Chapter 597 - 375: Deep Space Voyage, The Lonely Road

Chapter 597: Chapter 375: Deep Space Voyage, The Lonely Road

A short while later, the last dish was placed on the table, and the meals for all three round tables were served.

Before the New Year’s Eve dinner began, Dean Wu turned up the volume on the New Year’s music playing from the broadcast system. He then went to his bedroom, took a large bag of red envelopes from a drawer, and returned to the plaza.

"Come, come, there’s one for every little one! This is a unique custom in our Xia Country. The elders give red envelopes to the youngsters~ None of you are older than me, are you?"

Dean Wu, clutching the large bag of red envelopes, handed them out one by one to Yin Yi, Egg Pancake, and the others.

Although the Soul Beasts who received the red envelopes didn’t know what they meant, they still treasured them, tucking them away safely.

After handing out red envelopes to the hundred or so Soul Beasts present, Dean Wu clapped his hands and announced:

"Giving out red envelopes is about sharing good fortune and wishing everyone a smooth and prosperous new year. Okay, enough talk. Let’s eat!"

"CHIRP!" "WOOF!" "QUACK!" "EEE~"

Hearing that it was time to eat, the Soul Beasts cheered and all began to dig in.

...

That night, after dinner, Han Ning, his companions, and the Soul Beasts sat in the plaza, chatting while they waited for the Spring Festival Gala to begin.

That’s right. To perfectly replicate the gala’s format, everyone at the academy had taken time out of their busy schedules to spontaneously organize their own gala performances.

"Come on, while they’re still getting ready, let’s go set off some fireworks!"

After they had been sitting for an hour or two, the sound of firecrackers outside grew louder. Seeing that it was about time, a few of the teachers called over the students and Soul Beasts who were playing around to help move over barrels of large fireworks.

Han Ning took a few boxes of Fairy Wands from a cardboard carton and handed them to Yin Yi, Egg Pancake, and Fei Lin beside him.

He took a box for himself, pulling out a few and handing them to the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm and Huaimiao, who were sitting on his left and right shoulders respectively.

The two little creatures held on tight to Han Ning’s shoulders, each gripping two Fairy Wands between their front paw pads.

"Hold on tight. I’ll show you how to use these Fairy Wands."

"Gumi?" "Wuu wuu?"

The two little ones froze for a moment at his words.

Han Ning chuckled and took out a lighter, lighting the Fairy Wands one by one.

FWOOSH~

The sparks from the Fairy Wands burst forth in the darkness, casting a brilliant glow that illuminated the Soul Beasts’ faces.

"EEE~~!!"

Fei Lin, the younger of the two, had two dazzling, burning sparks reflected in her large, Broken Gold eyes.

She waved the Fairy Wand around, swinging it excitedly in all directions.

She had clearly seen her share of storms and countless spectacular Soul Techniques, yet she still found joy in this tiny sparkler.

Over on the other side, a few teachers and Soul Beasts had set up dozens of giant fireworks, each one larger than a water bucket.

Dean Wu called for everyone to get ready. He looked down at his phone and shouted, "5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Ignite!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Streaks of bright light shot into the sky and suddenly exploded.

The new year was here!

The brilliant fireworks illuminated the faces of every person and every Soul Beast below. For a moment, everyone forgot everything else, their heads tilted up in unison as they earnestly admired the magnificent display.

At the same time, a lively discussion erupted from the Communication Device on Han Ning’s hip.

"Happy New Year, everyone on the channel!"

"Happy New Year to you too!"

"Happy New Year! Any brothers still on duty?"

"Yeah, just got off the phone with my girlfriend..."

Cell phone service had not yet been restored, so everyone could only use the public channel on their Communication Devices to wish each other a happy new year.

...

Happy times are always fleeting.

While everyone was still immersed in the brief joy of the new year, Han Ning was already beginning to consider matters concerning his trip to the Sea of Death Stars.

「Inside the Heaven-Reaching Tower, within the Yunlan Space.」

Appearing in his Spiritual Treasure Body, Han Ning’s expression was grim. His hands moved like lightning, forming a series of mysterious Hand Seals.

Amidst these inexplicable movements, wisps of a pearly white halo separated from his body, forming a gelatinous mass in the mirrored space of the Heaven-Reaching Tower.

After he was done, his Divine Soul fell into a state of profound weakness.

This was the Soul Splitting Technique recorded in the Soul-Vibrating Technique. A Beast Master of Tier Five or higher could separate a portion of their Original Spiritual Power and store it in a specific location.

If they encountered a crisis where their body and spirit were destroyed by an enemy, this mass of Original Spiritual Power could help them recover their damaged Residual Soul, thus avoiding complete annihilation.

The journey to the Sea of Death Stars was fraught with a certain degree of danger, and it was also Han Ning’s first time leaving the academy to travel across a Star Domain. It was better to be safe than sorry, so he had made thorough preparations.

After separating his origin power, Han Ning’s Spiritual Body curled up. The Four Symbols Meditation Technique began to operate automatically, and he entered a state of self-repair.

「One month later.」

Having recovered to his peak state, his consciousness returned to his physical body.

For this trip, he didn’t plan to take the Heaven-Reaching Tower with him.

The Heaven-Reaching Tower could provide immense help to the vast number of Beast Masters in the Tri-Race Alliance, its effects far superior to even the Alatake Clan’s Cosmic Light Tower.

For him, at his current level, the effects of the Heaven-Reaching Tower had diminished significantly. It was better to leave it for others to use.

Of course, the most crucial reason was that when traveling far from home, one shouldn’t carry their most valuable possessions.

As the leader of the Bobo Family, Bobo Man couldn’t join him on his travels this time.

The Sea of Death Stars was simply too far away. If something were to happen to the Bobo Family, it would be difficult for Bobo Man to return in time.

As a good friend, Bobo Man provided Han Ning with all sorts of potions and Soul Artifacts. He even helped Han Ning gather to Perfection all the less important materials needed for Yin Yi’s evolution.

Han Ning was filled with gratitude for his friend. ’The only way I can repay him is to grow stronger as quickly as possible and, one day, bring Bobo Man into the Deep Sea Laboratory.’