Starry Sky Railway: Twin Origins

Chapter 257 The Number One Expert on the Star Train

"Judging from your appearance, you must be from another country, right?"

Faced with the questioning, the muscular man did not get angry. Instead, he crossed his arms and scrutinized Lin Qiong and the others.

Before Lin Qiong and the others could respond, the man slowly raised his head and fixed his gaze on the giant sword above Xuanfeng City.

"See that giant sword up there? That's the Blade of Heavenly Punishment, forged and tempered from the battle spirits and glory of countless warriors of the Hanging Edge."

Upon hearing this, Lin Qiong raised his eyes and glanced at the Heavenly Punishment Blade above him. This was the second time he had seen this giant sword that exuded a chilling aura.

However, unlike what I saw during the last battle with Nicardoli, the radiance of this Blade of Divine Punishment was clearly much more dazzling.

"Uh... what does this have to do with you saying I'm blocking the way?"

Lin Qiong looked at the man again and asked in confusion.

"Of course it's related. The Nicardoli Festival is currently being held in Suspended Peak City."

"The festival consists of five stages, each corresponding to one of the five virtues of Nicardi. Each stage represents a test: courage, honor, perseverance, sacrifice, and reason."

The man explained slowly with a smile, pointing towards the Blade of Heavenly Punishment as he spoke:

"Look, as long as you stand in the middle of the road, no matter from which position you look, you will find that the edge of divine retribution is always pointing directly at you."

"This is a test of whether you have the courage to face the Titans."

After hearing this, Xing curiously walked from the side to the middle of the road, staring at the hanging Heavenly Punishment Blade, sometimes walking forward, sometimes back, and occasionally observing from the side.

After several attempts, her eyes suddenly widened, and she couldn't help but exclaim in surprise:

"It's true! No matter which angle I turn it to, I can see that the sword's edge is pointing straight at me."

Upon hearing this, Lin Qiong was slightly taken aback, then raised his head to carefully examine the Heavenly Punishment Blade above.

Only then did he realize with a start that the blade of the giant sword was indeed pointing directly at him, as if it would pierce straight through him at any moment.

The muscular man glanced at the group of people with varying expressions and continued:

"Now you understand, right? If you don't dare to face its sharp edge and choose to go around it from the sides, you will fail in the first test."

After understanding the whole story, Lin Qiong calmly took a half step back to the side, clearing the middle path for him.

"Sorry, we're new here and don't know the rules. We've made you waste so much time explaining things to us."

"Haha, it's nothing. I haven't seen any foreigners attending the Nicardoli Festival in a long time either." The muscular man waved his hand casually and laughed heartily.

"Oh, by the way, the registration channel for the festival will be closing soon. If any of you plan to participate, you'd better head to the city gate to register as soon as possible."

After saying this, the strong man bid farewell to Lin Qiong and the other two, and headed towards the main gate of Xuanfeng City without looking back.

Watching the man stride away into the distance, his figure gradually merging into the bustling crowd ahead.

Xia Die then slowly spoke:

"It seems that the reason Mimi sent us to this era is probably because there was something wrong with the Nicardo Festival itself."

"Perhaps...we can find the root of Nicardoli's descent into madness and the immortality of his divine body in this festival."

"In that case, let's go and register for this festival now!"

Xing put her hands on her hips, a look of excitement and anticipation on her face, as if she couldn't wait to cause a ruckus.

......

After making their decision, Lin Qiong and the other two kept in mind what the man had just said and walked along the center of the road toward the main gate of Xuanfeng City.

This is the first test set up by the festival—facing the sharp edge of divine retribution.

But Lin Qiong and the others had just finished walking up the steps and arrived at the registration area for the festival when they heard a series of angry and dissatisfied rebukes coming from ahead.

"It's you again! How many times have I emphasized that you need at least three people to register for the festival!"

"If you don't even have companions to risk your life with, don't rush here to die. Go home and herd sheep as soon as possible!"

Lin Qiong and Xing squeezed through the crowd of onlookers with difficulty, intending to get closer to see what was happening ahead and, in the meantime, sign up for the festival.

As for the butterfly, due to its special physical condition, it is unable to make contact with others and can only stay outside the crowd and wait.

After Lin Qiong squeezed in, he saw a woman dressed in exquisite clothes angrily rebuking a burly man dressed like a Spartan warrior.

Faced with the woman's incessant accusations, the man showed no emotional fluctuation, only repeating the words "Let me pass" sparingly.

"Didn't I say that you need three or more people to register?"

The two remained locked in this stalemate for about twenty seconds, with the woman cursing so hard that veins bulged on her forehead and her face turned as red as a ripe tomato.

But the man remained unmoved, continuing to repeat those four words:

"...Let me through."

Seeing that the two were arguing, Lin Qiong was afraid that they would miss the registration time for the festival, so he raised his hand to signal them and shouted loudly:

"Hey, look over here! We want to sign up too, we'd love to be his teammates!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's gaze, including that of the taciturn man, turned towards Lin Qiong.

The woman raised an eyebrow, a look of surprise and delight on her face as if she had seen a savior, and immediately announced loudly:

"Very well, since someone is willing to stand up and die for you, then let your name be left on this stone slab!"

The woman ordered someone to hand her a stone slab, along with a small, attractive knife, which she apparently intended to use to carve words.

Without any hesitation, the burly man grabbed a knife and made several cuts on the stone slab, quickly revealing crooked characters.

Lin Qiong glanced at the stone slab on the man's back and saw that it was covered with characters he couldn't understand.

However, when the woman took the stone slab, she only glanced at it before looking up at the man to confirm:

"Gnaeus, is that right?"

After receiving confirmation, the woman turned her attention to Lin Qiong and Xing.

Seeing that the two men hadn't yet used their knives, she finally asked, puzzled:

"What's wrong? Time waits for no one. You can go in after you leave your name on the stone slab."

Upon hearing this, Lin Qiong and Xing first exchanged a glance, and in the exchange of their eyes, they both saw a look of confusion on each other's faces.

Then, he raised his hand and scratched his head, saying somewhat embarrassedly:

"Well... actually, neither of us can read, so we can't carve words on the stone slab..."

"Huh?" The woman's eyes widened slightly, her face full of surprise. "You know, being able to leave your name behind is an unparalleled honor!"

"Yet you can't even carve your own names, and you dare to dream of joining the festival? This is utterly disrespectful to the Spear of Divine Retribution!"

Seeing that the woman had changed her usual behavior and started to berate him like a machine gun, Lin Qiong immediately raised his hand to interrupt her.

"Stop, stop, stop! We have a companion who was also supposed to participate in the festival, but she's currently stuck outside in the crowd and can't get in at all."

"Besides, she can read and write, so she can help us carve our names. Why don't you help us disperse the crowd?"

"Oh? Four people? That's interesting..."

Upon hearing this, the woman, who had been looking serious, immediately showed an expression of interest.

After a moment's thought, the woman gave instructions to the divine retribution followers standing on either side:

"Go tell those onlookers to get back."

Driven away by the divine retribution, the crowd that had been tightly packed together scattered and obediently retreated to a distance.

Soon, a wide passageway appeared before everyone's eyes.

Xia Die was able to pass through the crowd and come to Lin Qiong and Xing's side.

Finally, with Xia Die's help, Lin Qiong and Xing left their names on the stone slab.

When the woman retrieved the stone slab and glanced at the name on it, a look of surprise immediately appeared on her previously calm face.

"Xia Die, Gneiss, Galaxy Baseball Man, and... the number one expert on the Star Train?"