichever ship passed the full inspection first would be used for the trip.

There were also the adjustments for the accompanying military officers; Fu Qing, Tan Jue, and Xiang Fei all participated in related discussions…

Another attendant, Yan Changyue, completely took over Xu Jin’s responsibilities, as he was fully in charge of Shi Xing for these two days.

Chi Yao was always busy, spending most of his time handling state affairs, while Shi Xing continued to visit his study every day for breaks. His busyness provided Shi Xing with a sense of stability, becoming the only constant in Shi Xing’s life.

Two more days passed. Aside from daily required upgrades to crystal grades, after his talent fully awakened, Shi Xing was as usual.

All his physical values stabilized within a healthy range. The doctor had reported specific parameters during the first two visits but later only reported with the words “All is normal.”

His mental sea was also activated, with increased mental power intensity, and he was becoming more adept at using his first talent.

After repeatedly confirming that Shi Xing had no issues, Chi Yao decided to probe Shi Xing’s mental sea once again.

He sensed the outer zone that Shi Xing had described.

Chi Yao attempted to delve deeper with his mental power. When he sensed the honeycomb-like hollow structure beneath the shallow sand, upon going deeper, his mental power would vanish at a certain depth.

Yes, it disappeared.

There was no rebound.

It felt like a kind of self-protection mechanism. After Chi Yao’s mental power went too deep, at a certain moment, he felt as if he had entered a black box, unable to feel anything at all, completely blocked out, including his outward mental power, which peculiarly disappeared as if he had never activated it.

After trying several times, it was all the same. Shi Xing couldn’t explain it either. When Chi Yao asked if he felt any discomfort the last time, Shi Xing’s answer was very intriguing.

Shi Xing was very uncertain, “It seems like I tasted the flavor of absorbing His Highness’s mental power, very clear and sweet?”

“Could it be… I absorbed it?”

He was referring to the part of Chi Yao’s mental power that had disappeared.

Chi Yao skipped over the taste of mental power that only Blue Star humans could know and asked, “Do you feel a sense of satisfaction after absorbing it?”

Shi Xing shook his head.

The answer was definite and resolute — not at all.

After discussions among everyone, they replaced the probing with the 3s mental power-ranked Major General Xiang Fei.

The result was even more astonishing.

Xiang Fei couldn’t even probe into Shi Xing’s mental sea; as soon as his mental power swept over Shi Xing, he said he felt a thick fog, and going past the fog… Sorry, he couldn’t get through.

In the fog, there was a moment when Xiang Fei’s sensing mental power would be severed, then enter a state of blockage.

After asking Shi Xing if he felt uncomfortable, Shi Xing’s reply was very depressing, “Has it already been probed? I didn’t feel any mental power watching my mental sea.”

Xiang Fei: “…”

Well, at least it depressed Major General Xiang.

Since it appeared that Shi Xing was unaffected, Fu Qing and Tan Jue also tried to probe Shi Xing’s mental sea; the former’s feelings were similar to Major Xiang’s, while the latter directly couldn’t penetrate the mist.

Chi Yao remarked, “It seems the newly added outer layer of the mental sea indeed has self-protection features.”

What exactly it was remained unclear.

An administrator spoke reasonably, “Shi Xing has only just entered the first stage of maturity. A therapist’s abilities should significantly increase in the mid-to-late maturity stages. Right now…”

The administrator speculated logically, “Could it be that Shi Xing’s abilities are not yet sufficient to support the use of his other talent?”

Chi Yao pondered, “It’s possible.”

After stating that, he added, “It could also be a growth-type talent, such as my wind-sensing ability, or Bi Zhou’s water manipulation; these all grow and refine through practice. It began with just the mental power being more in tune with those elements.”

“And Shi Xing’s mental sea has undergone changes. The known mature mental seas and threads grow correspondingly, so this outer layer might not be fixed. It could change with the intake of energy.”

Although they still couldn’t figure out what Shi Xing’s other talent was, they could be sure that Shi Xing’s health had recovered.

As long as there were no major issues with his body, everyone’s hearts were mostly at ease.

On the day the Imperial Capital’s mother ship and the additional personnel arrived, Chi Yao and Shi Xing changed into formal clothing and contacted Madam Campbell.

The communication was picked up by Marshal Tan Baishan as well as Madam Campbell.

After introducing Shi Xing and a short cordial exchange, Chi Yao informed them of his decision to bring Shi Xing to the Northern Territory.

Chi Yao: “Is Yun Wu in the Northern Territory?”

Marshal Tan Baishan: “Yes, she is, but currently, she is out in the forest hunting beasts with the second. Your Majesty, do you wish to see her?”

Chi Yao glanced at Shi Xing and didn’t hide anything, directly saying, “Shi Xing has developed another talent. The mental power of people from the Empire cannot probe his mental sea. I want to find a therapist to try. If she comes to the Northern Territory, it would be just right for Yun Wu to help me with this.”

Disregarding the shock of Marshal Tan Baishan and Madam Campbell, Chi Yao continued.

“The red ore from Campbell Star that you sent last time was very useful for Shi Xing. This visit is partly due to our need for more red ore, which we can discuss in detail when we meet.”

After saying just a few sentences, he ended the communication.

But for Marshal Tan Baishan and Madam Campbell, these few brief lines contained a significant amount of information.

The two discussed briefly before calling Xu Jin.

On the surface, they were asking for permission to accommodate Chi Yao, but towards the end, they secretly inquired about Shi Xing.

Xu Jin, the old fox after a millennium, took this opportunity to spread the news about Shi Xing’s second talent being evaluated at 3s.

This concluded their communication with Chi Yao.

Madam Campbell covered her mouth in disbelief and exclaimed with some agitation, “Do you think His Majesty has developed the intention of having Shi Xing heal Xiao Chi?”

Leading the Seventh Army for many years and having experienced two emperors, Marshal Tan Baishan’s perspective was more pragmatic.

“Not necessarily; His Majesty has never mentioned it directly.”

Yes, during their cordial exchange, they only discussed Yun Wu and Tan family’s four children, but Chi Yao didn’t ask about any of them.

Madam Campbell: “But he said Shi Xing…”

Tan Baishan understood Chi Yao and interrupted, “His Majesty has always acted cautiously. Even if that thought crossed his mind, he wouldn’t nod unless it was within the capacity of Blue Star humans. There’s no way he would go beyond Shi Xing’s ability.”

Madam Campbell’s eyes filled with tears, “But Xiao Chi became like this for the sake of the Empire; can’t His Majesty…”

Tan Baishan gently patted Madam’s back, “Don’t be agitated, don’t be agitated.”

“Since His Majesty is willing to come, there’s room for negotiation. Nothing is finalized yet.”

“The issue with Xiao Chi isn’t just your concern. It weighs on all of us; His Majesty…His Majesty is also concerned about it. Think about it, every time the Seventh Army reports, doesn’t His Majesty always inquire about Tan Chi, right?”

These words calmed Madam Campbell down. After her excitement faded, she silently wiped her tears.

Marshal Tan Baishan thought of something and muttered, “Red ore…second talent…3s…”

Suddenly enlightened, he exclaimed, “Madam, don’t think about Xiao Chi for now. It can wait until His Majesty arrives to request again. I think the priority is to have your family get some more Campbell Star ore. Even if it’s not red ore, that’s fine, but it must not be lower than red ore’s grade. We’ll prepare some ores to welcome Shi Xing…”

“If I’m not mistaken, the ore is likely the main reason for His Majesty’s visit.”

“Shi Xing must still have some changes that Xu Jin hasn’t disclosed. We need to be fully prepared.”

“Oh right, we should also take care of the black market in the Northern Territory. Have Tan Yan take people to stake it out to see how many beast cores they can gather, and we can discuss it together later…”

Marshal Tan Baishan thought everything through, while Madam Campbell stopped her tears and responded to each point.

On Chi Yao’s side, after the communication ended, everyone began to move.

An hour ago, the mother ship carrying Tree Nest personnel had already set off back.

After Chi Yao and the others completed the transfer from the spaceship to the battleship, the spaceship continued towards the Imperial Capital for docking and maintenance, while the battleship slowly ascended after everything was confirmed to be in order, officially starting its journey to the Northern Territory.

Shi Xing had only visited three places in his previous life.

One was the growing Ancheng, another was the Imperial Capital where the Lu family was located, and the last was the boundary line where Lu Li was stationed.

Moreover, if he calculated carefully, he had hardly seen the scenery in the first two places; the last one only had beasts without any scenery.

This trip heightened Shi Xing’s curiosity and anticipation for the Northern Territory.

As he pressed against the window, watching the clouds rapidly retreat beneath the battleship, Shi Xing asked, “Your Highness, does it really snow all year round in the Northern Territory?”

His tone was full of anticipation.

Chi Yao crossed his arms and walked to the window opposite Shi Xing, leaning his body against it. As Shi Xing looked outside, he looked at Shi Xing and said, “Yes, the latitude is high, the land is vast and sparsely populated, with a large forest area, making it easy for foreign beasts to intrude. Every year, people are sent to the forest for reconnaissance and extermination one to two times.”

“Then can we build snowmen there?”

Chi Yao chuckled, “We can also have snowball fights.”

Shi Xing’s eyes began to sparkle.

Chi Yao continued, “The place where the Tan family lives is mostly military garrisons, so there aren’t many residents. If you go a bit higher in latitude towards the forest, you can see the aurora while camping at night.”

“Do you want to go?”

Shi Xing turned to him, his eyes wide open, “Can we?”

Chi Yao nodded lightly, “Yes, but first, you need to answer me a question.”

Shi Xing: “?”

Chi Yao suddenly became serious and asked, “Why have you been feeling down these past few days? Is something bothering you?”

Shi Xing was taken aback, refuting with less conviction, not daring to look into Chi Yao’s eyes, softly saying, “I’m not.”

“Not what? Not feeling gloomy? Not sighing three times a day? Or not holding the red ore in your hands, looking at it over and over, treating it more carefully than the beast cores, reluctantly absorbing it slowly?”

Shi Xing: “……”

Chi Yao delivered a fatal blow: “Do you think I’m blind, or do you think Xu Jin is blind?”

Shi Xing: “…………”