After processing all the documents, Blade lay back in the soft chair. She loved the free time after finishing work. She could do whatever she wanted.

But things rarely went as planned. Her phone screen lit up again.

“What now… Hm?”

Blade sat up when she saw the message. Her expression grew slightly solemn.

This wasn’t something she could decide alone.

The Order Keeper headquarters had invited every district guardian to help subdue the escaped monster from District One—the Mud King.

Blade had heard of the Mud King before.

About twenty years ago, a terrifying monster appeared in District One. Even after being surrounded by several Cantata Threes, it still survived. The Order Keeper had no way to kill it and could only seal it away with magic.

Now, the seal had broken.

The Mud King had escaped from District One, devouring and digesting countless lives and objects within the district. Its strength had surely advanced far beyond what it was back then.

Blade shifted her position. She held up her phone and raised her head, gently resting both legs on the desk. Her long, slender feet pressed together as her brows drew tightly downward.

The best choice was to refuse outright.

Even without Moon Owl and the other Cantata Threes, the Order Keeper should still be able to deal with the Mud King. They had never gotten along with the Twelfth District. Calling Moon Owl over now could only mean they had ulterior motives.

However, the decision belonged to Moon Owl.

Blade would tell her about the message and let her decide for herself.

At that moment, Moon Owl was staying inside a pure-white room.

Illusory Glass lay on the hospital bed beside her, hugging a pillow with a trace of displeasure on her face. She had already seen that door. She had seen her own limit.

But why…?

Why couldn’t she push that door open?

The future had clearly told her that she would step into the Cantata Three realm during this battle. Yet the door before her remained completely unmoved.

The moment had already passed…

Wrapped in bandages from head to toe, Moon Owl could see Illusory Glass’s distress. But she was helpless. She had no idea what Illusory Glass was thinking, and her own knowledge was barely greater than Illusory Glass’s.

Illusory Glass once again arrived before the Time Temple.

That enormous Eye Orb stared straight at her.

Illusory Glass took a step forward and peered into the future again.

The future changed once more.

This time, she stood before a muddy expanse, begging time for an answer.

Time responded.

At that moment, it allowed her to achieve the Cantata Three realm.

Illusory Glass seemed to understand something.

The future wasn’t set in stone.

If the future was a puddle, then countless puddles existed before Illusory Glass. The puddles displayed by the Eye Orb represented possible futures.

But that didn’t mean Illusory Glass would necessarily step into one.

She needed human intervention—or some kind of “accident”—to make that future come true.

When she opened her eyes again, Illusory Glass was already considering how to guide the future and ascend to Cantata Three.

A ringing phone interrupted her thoughts.

Moon Owl’s phone was ringing.

“It’s a meeting.”

Moon Owl rubbed Illusory Glass’s head and pushed herself up. Then she disappeared into space.

Illusory Glass froze for a moment before following Moon Owl inside.

How could there be a meeting without her?

Moon Owl landed steadily in her chair.

Illusory Glass fell from midair, but Moon Owl caught her without difficulty. Everyone’s eyes turned toward Illusory Glass.

She awkwardly walked around behind the chair, then unceremoniously found an empty seat and sat down.

“Alright, everyone’s here…”

Blade didn’t ask Illusory Glass to leave. Since she was already there, letting her listen wouldn’t hurt.

Blade shifted her gaze away from Illusory Glass and looked at the other participants.

This time, Blade hadn’t notified any Cantata Twos. She had only contacted Night Frost, Thunder Slash, and Moon Owl.

But aside from Illusory Glass, there was one more person—Qianchun.

If Blade’s guess was correct, Qianchun had learned something from Night Frost and come here with her.

That worked out perfectly. Blade happened to have something for Qianchun to handle.

“I’m sorry for calling everyone here so late,” Blade said. “Just now, the Order Keeper headquarters requested that the Twelfth District Guardian—Night Frost—deal with the Mud King in District One.”

With that, Blade opened the screen and displayed photographs of District One and the Mud King.

When they heard the words “Mud King,” the expressions of the Cantata Threes present changed slightly. They seemed to have heard that name before.

Night Frost had encountered the Mud King in District Twenty One.

According to the Divine Cult Modification Center’s records, it was only a Mud King born from a lump of mud scraped off the surface of the true Mud King and cultivated over time.

Even that lump of mud had forced the Divine Cult Modification Center to deploy every available fighter before they could barely suppress it.

Night Frost looked at the screen.

The dark, oppressive mass displayed there was the Mud King’s body.

More accurately, the entirety of District One had been covered by the Mud King.

No wonder the Order Keeper wanted to send so many Cantata Threes to deal with it. That thing looked troublesome no matter how one viewed it.

Thunder Slash’s gaze shifted.

She had some seniority within the Order Keeper, so she naturally knew what the Mud King was.

Back then, the Order Keeper had sent more than three Cantata Threes and roughly fifteen Cantata Twos. Even then, they had failed to suppress the Mud King.

More than twenty years had passed.

The Mud King’s strength had surely advanced further. It might even have touched the so-called “Ultimate.”

Fighting a monster like that would be no different from throwing one’s life away.

Moon Owl frowned.

She didn’t actually know much about the Mud King. She only knew that it was an extremely powerful monster and that it had been involved in one of the few defeats in the history of the Magic Maidens.

She hadn’t learned this from the books in Magic Maiden training.

She had heard it from a Magic Maiden who had escaped from District One.

If the Mud King really was as powerful as the rumors claimed, Moon Owl had to go.

She was only one drop in the vast sea of people, but the other districts couldn’t stop the Mud King. The Twelfth District wouldn’t be spared either.

Her spatial exile could decisively turn the tide when facing huge monsters or overwhelming numbers of them.

But if the Mud King wasn’t actually that strong, then going there would most likely mean walking into a trap.

Those Cantata Threes would love nothing more than to carve up the Twelfth District and seize whatever lay beyond the underground gate.

“I’ll go,” Moon Owl said. “But I need to make preparations… Preferably, someone who can work with me.”

Blade nodded, as if everything had gone exactly as she expected.

“That’s not far from my guess, so I called over every Cantata Three except the Zone Fifteen Guardian. I hope they can support you.”

“If possible, I’d like to choose Thunder Slash. She’s very fast. If I run out of strength and can’t tear open a spatial rift, or if I encounter danger, Thunder Slash will be able to help me considerably. But…”

Everyone’s eyes fell on Thunder Slash.

Thunder Slash looked unwilling.

She had only come to the Twelfth District for a vacation. Why was she being dragged onto this pirate ship?

Since Thunder Slash didn’t want to go…

Everyone’s gazes shifted to Night Frost.

To be honest, Night Frost didn’t want to face the Mud King either. But if she only had to provide support, she wasn’t particularly opposed to it.

So Night Frost agreed.

She already knew who had attacked her parents. Since most of the Cantata Threes would be heading to headquarters, Azure might go as well.

“I just got back, and I have to leave again?”

Night Frost had only been back for four days, and now she was leaving once more. She really couldn’t sit still…

“It’s fine,” Night Frost said. “I’m sure I’ll be back soon.”

“Then we’ll need to make proper preparations.”

Qianchun began calculating.

Because of this sudden incident, the two banquets she had planned for Night Frost would probably have to become one.

One was a welcome party for Aklatia.

The other was a “family dinner” with the dean’s grandmother, Chen Xiaoyin, and Hao Wenqian.

“It’s fine. It’s not that urgent. We can leave a little later.”

Those people all had strong personalities.

Based on Blade’s understanding of them, even if they arrived a week late, it wouldn’t cause any major problems—as long as no specific deadline had been given.

If a meeting was announced as urgent and a precise arrival time was required, that meant the headquarters, or perhaps the entire world, was facing an enormous problem beyond its ability to resolve.

The Mud King was troublesome, but that was all.

“Will the Zone Fifteen Guardian be going too?” Moon Owl suddenly asked.

Only then did everyone remember the Zone Fifteen Guardian.

After ambushing Aphrodite, she had been taken into custody by the Twelfth District branch.

“Taken into custody” was putting it generously. The Twelfth District’s security measures were practically useless against the Zone Fifteen Guardian.

“I’m planning to send her as well,” Blade said. “Didn’t she say that the entire Fifteenth District was in someone’s hands? Then, while the Mud King is gone…”

“No!” Moon Owl interrupted. “I don’t agree. The Zone Fifteen Guardian used to be part of an opposing force. What if she stabs you in the back after you let her go?”

Moon Owl’s objection left Blade speechless.

After all, no one wanted to team up with someone who had betrayed her allies before.

Night Frost’s gaze fell on Qianchun.

Qianchun’s eyes wandered. She scratched her cheek, her expression shifting uncertainly.

She seemed to have been the one who betrayed her allies before…

Blade glanced at Qianchun, then looked away again. Her spirit deflated in an instant.

“Fine. But you can’t take the Zone Fifteen Guardian with you. Night Frost will keep her under control. I trust Night Frost’s strength.”

And so, amid everyone’s back-and-forth, the group heading to headquarters for the meeting was decided.

Night Frost, the Zone Fifteen Guardian, and Moon Owl.

“Then there’s nothing else,” Blade said. “Everyone can go do their own thing. The next meeting is between Qianchun and me.”

Night Frost didn’t leave.

She stayed behind as Blade magically produced another stack of documents. The words “Aklatia compensation payment” were printed across them, along with a separate document for outside assistance.

“This assistance?”

“Oh, that came from a major family in District Twenty One. They sent quite a lot of money and equipment. It arrived today.”

A major family from District Twenty One?

Night Frost took the list from Qianchun and read it carefully.

The aid was incredibly generous. It included construction teams, weapons, research equipment, funds, food—in short, everything.

The signature at the bottom read: Xun Corporation.

The moment Night Frost saw the surname Xun, Xun Xun’s face appeared in her mind.

That guy.

“I know who it is…” Night Frost said. “He was my college classmate. Though I only attended that university for less than two months.”

“If he has the ability to support the Twelfth District, he must have finished dealing with his family’s affairs, right?”

Far away, Xun Xun sneezed.

Jiujiu looked at his face with concern.

“Are you cold, darling~?”

“It’s nothing, really…”

Before Xun Xun could finish, Jiujiu pulled him into her arms.