After the six whirlpools in the sky completely dissipated, the Jade Empire officially entered its reconstruction phase.
The Empire had suffered heavy losses in this battle. Fortunately, at the critical moment, Aria had chosen not to fight recklessly. Her strategy of delaying the enemy’s advance while retreating had preserved enough resources for reconstruction.
This battle was unconventional in every aspect, from its cause, its progression, to its outcome.
Just the final result alone was staggering. The Empire’s military forces had been reduced by thirty percent. However, the losses among the high level combatants were relatively minor. Many were injured, but they were still alive.
And most importantly, Princess Yulia, an utterly transcendent force, had returned. Her mere presence was enough to intimidate an entire realm.
The Empire’s territory and cities had also suffered severe damage, with nearly one-third completely devastated.
But the destruction was linear. It was a straight path of annihilation stretching from the borderlands all the way to the Imperial Capital. Other regions, however, remained largely untouched.
Once people returned, those areas could instantly resume normal operations, allowing reconstruction efforts to focus on the damaged zones.
All in all, the Empire’s recovery quickly got back on track. With the assistance of a certain infrastructure powerhouse, the restoration was expected to proceed much faster than anticipated.
That said, none of this had much to do with Yulia herself.
The benefit of being a princess was that when nothing was happening, she truly had nothing to do. When something did happen, her role was mostly symbolic. Yet, she could basically have whatever she wanted.
It was no wonder that princesses were always described as someone who leisurely spent her days sipping afternoon tea.
Even in her previous life as the Golden Princess, Yulia had lived the same way. Until she became the crown princess, that is.
The crown princess was an entirely different identity.
On the day Euphyllia destroyed the six great whirlpools, she also sent Xiaoyue a private message.
The Imperial Capital was crowded and full of prying eyes. Naturally, they had to talk at home.
That place was also her home, where her most important family was.
After that, she left Euphyllia behind to maintain order while she logged off to slack off.
Compared to the Jade Empire’s broken and battered state, Bluestar remained as peaceful as ever.
Xu Xiaoya woke up from her long slumber and slowly opened her eyes.
After releasing the seals on her body, she gradually stood up from the hibernation pod.
Her body felt stiff, not just from lack of movement, but also from a strange sense of sluggishness. Her power wasn’t flowing smoothly.
She quickly checked and immediately understood the reason.
This world’s power system was too weak to support overly strong abilities.
After all, it was artificially created. After eons of evolution, it had become vastly different from the main world, and very far from it, too.
The current Xu Xiaoya’s strength had reached the Legendary Rank, bordering on the realm of gods. Naturally, she couldn’t fully exert herself here.
This also made her realize that she likely couldn’t forcibly transport her physical body from this world to the main one.
But that didn’t matter. If she couldn’t do it herself, someone else could. She just had to wait.
As Xu Xiaoya stretched her limbs, she walked towards the door.
Just as she reached for the handle, the door was suddenly flung open, and a figure lunged at her, wrapping her in a tight embrace.
She wasn’t too surprised. Returning the hug, she patted the other’s back with one hand while gently stroking her head with the other.
“I’m back.”
“Mmm…” Xiaoyue responded softly, holding onto her tightly without another word.
The door quietly closed, sealing the warmth and nostalgia within the room.
Unlike Aria, who was bound by restraint and duty, Xiaoyue had no such reservations. She had no obligation to prioritize the greater good over her own emotions. Right now, the most important thing to her was holding her sister in her arms. Everything else can wait.
And so, she did exactly that.
For the rest of the day, she didn’t let go.
Before this, she had been a leader commanding legions, the young head of her family, the silent and decisive War Goddess. But now, she was just a little girl who wanted to cling to her sister and be spoiled.
It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other. What’s wrong with being spoiled?
What? You think it’s embarrassing to act like this with a girl who looks younger than me? Come on, then—let’s see if you can take one of her punches first.
Huh? I barely act like this in all the years we spent together before? Well… so what? I want to do it now!
With no one to disturb them, the two remained in each other’s embrace.
Xu Xiaoya told Xiaoyue about her experiences and adventures over the past few years.
Foreign races, distant lands, exotic customs.
Xiaoyue listened quietly, occasionally asking a question.
Beyond the Jade Empire, there’s such a vast world with so many different races.
“Will I get a chance to see it too?”
Xu Xiaoya smiled. “Yes. You definitely will.”
“Will you come with me, sister?”
“…” Xu Xiaoya fell silent for a moment before nodding. “I will. I’ll always be watching over you.”
Their hands never let go of each other.
Three days later, Jade City had mostly returned to normal operations.
Thanks to the final protective barrier, the Imperial District at the city’s heart remained completely unharmed.
And because the barrier had drawn the full force of the calamity beasts’ assault, although the outer and inner districts had been breached, the damage wasn’t as severe as it could have been.
With Jade City back in working order, the initial chaos had passed, and the remaining reconstruction could proceed step by step.
The higher-ups finally had a chance to catch their breath.
Namely, that particular family.
At this point, the Jade Empire’s power structure had reached unprecedented centralization. Only that one family truly held authority, while everyone else simply followed orders.
Well, what else could they do? Who dared disobey?
A single glare from her was enough to make even the bravest tremble in fear.
The old Legendary Rank experts who had once lurked in the shadows never imagined that they’d live to experience something like this, being overwhelmed by sheer pressure from another person.
Only one term came to mind: a god on earth.
But if things were so oppressive, why not just leave?
Sigh~ That’s even more unthinkable. With such an unrivaled powerhouse here, only an idiot would walk away!
Now that they finally had some free time, they could properly sit down with Yulia, now known as Euphyllia, and ask her everything.
What exactly had happened to her in these past three years?
Why had she become so strong? What was that beast that had devoured the calamity beasts? And why had she turned into an elf?
Euphyllia gave them brief answers.
She had reclaimed her former power. The docile little creature in her arms was a divine beast, sharing the same origin as those powers. And as for elf, she had always been one.
They asked her about various other things, big and small.
But Euphyllia’s style remained the same, with concise explanations.
Thankfully, she no longer needed long periods of hibernation, or she would never be able to answer everything.
At this point, Edward’s extensive knowledge proved invaluable. He actually knew a little about some of the things Euphyllia mentioned.
Although he hadn’t traveled as far as Yulia, who had nearly crossed the entire human continent, he had ventured beyond the Empire and heard a few things.
With his help, the others could at least vaguely understand.
But as she looked at Edward, Euphyllia suddenly remembered something.
“Uncle Edward, didn’t I assign you a task before I left?”
“Huh?” Edward blinked in confusion.
But once she mentioned it, he recalled that she had casually brought it up back then.
“Looks like you completely forgot.”
“Ahaha, come on, Xiaoya! It’s just an offhand remark…”
“You. Forgot.” Euphyllia stared at him expressionlessly, enunciating each word.
“Uh… Wait, Xiaoya, what exactly did you do out there? Why do you have such a terrifying look in your eyes?”
It even reminded Edward of his younger days, when he didn’t pay attention in class, failed to do his homework, and faced the teacher’s wrath.
“I’ve taught quite a few students while I was away.”
She really is a teacher now!
Now, the roles had completely reversed.