Fu Xuan led the group of Trailblazers to the Divination Commission. When they arrived, they found General Jing Yuan's holographic projection already waiting for them. Seeing him still present, Fu Xuan raised an eyebrow in surprise and asked, "Why are you still here?"
Jing Yuan smiled casually. "Naturally, I'm waiting for you, Master Diviner."
Fu Xuan, puzzled, crossed her arms. "Waiting for me? For what?"
Jing Yuan didn't immediately reply, simply maintaining his composed smile. This silence prompted Fu Xuan to think for a moment before she ventured a guess. "You're waiting for my input?"
"Precisely~" Jing Yuan confirmed with a faint chuckle, offering no further explanation.
The truth was that Jing Yuan genuinely viewed Fu Xuan as his successor and was training her for that role. While her straightforward and no-nonsense personality might make her less adept at navigating social intricacies, such skills could be developed with time. More importantly, her recent interactions with the Trailblazers—or, more accurately, the "players"—had clearly helped her mature.
No matter what she had seen or experienced, this time she had chosen to gather more information from the players before reporting back, a marked shift from her usual immediate debriefings.
As Fu Xuan mulled over Jing Yuan's demeanor, Pei Guang glanced toward the General, his mind churning. After a moment, he spoke up. "Looks like it's time to pit generals against generals, soldiers against soldiers… and for us players to stab the boss in the back, huh?"
"Hm?"
Jing Yuan raised an eyebrow, intrigued by Pei Guang's phrasing. The first part of the statement sounded serious, but the latter caught him off guard, prompting a rare amused smile. "So, you've already guessed my plan?"
Pei Guang shrugged casually. "Not hard to guess—same few patterns recycled over and over. After all, games are inspired by life, but they take it a step further. That said, sometimes reality pulls off things that would get a game, anime, or novel absolutely roasted if they tried."
Jing Yuan nodded in agreement. "You're not wrong. Even I find some things beyond understanding at times, but—"
Before he could finish, Stelle cut in dramatically. "Everyone, sound the alarms! He's about to start giving us orders!"
Pei Guang glanced at her. "Three hundred draws, Stelle. He's literally offering us three hundred pulls right to our faces!"
At that, Stelle's expression turned serious. Gripping her flaming spear tightly, she declared, "I don't know who I am. I don't know where I am. But we're going, Ah Guang, March, Uncle Yang! Let's chop down that tree and crush this so-called Disciples of Sanctus Medicus sect while we're at it. Uh… but can we even chop that thing down?"
Pei Guang pondered for a moment. "No idea! But based on my experience, if it's made of wood, a wooden axe might do the trick. If not, we'll make an iron one. It's just a tree—it might take time, but we'll bring it down. If not, you've got your lance, and I've got my sword. No way it's invincible."
March 7th clapped her hands eagerly. "Perfect! Let's deal with the tree and the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus in one go. Didn't Fu Xuan say there's a secret passage connecting the Artisanship Commission to the Alchemy Commission? Let's head out!"
Watching the animated group of Astral Express members, Fu Xuan turned to Jing Yuan with a frown. "General, you can't always rely on just one group of people. For this kind of thing, the Cloud Knights—"
She trailed off mid-sentence, struck by a sense of familiarity, though she couldn't pinpoint its source. Her mind wrestled with the sensation while her Divination Matrix buzzed and her Third Eye screamed for attention. Then, clarity struck her like lightning.
Fu Xuan abruptly shifted gears. "The Cloud Knights might work, but I guarantee they wouldn't be as efficient as these people. Still, we can't let them go unrewarded. I'll have my subordinates pull out some decorative pieces from the Divination Commission. If the Trailblazers like them, they're welcome to take them."
She recalled how Pei Guang and the others had been thrilled over those decorative porcelain pieces. Through the matrix, Fu Xuan had learned why—they could somehow extract rare resources from them. While Xianzhou craftsmen saw them as mere trinkets, the Trailblazers turned them into treasures.
Even the most mundane ornaments could yield materials associated with the Aeons. How this worked remained a mystery—there were no detectable energy reactions, just an inexplicable emergence of resources.
Even so, Fu Xuan felt a bit embarrassed. Those decorations were worth next to nothing, mass-produced to spruce up the commission. If the Trailblazers broke them down, they could be recycled into identical items. Sure, it might take some time, but Xianzhou had time in abundance.
She sighed inwardly. Inviting a "Fourth Calamity" to handle something as mundane as breaking pots and vases? In the past, she might have scoffed at the term. But after witnessing what the Trailblazers were capable of, she could only pity the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus. If Pei Guang unleashed his efficiency-driven tendencies, their entire operation could be reduced to rubble in no time.
Shaking off her thoughts, Fu Xuan turned back to Pei Guang and the group. "In that case, I'll leave the Alchemy Commission's forces to you. As for me—"
Jing Yuan interrupted with a sly smile. "Oh no, Fu Xuan. You're not getting off that easily. Here's the token for commanding the Cloud Knights. You'll lead them to support the team outside the Alchemy Commission's domain near the Ambrosial Arbor."
"What? I'm leading troops?" Fu Xuan exclaimed.
Jing Yuan chuckled. "Didn't you always say you wanted to know what it's like to be a general?"
"Normally, you never let me—" Fu Xuan paused, realization dawning on her. With renewed determination, she nodded. "Understood. I'll follow your orders."
Jing Yuan's grin widened. "Excellent. As for guiding the team, Miss Tingyun, I'll rely on you once more."
Tingyun, who had been quiet for much of the journey, nodded gracefully. "It is my duty. I won't let you down."
With Tingyun's agreement secured, Jing Yuan turned to Pei Guang. "The Alchemy Commission and Scalegorge are adjacent to the Ambrosial Arbor's seal. I'll leave the investigation to you."
Pei Guang scratched his head. "Quick question—what exactly is this Ambrosial Arbor?"
Jing Yuan raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Oh? Have you encountered Ambrosial Arbor elsewhere?"
"Not personally, but it's a legend where I come from," Pei Guang replied. "I'm curious whether your Ambrosial Arbor aligns with those tales."
Jing Yuan began his explanation. "Ambrosial Arbor is an ancient relic left behind on the Xianzhou by Yaoshi, the Aeon of Abundance. It can shape life freely and conquer death—a divine miracle. The ancestors of the Luofu people consumed the divine food generated by Ambrosial Arbor, gaining formless longevity and transforming into long-life species."
March 7th's eyes lit up at the description. "Sounds like an amazing treasure! If we chop it down and forge weapons from it, that'd be awesome, right?"
Jing Yuan gave a wry smile. "Indeed, it is a treasure. But it's also the source of future calamities."
Pei Guang nodded thoughtfully. "If it grants eternal life to everyone, it would inevitably lead to overpopulation and resource shortages. Without careful preparation for the potential consequences, immortality would be a disaster for any society."
March 7th glanced at Pei Guang. "Huh? Why do you say that?"
Pei Guang explained, "It's simple: resources are finite. Let me give an example. In a game I played before, the population cap was 200, with different unit types consuming different amounts of capacity. Early on, I needed basic soldiers to gather resources and fight. But later, when stronger units were necessary, what do you do with the weaker ones?"
Stelle pondered and concluded, "You get rid of them. From a gaming perspective, dismantling or replacing all the weaker units with stronger ones for maximum efficiency makes the most sense."
Pei Guang nodded. "Exactly. But let's be honest: the idea of immortality is tempting. Forget the ancestors of the Xianzhou; even I would be tempted. All we're doing here is playing armchair critics, analyzing past mistakes. But that's fine—it's about learning from this game's background story to avoid repeating similar errors in the future."
Jing Yuan interjected, "It seems there's no need for me to explain further. You already grasp the devastation the Ambrosial Arbor once brought to the Xianzhou. Yet now…"
Pei Guang drew a wooden sword from his inventory. "No problem. Let's get moving and finish this mission as soon as possible—300 pulls are waiting for us!"