Pei Guang studied the map further. "So, this area is only guarded by three of our comrades. The rest are just mara-struck, right? Let's see… there's one in this building, another in that one, and the last at the far end of the path. Got it."
The disciple nodded but frowned slightly. "Wait… you didn't know this? How could that be?"
Pei Guang blinked innocently. "Oh, it's nothing. Just double-checking."
But doubt crept into the disciple's mind. Their organization prided itself on decentralized management, yet only the most trusted were assigned tasks by the leader. Someone in the know would never be clueless about these details.
The disciple's tone shifted to suspicion. "Your appearance is odd, but you're ignorant of our internal workings. Who exactly are you?"
Sensing the shift, Pei Guang frantically blinked behind his helmet, trying to signal Stelle and March 7th. But with his face hidden, all they saw was rapid eye movement.
"Act now! Look at my signal!" Pei Guang barked. "You lousy NPC, hit me! You drop nothing but trash!" With that, he raised his middle finger, launching an unmistakable taunt.
Stelle smirked. "I'm looking, but your face is still gray—it hasn't changed colors." Her words belied her actions, as she already had her bat in hand, delivering a devastating home run swing to the disciple's head.
March 7th laughed. "Yep, still gray!" She followed up by freezing the enemy's limbs with her Six-Phased Ice.
Bailu yelled from the sidelines, "You idiots! Ah Guang meant to attack! Watch out, he's making a move!"
The disciple, realizing the ruse, roared in rage. He gathered all his strength, ready to unleash a powerful strike. But before he could act, Stelle's bat came down like a comet. The impact sent his head flying, leaving his body motionless—frozen and unable to retaliate.
Bailu blinked in astonishment. "Wow, that was far. Is he… dead?"
Pei Guang nodded. "He's done for. Based on my experiments, even intelligent mara-struck die if their heads or vital organs are destroyed."
Stelle nudged the twitching body with her flaming spear. "The body's still moving, though."
Pei Guang shrugged. "Probably like cockroaches—headless, but still twitching for a while. Still, your swing definitely scrambled his brain. Better burn the body just to be sure. These Sanctus Medicus disciples are leagues above the ones guarding the riverside."
Stelle didn't hesitate. She rummaged through the body's belongings, finding a basic attack effect trinket, before setting it ablaze with her spear.
Pei Guang pointed to the map. "Next up: the two other targets."
In the nearby courtyards, the two remaining Sanctus Medicus disciples were unaware of their comrade's fate. All they knew was that they stood watch, waiting to ambush anyone who dared to approach.
Little did they know, their worst nightmare was already planning their demise.
No one could have predicted what happened next. Stelle and Bailu, Pei Guang and March 7th—working as duos—smashed through a supposedly indestructible wall. The wall, impervious to Cloud Knight weapons and mara-struck claws alike, crumbled in an instant under their synchronized assault.
As the wall shattered, torrents of water and icy arrows surged through, piercing the mara-struck soldiers on the other side.
Bailu, despite her gentle demeanor as a healer, proved why she was considered the next lady of the Vidyadhara. Her mastery of water and lightning had reached unparalleled levels, easily striking down her enemies.
March 7th followed suit, her ice arrows not only piercing the mara-struck but freezing them in place. Pei Guang then moved in with precision, delivering the final blows with his sword to ensure they were thoroughly eliminated.
Their actions drew the attention of nearby mara-struck, who began converging on their location. Pei Guang turned to Bailu, his expression calm beneath the helmet.
"Alright, they're all yours," he said.
Bailu nodded confidently. "Got it!"
She pulled out her trusty gourd, giving it a playful shake as she locked onto the approaching enemies.
"Let's see what medicine this gourd holds for you!" she announced cheerfully.
From the gourd spilled a stream of black-brown liquid, followed by a clear blue liquid, both swirling in the air under her control.
"Time for some rest and recovery. If you're lucky, you might live for another few decades—or even centuries!" Bailu declared with a smile, her tone far too cheerful for the chaos unfolding.
Her approach was equal parts healing and teaching a lesson—something she had picked up from traveling with Pei Guang.
As Bailu incapacitated the mara-struck with her concoctions, Pei Guang, Stelle, and March 7th worked quickly to secure and bind the enemies. During this process, Stelle's attention was drawn to a peculiar object: a beautifully crafted porcelain vase.
Back in the Exalting Sanctum and the riverside, Stelle had found no treasure to smash, leaving her feeling restless. Now, seeing this vase, her instincts took over. Without a second thought, she smashed it, revealing a radiant blue glow and various materials inside.
Stelle's face lit up with delight. "How does Xianzhou make vases that drop loot like this? Amazing!" she exclaimed.
She didn't question the mechanics—what mattered was the thrill of smashing and the joy of discovery.
Meanwhile, Pei Guang took a more methodical approach. Looting the mara-struck's remains, he scoured the Divination Commission's rooms, prying open locked doors or climbing through windows to explore every corner. Though he emerged after only a few seconds in each room, Qingque couldn't shake the feeling that the Divination Commission had been thoroughly ransacked.
When Qingque, Welt and Tingyun finally arrived through the side gate, they were greeted by an unusual sight.
Two mara-struck corpses hung nearby, their heads missing. A burning flaming spear propped beneath one of the bodies was slowly roasting the remains.
Further away, a few carts were loaded with unconscious mara-struck. These, however, weren't hooked up to IV drips. Instead, Bailu had administered a concoction that induced deep sleep while facilitating recovery. Those who could regain consciousness would eventually awaken, while those beyond saving posed no further threat.
Qingque's gaze drifted to Pei Guang and Stelle, who were busy entering and exiting rooms, leaving doors unlocked or ladders in their wake. Though her instincts told her the Commission's treasures must have been plundered, her calculations revealed otherwise—nothing was missing.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a tantalizing aroma. The roasting mara-struck meat smelled surprisingly appetizing, causing Qingque to gulp nervously. She hesitated, then asked, "Um… are you guys planning to eat roasted mara-struck? You know that's… not edible, right?"
Pei Guang froze, turning to Stelle. "Were you planning to eat mara-struck?"
Stelle turned to March 7th. "Were you?"
March 7th looked thoughtful. "I wasn't, but now I'm curious…"
March 7th turned to Pei Guang, raising a brow. "Why even think about eating this stuff? Didn't you bring a bunch of decent food with you?"
Pei Guang pulled a meat patty from his inventory with a shrug. "Of course. At worst, we could just grab some pork, beef, or lamb—definitely better than this. Sure, in video games, I'd eat anything for stat boosts. But in this free and immersive world? No thanks. No appetite for monsters that were once people, humanoid creatures, or intelligent beings."
Stelle narrowed her eyes at Pei Guang. "And what if eating it massively boosted your stats?"
An awkward silence fell over the group.