Chapter 1880: Igniting the Red Star

In a daze, Chen Ling slowly opened his eyes.

The faint light of dawn emerged from behind the mountains, and the horizon was tinged with a fish-belly white. The campfire in front of him was still crackling and jumping. In this damp and cold early morning, Chen Ling didn't feel a trace of chill...

He looked down and saw that at some point, a thick blanket had been draped over him.

"Director Chen, you’re awake?"

Yang Xiao’s voice came from behind him.

Chen Ling turned his head and saw that by the edge of the camp, a camping table had been set up at some point. A power strip connected the generator’s power to the table, and a pot seemed to be boiling something, bubbling with hot steam.

Seeing that Chen Ling was awake, Lu Xun ladled a bowl of hot soup from the pot and walked straight over.

"Old Qi’s specialty, want to try it?"

Chen Ling looked at the fragrant, steaming bone soup, stunned for a moment, before reaching out to take it.

"We finished our discussion and came out, only to find you had already fallen asleep outside... We originally wanted to move you into the tent to sleep, but we figured you’d be woken up, so in the end, Dr. Su said it would be enough to just cover you with a blanket." Lu Xun smiled.

Chen Ling didn't expect that he had actually fallen asleep on the chair... He had originally just wanted to take a breather and then go inside to see how the Seven Lords were doing.

It seems he really was too tired yesterday.

"Thank you."

Chen Ling lowered his head and drank a few mouthfuls of bone soup. As a warmth flowed into his body, the original fatigue dissipated a little.

He then asked:

"You’ve finished your discussion? What’s the result?"

Lu Xun turned back, exchanged glances with the other Lords, and nodded slightly.

He took a deep breath and looked solemnly into Chen Ling’s eyes.

"Director Chen, we’ve thought of a way."

"We plan to..."

"Ignite the Red Star."

……

「Nanhai Realm.」

「"Mr. Mo, please come in... The head of the family has been waiting for you for a long time."」

「A member of the Pu family spoke respectfully.」

「Mo Yao stood in front of the Pu family’s side room, looking at the low-key and elegant building in front of him, lost in thought.」

「Not long ago, Mo Yao took the landlady’s advice at the teahouse and came to participate in the Pu family’s calligraphy competition to try his luck... He didn't expect that this casual imitation would make him stand out from everyone else and jump to become the first in the competition.」

「According to the Pu family, the first place could get a million in prize money, but to be honest, Mo Yao wasn't interested in the prize money. He didn't know why his brain had a spasm and he came to participate in this competition; he just felt that there was a force in the dark pushing him to come here.」

「However, since he was here, he might as well settle in. In any case, meeting that Eighth-Order Calligraphy God of the Pu family was not a bad thing.」

「Mo Yao took a deep breath and pushed the door open.」

「Creak—」

「The door opened, and the scent of ink mixed with a faint medicinal fragrance permeated the air.」

「Mo Yao walked into the room and saw a figure draped in ink-colored robes sitting cross-legged on the bed, with a calligraphy copybook placed in front of him. A powerful and profound aura of the Calligraphy God path permeated from it.」

「"You are Mo Yao?" the old man asked hoarsely.」

「"Yes."」

「"A 【Letter Writer】... what a rare path." The old man looked at Mo Yao carefully. "I heard that letters sent by high-level Letter Writers can not only cross space but also cross time?"」

「"That’s right." Mo Yao paused. "But my current rank is not high enough, so I can't write letters that cross time yet."」

「The old man was silent for a long time and let out a long sigh.」

「"Perhaps, this is God’s will."」

「"What?"」

「"In my life, I had no chance to advance to a demigod of the Calligraphy Path, and I have no contributions that can complete the self-verification of the God path... Only nine characters carry the ups and downs of my life, which can be considered my life’s work."」

「"But now, the talents of the younger generation of the Pu family have basically been absorbed into the Chengtian Mansion, and the remaining few are unwilling to inherit the mantle of an old guy like me. I don't want these nine characters to be lost, so I asked people to hold this competition for me to find a suitable successor for these nine characters..."」

「"Since you can imitate my brushwork and will so vividly, you are the best candidate to inherit these nine characters."」

「After hearing this, Mo Yao was stunned.」

「What is this?」

「Just by writing a few characters, he happened to be chosen by an Eighth-Order ancestor to become the successor of his mantle?」

「Such an inexplicable development, and he actually ran into it?」

「Mo Yao asked in disbelief: "But you don't even know me... are you going to pass your mantle to me?"」

「"A 【Letter Writer】 who can use the heart as a brush, carry the emotions of others, and deliver letters to the hands of loved ones must have a heart like glass, kind and upright... I don't doubt your character." The old man paused for a moment,」

「"What’s more, it’s not that I don't have selfish motives."」

「"After you inherit my nine-character mantle, your rank will also increase... When you can send letters that cross time, help me send a letter to someone."」

「"...Who?"」

「"My late wife."」

「Mo Yao was startled, and his gaze toward the old man became a bit complex.」

「"There are always some people who, once missed, can never be seen again... There are always some words that, once missed, will never have a chance to be spoken." The old man said slowly, "Heaven doesn't want all the regrets in the world to be unfixable, so there are 【Letter Writers】 who write letters for others... For you, inheriting my mantle is a stroke of luck from heaven, and for me, encountering a 【Letter Writer】 who might not appear in a thousand years, how is that not extremely lucky?"」

「"I leave my inheritance, you help me send the letter... In this way, it’s fair."」

「Mo Yao was silent for a long time.」

「"Okay... I promise you."」

「"When I have the ability to send letters across time, I will help you send this letter."」

「"I will write the content of the letter for you now." The old man handed the copybook in front of him to Mo Yao. "You should comprehend these nine characters yourself..."」

「Mo Yao looked down at the copybook.」

「The moment the nine dragon-flying and phoenix-dancing characters entered his eyes, a surging aura of the Calligraphy God path turned into nine rushing black dragons, leaping directly off the paper and crashing into Mo Yao’s pupils!」

「Mo Yao only felt his mind shake, and his brain was torn to pieces by these ink black dragons... The real world kept drifting away around him.」

「His eyes went black, and he fainted directly on the bed.」

「Seeing this, the old man was not surprised at all. He just calmly covered the unconscious Mo Yao with a corner of the quilt, then picked up a brush and pondered for a long time at the blank letter paper on the table...」

「Finally, he slowly put pen to paper.」

「This Eighth-Order Calligraphy God demigod had written characters all his life, and at the last moment, his fingertips were actually trembling... More than ten years of longing gathered at the tip of the pen, stroke by stroke, writing out his regrets vividly.」

「"To my wife, Li Zhiling, please open..."」