The Lucky One

Zane halted in his tracks, recalling Xun's words to him.

"You seem to have forgotten," Zane said without turning back, addressing Zhou Wang, "If my memory serves me correctly, I told you that she's mine."

Zhou Wang laughed heartily, "I haven't forgotten. How about this—I'll have my fun with her first, then she's all yours. That sounds good, doesn't it?"

"Sorry, maybe I wasn't clear enough. Let me reiterate—Xun is mine. If you want to touch her, you'll have to get past my knife first," Zane said, his eyes beginning to gleam with a faint light.

That girl's dignity, which she struggled to protect, shouldn't be trampled on by the likes of him!

Zhou Wang smiled silently, a symbol faintly glowing on the elemental heart tattooed on his forehead.

"Do we really need to go this far? Is a lower citizen worth your protection?"

"Besides, do you really have that capability? Sure, you may be an Ascender too, but you don't have a surname, do you? An Ascender without the protection of a family might have a short life."

Zane peered into the tunnel's darkness ahead, "No family lasts forever. Even with the protection of a family, life isn't necessarily long. Besides, among the distinguished families of Titan Bastion, I don't recall hearing of the Zhou family."

"Impudent!"

Zhou Wang whirled around, his face darkening. Almost simultaneously, Zane faced him too, the particle combat knife already in his hand.

In Zhou Wang's grasp, grey-white elemental energy swirled. "Just for that comment, I have enough reason to kill you!"

Zane replied emotionlessly, "Then why don't you try?"

"Zhou Wang, there you are."

A voice suddenly cut through the tense atmosphere on the platform.

The Grey Pigeon's newcomer with rounded cheeks and soft features closed in, her eyes falling on Zane's sheathed knife and Zhou Wang's dissipating elemental energy.

Her face etched with concern, she asked, "Did you guys encounter some monsters?"

Clearly, she had no idea that she had just averted a fight.

Zane departed without a word, and soon after, the newcomer girl and Zhou Wang returned to the scene.

The Star Marrow Pillar still stood in its place, with about a dozen people queued up to touch it, Xun among them.

Not far off, Chen Liu sneered, "What a waste of time. We could be on our way back by now."

Han Shu, smoking beside him, exhaled a smoke ring and remained silent.

Then it was Xun's turn. The girl in protective gear stepped forward, extending her hand to gently touch the pillar like everyone else.

The moment Xun's fingers grazed the Star Marrow Pillar, the tree-like alien matter suddenly lit up, casting a dazzling silver glow throughout the structure.

Han Shu's cigarette dropped to the ground.

Chen Liu's mouth hung open, dumbstruck.

Shock filled Zhou Wang's eyes before being quickly replaced by annoyance, evidently displeased that his calculations had gone awry.

As for Zane, he was first surprised, then overjoyed for Xun. The pillar's reaction suggested it was triggering Xun's cellular and genetic evolution into a higher life form!

Indeed, her protective suit began to glow, as if a galaxy had been encased within it.

The Star Marrow Pillar's crown swayed silently, showering down specks of stardust.

The silver radiance brightened the entire area, growing more intense until it became blinding.

After three to five seconds, the light finally began to fade, leaving a few strands of stardust swirling around Xun.

Peering through the transparent visor of her helmet, it seemed as if the girl couldn't believe her astonishing luck. 

Only when Rosalind, the blonde-haired and blue-eyed captain of the medical team, approached and tapped her helmet did Xun come back to reality.

"Take off your helmet," Rosalind said with a smile.

Xun hesitated, then slowly removed it. As she breathed in the air of the interstellar wasteland, silver light coursed faintly through the veins on her face before returning to normal.

She took a deep breath, sensing no difference.

Rosalind embraced her, "Well done, Xun. Quick, tell me, what rank did you awaken?"

Xun closed her eyes, and after a moment, she whispered in disbelief, "It's the Radiance rank."

"What!"

"Radiance rank!"

Han Shu shouted with joy, "That's incredible luck! The girl has awakened the Radiance rank, haha, we've struck gold!"

He turned to Chen Liu, grinning broadly, "What do you think, Officer? Our tradition isn't so bad, is it?"

Chen Liu grunted, struggling to maintain his composure. His trembling fingers betrayed his excitement at Xun's awakening to the Radiance rank.

Among known ranks, two were the rarest: Abyss and Radiance.

The former was the most dangerous and uncontrollable of all ranks. Ascenders who awakened the Abyss rank were often the most desperate, likely to take dangerous actions, and their abilities were formidable, countering most other ranks.

Radiance, on the other hand, was the antithesis of the Abyss. Ascenders of the Radiance rank could wield healing and purifying powers, especially valuable in the interstellar wasteland. A team's dynamic totally changed with a Radiance Ascender in the mix.

Alas, Abyss or Radiance, Ascenders of these ranks were exceedingly rare.

Of course, that was before Zane awoke to the Avenger rank.

Now, theirs was no longer the rarest.

Nevertheless, it was still an event worth celebrating, especially since Zane's new rank was still under wraps.

The happiest of all was Rosalind, who declared that Xun was now her student.

Upon their return, she would give Xun private lessons. As one of the top battlefield medics in the Bastion, many medical students longed for Rosalind's favor.

She had never planned on taking a disciple until now, deciding that Xun would be the one to inherit her mantle.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Wang's face turned even darker.

There weren't many experienced battlefield medics in the Bastion, and Rosalind was not only a respected medic but also an Ascender herself.

In the Bastion, her status was no less than that of the Zhou family. Now that Xun, as a Radiance Ascender, had become her student, she was beyond Zhou Wang's reach.

In fact, from the moment Rosalind announced her mentorship, the number of people in the Bastion daring to lay a finger on the girl could be counted on one hand.

And those few would never stoop so low!

This only intensified Zhou Wang's resentment towards Zane. If Zane hadn't interfered back at the outpost, Zhou Wang might have had Xun by now.

Then, the Zhou family could have boasted a Radiance Ascender, and Zhou Wang could have risen high on her coattails.

All of that potential, ruined by Zane!

Zhou Wang seethed with irritation, wishing he could give Zane a taste of his elemental lance.

Yet he never considered that even if he had succeeded at the outpost, would the girl have willingly married him?