Lei Ting’s most frequently used weapon now was a two-handed long saber, reforged from the remaining half of the broken blade ‘Slasher’ that had once belonged to ‘Starflow.’
Today, this loyal and beautiful weapon still bore the name ‘Slasher,’ but the object of its loyalty had shifted from ‘Starflow’ to ‘Solar Star.’
Inside his room, Lei Ting lay upon a thick, soft bed, drawing his long saber from a shroud of golden light.
From the charging structure at the pommel to the very tip, the blade stood approximately 1.5 meters tall—a true two-handed weapon. However, just like ‘Starflow’ before him, wielding a two-handed weapon with one hand was a basic maneuver for someone of his caliber. This blade usually appeared in his left hand because, in close-quarters combat, his right hand would grip the now-transformed ‘New Sun.’
It was often said that two-handed melee weapons required absolute technical mastery. Having achieved proficiency in every weapon usable by Orion humans, Lei Ting had truly become a master of arms—or rather, a master of all weapon types and all forms of combat.
From greatswords to single-handedly wielding two-handed sabers, or any other weapon recorded in the Union’s archives...
From receiving training in the past to his persistent practice later on, he had now become the one who trained others.
His physique was so robust that he could tear open starship doors with his bare hands without even using his superpowers. His physical capabilities had increased exponentially, and his combat muscle memory was flawlessly shaped. Even his body temperature was higher than that of an average person due to his abundant vitality and the influence of ‘Solar Star.’
Compared to nine years ago, Lei Ting had grown into a true, all-around powerhouse at an extraordinary speed.
So much so that every time he met with the ‘Headmaster,’ she would lament how wise she had been to invest in him back then. She would look at him with an expectant face, trying to coax him into saying some self-praising words that he found too embarrassing to utter.
Of course, she had yet to succeed even once.
Lei Ting held the saber in one hand, lifting it against the light.
He could feel the ship moving; it had left the port. In the lounge outside, Lucas remained quietly silent before his father’s seemingly calm questioning.
‘Father,’ huh...
Lei Ting deactivated the visual isolation of his visor, gazing at the sharp edge of the blade where a faint golden glow shimmered.
He was truly unfamiliar with the concept of familial affection, let alone the family dynamics of others. For the time being, he was disinclined to engage in private dealings with Esengard Kang in his capacity as ‘Solar Star,’ knowing that his presence would only make everyone uncomfortable.
So, he had no choice but to return to his room.
However, the identities, bloodline, and hair color of the two men outside inevitably reminded him of someone else.
So, what exactly did he want to do right now?
Did he want to find that person, keep him by his side, and never let him leave again? Or did he want to ask where in the vast starry sky he had been all these years, to ask if he was doing well, and if he still remembered a young man named Lei?
The sleek lines of the blade remained unchanged; it had simply been ‘dyed’ by his light. He had then installed several modular metal components with various functions to secure it, finally embedding a ring of Virgo Gems as the core for energy conversion, storage, and output.
Under the lights, ‘Slasher’ released a subtle warmth, glinting with a sharp radiance.
Gold. It lacked a bit of blue.
His thick, dark lashes lowered as Lei Ting closed his eyes, and the fractured, shifting golden glow faded away.
He let go, allowing the long saber to vanish into his light, and reactivated the visual isolation of his visor.
***
In the blink of an eye, nearly a month passed—a negligible amount of time in terms of interstellar travel and cosmic scales. Without stargate technology, a ship incapable of warp jumps might take months just to leave its initial star system.
During this month, the number of times Lei Ting met with the others could be counted on two hands. He had only seen Ms. Kona Maslow once.
That lady’s schedule was indeed unique... simply put, ‘she sleeps when others are awake, and wakes when others sleep,’ and her sleep duration was extremely erratic.
For someone like Lei Ting, whose routine could seamlessly align with the healthiest human on Earth in 2020, the hours he spent fully awake at the same time as her in a single day rarely exceeded five.
Lei Ting was also not in the habit of letting others handle his daily life. Thus, aside from the first day when the dozens of people on board met one another, the service staff hadn't caught a single glimpse of him since.
Regardless, every room had its own independent washroom and meal delivery point.
It wasn't until today that Lei Ting felt a rare urge to put down his books and take a walk.
Since he was inside the ship, he didn't go fully armed or wear the Golden Laurel as he usually did. He simply kept his armored visor on, wore his daily Vice Legion Commander uniform, fastened the double-layered combat belt around his waist, and used a metal ring to tie his shoulder-length black hair into a bundle behind his head.
Having passed his growth phase several years ago, he was not only mature and handsome in appearance but also taller and broader than Evanheiler.
His sturdy build—broad shoulders, narrow waist, and long legs—ensured he drew everyone’s gaze no matter what he wore... though most of the time, those gazes would respectfully drop to the floor a second later.
Lei Ting adjusted the straps of his wrist gloves and stepped out, walking through the corridor that seemed bathed in sunlight.
The entire ship was enveloped in a faint golden glow, its interior monitored by his power. Of course, even now, he would not casually intrude upon the living spaces of others with his perception.
The Kang father and son were currently in the lounge, silent, each occupied with their own business.
Over these days, the two had reached a delicate balance. They would meet in the lounge, where Esengard would read his documents and Lucas would browse his novels, movies, and social media platforms, enjoying a rare moment of family time in the silence.
As for how Lucas achieved this balance...
Well, he told Esengard that he wanted to marry someone, but the person wasn't an Alpha, and he didn't particularly want to have children—that would be left to fate—just as he didn't really want to inherit the family business.
Before he could even say the name of his intended partner, Esengard had clenched his fists and told him to shut up and never mention it again—at least not within this year—to give his poor old father some peace of mind to handle his affairs.
Excellent. Lucas had successfully silenced his father and secured a promise that he could get married next year.
Whether or not Esengard actually meant it that way, that was how Lucas chose to interpret it.
This "corporate-level" interpretation made even Lei Ting, whose perception was too sharp to avoid overhearing, pause for a moment. He truly couldn't fathom how the boy had turned out this way.
Still... seeing as they seemed to be getting along well enough now, his trick on Lucas probably wasn't a total loss.
Footsteps, deliberately weighted to a consistent rhythm, echoed from the corridor. Lucas’s ears twitched on the sofa, and he immediately put down the data pad linked to his light computer. With a sharp *clack*, he snapped to attention. "Greetings, sir!"
Opposite him, Esengard was momentarily dazed before reacting a beat later, likewise standing to face the corridor entrance.
Light armored boots stepped over the edge of the carpet as a tall, upright figure rounded the corner past a cork sculpture.
Lei Ting tilted his head slightly, looking down at the two golden-haired corncobs—no, the two golden-haired Kangs—who didn't even reach his shoulder on average. "Good evening," he said.
Esengard looked at the lower half of his face and was momentarily stunned.
*Flawless,* he thought.
Appearance, physique, character, ability, status... no matter the metric, this Alpha was impeccable, the undisputed number one in the Orion Human Union.
If Lucas had actually managed to start a relationship with this ‘Solar Star,’ Esengard certainly wouldn't have stopped him. After all, even without that immense power, such a man was the type to make anyone’s heart skip a beat.
It was just a pity that the man’s reported attitude toward everyone was "No dating, thank you"...
...Wait, he seemed to have heard someone mention that during his student days, ‘Solar Star’ had been very close to someone. Who was that again?
Honestly, he shouldn't have interrupted those employees' gossip back then.
Esengard’s mind was a whirlwind of complex thoughts, but his expression remained perfectly normal. He nodded in greeting to the Vice Legion Commander, whom he had barely seen since boarding. Receiving a polite response, he watched as the tall figure—whose silhouette was large enough to completely eclipse either him or Lucas—turned and sat in the sunken space by the observation window. With his back to the warm lights of the lounge, Lei Ting quietly watched the shimmering stars outside.
Faint golden streamers occasionally emerged from the air, drifting quietly toward the stern. Lucas sat back down on the sofa, and Esengard did the same.
They didn't know what Lei Ting was thinking—was he out for a breath of air? Or something else?
They didn't know. No one knew.
Consequently, they naturally didn't realize that Lei Ting had just taken a long, deep look at Esengard.
*They really do look alike.*
Should he expect anything less from brothers? Although there were massive differences between Esengard Kang and Evanheiler Kang, one could indeed see the direct blood relation at a glance.
Even if their height, build, temperament, secondary gender, facial features... and so on, were all vastly different.
However, no matter how similar they were, every individual was unique.
Lei Ting quickly gathered his thoughts, looking toward the distant Ringworld, which was now visible to the naked eye.
The Ringworld of twenty thousand years ago.
The sector they were currently in was twenty thousand light-years away from the Ringworld. In that era, the powerful civilizations of the current generation in the Milky Way did not yet exist, yet the Ringworld was already there.
Gazing at those magnificent, boundless walls, Lei Ting was lost in thought for a moment.
*Did the civilization that built this garden-like world ever envision the current state of the Milky Way?*
As he pondered this, he noticed Esengard moving behind him.
The man with the long golden hair seemed to have finished a period of reflection.
He stood up and walked toward Lei Ting.
