Jing Yuan was dumbfounded. "What in the world did those old fools do to deserve this?"
His head spun. Based on the scale and efficiency of the operation, he already had a sinking suspicion about who might be responsible. No one but Pei Guang could pull off something so decisive—and so utterly chaotic.
Fu Xuan sighed and explained further. "Dan Heng came to me to provide some details. While Bailu was sealing the Ambrosial Arbor, assassins from the Vidyadhara attempted to kill her. With Pei Guang's guidance, Bailu discovered a method to force Vidyadhara into reincarnation. According to Dan Heng, it involves 'overhealing' them—though instead of killing them, the Vidyadhara physiology triggers a rebirth due to the overload. And apparently, the process has no side effects. General, those elders have lost their minds. How could they think of assassinating Bailu?"
The more Fu Xuan described the situation, the less sense it made to Jing Yuan.
"Wait," Jing Yuan interjected, his tone growing more incredulous. "Dan Heng came to you?"
Fu Xuan: "Yes, that's correct. According to him, Pei Guang's actions escalated to such a degree that Dan Heng thought it best to withdraw, believing his involvement would only complicate things. But Dan Heng did manage to prevent Pei Guang from launching a full-scale purge. Otherwise, every single one of those Vidyadhara would have been sent into reincarnation."
"Although he didn't force all of them into reincarnation, Pei Guang's methods were... brutal. The Preceptor who ordered Bailu's assassination? Pei Guang held his head down and dragged him through a trash bin. Passersby recorded the whole thing, and the video is now viral online. The public outrage against these Preceptors is deafening. And as for Pei Guang... ahem, Pei Guang somehow kept pulling incriminating evidence out of these people's pockets.
From the evidence brought in so far, everything has been verified as genuine. But according to the records from the Divination Array, these pieces of evidence were supposed to have been destroyed long ago. No one can figure out how they ended up intact in their pockets."
Fu Xuan's expression twisted into one of exasperated disbelief as she recounted the events. Despite her usual confidence, she couldn't help but feel her youth and experience pale in comparison to what she had witnessed today. This level of effectiveness wasn't just unusual—it was downright terrifying.
Following Pei Guang on this journey, she had constantly heard him complain about inefficiency. At the time, she had dismissed his grumbling, wondering how things could possibly be so "inefficient." Now, after seeing his results firsthand, she had to admit: the entire Luofu—no, the entire Xianzhou Alliance—had never seen such efficiency before.
And to think, all this had happened in less than a week since the Trailblazers arrived. From their arrival to now, Pei Guang had overturned entrenched problems and forced changes at a breakneck pace. This latest operation? Every single Vidyadhara caught yielded hard evidence. One by one, the evidence piled up, all pointing directly at a handful of corrupt Preceptors. In the end, Pei Guang and Bailu apprehended them all.
Fu Xuan couldn't help but marvel: at this level of efficiency, if Pei Guang claimed to be the second most effective person in Xianzhou, no one would dare to claim first!
Although the Vidyadhara population had been dwindling, they remained one of the largest races on the Xianzhou, with countless influential individuals. Yet, Pei Guang and Bailu, in just half a day, managed to round up one-fifth of them. If not for Dan Heng's parting suggestion—"Hand over the captives to the General for rewards"—the entirety of that one-fifth might have been sent to reincarnation by those two.
Pei Guang's efficiency was astonishing, but what truly sent chills down Fu Xuan's spine was his ruthlessness. Fortunately, he was an ally: she silently vowed never to become enemies with someone like him.
After relaying everything to Jing Yuan, Fu Xuan's projection practically begged him for help. "General! Please! Stop resting and start working! Only you can handle this mess!"
Jing Yuan sighed. "Fu Xuan, the doctor just advised me to take a proper rest. I trust you can manage this situation perfectly. Good luck!"
"General—"
Before she could finish, he swiftly cut off the projection. As the image disappeared, Yanqing, who had been quietly observing, swallowed nervously. Listening to Fu Xuan's account had already given him chills. Even though he was confident in his own abilities, he knew he couldn't just march into the Vidyadhara stronghold and cause a commotion.
But somehow, Pei Guang and Bailu—a single Trailblazer and one young Vidyadhara—had stormed in and captured one-fifth of their population. And some of them were even sent into reincarnation?
Yanqing hesitated. "General…"
Jing Yuan waved him off with a calm smile. "There's no need to worry. This is… a good thing."
"A good thing?"
"You'll understand when you're older," Jing Yuan said cryptically.
In truth, Jing Yuan had already concluded that staying out of this matter was the best course of action. What Pei Guang and Bailu had done was, objectively, a massive disturbance. But since it stemmed from an assassination attempt on Bailu, the incident could easily be justified and swept under the rug.
Moreover, Dan Heng's intervention had managed to temper Pei Guang's actions, convincing him to capture the culprits rather than kill them outright. This left the culprits alive to face interrogation, with Fu Xuan handling the legal fallout. If substantial evidence emerged linking the Vidyadhara conspirators to the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, not only would Pei Guang face no consequences, but he might even receive commendations for rooting out collaborators.
In fact, Jing Yuan believed that other Vidyadhara elders or even the Xianzhou Alliance would end up thanking Pei Guang. The captured individuals could be presented as traitors aligned with the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, effectively framing this as a triumph for justice.
What's more, Jing Yuan saw Pei Guang's actions as an opportunity. The Vidyadhara had maintained a stagnant hierarchy on the Xianzhou for centuries: while the Xianzhou Alliance's governance post-Great War was well-structured, it wasn't without flaws. Many influential elders from both the Vidyadhara and the Xianzhou people had lingered too long, becoming entrenched in the system.
These relics of the past had poisoned multiple generations, turning themselves into parasites festering within the Xianzhou Alliance. If Pei Guang's actions could uproot even some of these long-standing toxins, it would be a net positive for the Alliance.
Jing Yuan smiled to himself, a hint of anticipation gleaming in his eyes. Even if Pei Guang couldn't destroy all the rot within the system, breaking apart the Vidyadhara's decay was a significant start.