Chapter 570 — Half a Year Later

In the ancient kingdom of Tingxiang, within the imperial palace, Master Green was leisurely using various high-grade materials to forge weapons for the younger generation of the royal family. Suddenly, this bearded dwarf seemed to hear a familiar voice.

"Grandma Green!"

In the forging room, as a ripple in space appeared, Green stared blankly at the familiar figure that emerged!

"Qi...??!"

She put down her hammer and exclaimed at the even more beautiful and delicate Qi: "Qi, you're back??"

"Yes!" Qi giggled.

"Grandma Green, long time no see."

"Yes. Long time no see. How were things over on Shi Jin's side? Did he bully you?" Grandma Greenly asked with concern.

"Why are you still this tall? It doesn't look like you've grown at all. Are they not feeding you well?"

The old woman studied Qi, who still stood barely over a meter tall, and fell into thought.

After the Shi Jin World Tournament, Shi Jin's fame on Blue Star had only grown. When Shi Jin took Qi away, Greenly had been very pleased at first.

But later, Shi Jin's other beasts all had their moments to shine—even the second team's Little Machine and Duck Duck were active in the Alliance Conference—yet through all of it, Qi alone gave no sign of life.

This made Greenly worry terribly about Qi, assuming she was unloved and neglected on Shi Jin's side.

"No, I'm doing very well," Qi said.

The reason she rarely appeared was that after awakening the past-life power of the Time Sprite, her identity had become somewhat sensitive.

That identity meant Qi was destined never to serve as a main combatant fighting for Shi Jin.

As for her height, Qi was helpless about it—this was still a disguise that Chong Chong had helped her put together! Her true height would have been an even bigger problem.

Not only had she failed to grow, she had shrunk considerably.

"Right, right. That ability you used to get here just now—that was teleportation, wasn't it?" Grandma Greenly said, perking up. "Seems you've learned something impressive."

"Come on, this place is no good for talking. Let's go somewhere else and drink! Ah, no—you can't drink." Grandma Greenly fretted.

Even so, she took Qi by the hand and headed out of the forging room.

But the moment the two stepped outside, suddenly—boom!—a thunderclap-like shockwave shook the skies above Tingxiang!

In an instant, the sky went dark.

A terrifying shadow appeared above the Tingxiang imperial palace.

At the same time, Qi, who had come out with Grandma Greenly, immediately sensed two extraordinarily powerful auras.

God-level!!

In the sky, there were two god-level fluctuations!!!

One of them was very familiar to Qi—it was the Sprite Empress of Tingxiang.

But the other gave Qi a completely unfamiliar feeling. Her expression shifted slightly, and she suddenly realized something.

"What's happening?"

Grandma Greenly shielded Qi behind her, staring at the sky in shock.

"Her Majesty the Empress!!"

Meanwhile, above the palace, the Sprite Empress was facing off against a centipede of abnormal bulk—so long that even coiled up it spanned several streets, its shell looking incomparably hard.

At the sight of this centipede monster, larger than a dragon, the sprites within the palace were terrified.

"A Starry Void Insect!!" The ordinary sprites had no idea what was going on, but President Oran and the other Legendary beastmasters in the city knew some of the inside story.

This thing—could it be the very Starry Void Insect that had caused such an uproar before, the one that hunted god-levels?!

"Everyone, evacuate! Send word to the Cangwu Alliance for reinforcements!! Those of Legendary rank and above, stay and protect the capital." In the sky, the Sprite Empress was also extremely tense. She was a newly advanced god-level beastmaster, and none of her contracted sprites had yet reached god-level. Facing this centipede monster in battle, the Sprite Empress felt utterly outmatched.

By all accounts, this monster only attacked lone gods in sparsely populated regions.

Boom!!

The instant she finished speaking, the cloud-blotting centipede monster launched its attack on the Sprite Empress, opening its abyss-like maw to devour her.

Within the capital of Tingxiang, countless people watched this horrifying scene.

What on earth was this monster, to dare attack their Tingxiang's Sprite Empress?!

After all, their Sprite Empress had already advanced to god-level!

Still, they had indeed heard the Sprite Empress's words broadcast across the whole city moments ago.

The Sprite Empress wanted them to flee, to beg Blue Star for aid—which meant... this monster had the power to threaten Tingxiang's god, the power to threaten Tingxiang itself. It was extremely dangerous!!

"Run!!!" Many people, hearing the command, scattered and fled.

There were also some elite sprite warriors who stayed where they were, unwilling to abandon the Sprite Empress and leave.

Lier, Annis, Luoyi, Silia, and the other sprites whom the Sprite Empress had earlier recommended to try contracting with Shi Jin, along with some of Tingxiang's experts and World Tournament contenders—they were all basically in the capital, all right here.

"Everyone below Legendary rank, retreat!" Tingxiang's Association President, Oran, who had advanced to Legendary, summoned his beasts and was already preparing to go aid Her Majesty the Empress.

But at that moment, no one expected that amid the centipede monster's attack, a figure appeared—at an extremely rapid teleportation speed—between the centipede monster and the Sprite Empress.

It was a little pink-haired girl holding an umbrella.

"Qi!!!" Grandma Greenly, seeing Qi vanish in a teleport and dart into the high sky, was instantly aghast.

"Out of my way!!" In the sky, Qi suddenly appeared, gripping the Star Umbrella in its collapsed state, and swung it straight at the oncoming giant centipede, her face full of confidence!!

Crack!!

In the next instant, dense spiderweb-like patterns spread across the sky, space itself shattered outright, and the centipede monster's attack ground to a halt; right after, the monster's enormous body began to split apart, sliced to pieces by one spatial rift after another.

Boom!!

The giant centipede monster's entire body burst apart, chunk after chunk drifting in the sky!!

At the sight, everyone below gaped, staring in bewilderment at the little girl who had suddenly appeared in the sky; behind Qi, the Elf Empress was likewise astonished, somewhat dumbstruck.

"Auntie Empress, don't worry. This Qi is not that mid-tier god." Holding the Star Umbrella, Qi floated in the air with a confident smile. "Still, it's a bit dangerous for all of you, so leave this Qi to me!"

"Leave it to this Qi!"

As Qi's words fell, the shattered centipede monster's broken body began pressing itself back together, its wounds healing at a terrifying speed.

Many were shocked by the centipede monster's regeneration, but some were also stunned by what the little girl had just said.

Qi!!!

At the sound of that name, Lier, Annis, Luoyi, Xilia, and the others were taken aback.

Qi??

"You're Qi." By now the Elf Empress was utterly certain: this little girl who had split a centipede that was absolutely at the divine tier in one strike was indeed Qi, the frail-born elf that Shi Jin had taken away.

Under Shi Ying's nurturing, she had actually grown this strong??

The Elf Empress sensed that Qi's strength had likely already surpassed her own.

She could not help but feel a pang of suffocation.

"Mm." Qi nodded, gazing gravely at the monster before her.

The centipede monster before her was probably only at the elementary god level; it definitely was not a mid-tier god.

Qi quickly reached out to Shi Jin through telepathy, and found that she could get through.

"Qi, did you run into a big bug too?" In the starry sky, Shi Jin and Lin, having sensed the changes on Blue Star through the Eye of the Universe, said gravely, "Your perception was right."