Fu Xuan rested her chin on her small hand.
"So, if I can calculate the effect my actions have on future developments, I'll know how to change fate..."
"Fate isn't fate, it's just the information of life's movements?"
So that's what fate was!
The Master Diviner had a moment of epiphany. No wonder she'd been stuck in some kind of loop she couldn't escape. It turned out the most crucial piece of the puzzle had been missing, a fact that left her somewhat displeased.
Thinking of this, Fu Xuan couldn't help but ask, "Can anyone truly see the influence they themselves have on fate?"
She didn't know what she was asking, nor how precious the information she sought truly was.
There was no way Noldrei would tell her how to see that influence.
He said vaguely, "Someone can definitely see it! In a sense, seeing the development of another's fate and seeing the influence of your own actions on fate use the same method of observation. You can't deny that a telescope was used to see the other part of the scenery just because half of it was blocked, can you?"
Fu Xuan didn't answer right away.
If she were to admit what Noldrei said was true, then the so-called Matrix of Prescience had been intentionally concealing this from her.
But she had received this very thing from the Aeon of Erudition.
To actively suspect an Aeon of meddling?
That required not just wisdom, but immense courage.
"You really are a bold one."
Fu Xuan wasn't sure how to feel. She had never considered the possibility that Erudition would hold something back from her.
"It's not that I'm bold, it's that you have grand ambitions but don't dare to think in that direction."
Noldrei had internally criticized Fu Xuan's personality more than once, but she was just the kind of fool who would walk into his net every single time.
If she wanted to become the General of the Xianzhou Alliance, then she naturally needed her own design for the Xianzhou.
Otherwise, what was the point of becoming General?
Perhaps it was learning the answer to her question about fate that gave Fu Xuan a sense of direction. She was so happy that her eyes involuntarily squinted into crescents.
"What exactly is going on in the Alchemy Commission? From what I can see, it looks like they're brewing up something big."
After resolving the gloom in her heart, Fu Xuan immediately put on the airs of the Master Diviner.
He had no idea when she had developed such a prickly temper.
"It's nothing, just a simple 'rebellion' within the Xianzhou. It's just that their rebellion might be a little different from what you understand it to be."
If Noldrei wasn't mistaken, Dan Shu likely wanted to rebel against the 'Xianzhou' that existed in the hearts of its people.
He had empowered that woman. Simply welcoming back the era of the Sanctus Medicus was no longer enough for Dan Shu. She clearly wanted more now, to the point where she no longer cared about her own life.
Noldrei had certainly seen many believers, but what Dan Shu had become could no longer be explained by simple faith.
"Re-rebellion?!"
Fu Xuan was completely shocked. She looked down at the taro boba in her hand, then at the Immortal's Delight in Noldrei's.
Something this major was happening within the Xianzhou, and she was still in the mood to chat and drink with someone here?
"How did it get to this point? I thought the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus were starting to turn for the better?"
If Fu Xuan remembered correctly, the Disciples had been contracting their activities and had even shown an intention to move in a positive direction.
"What are you thinking? That's just the extremist faith faction and the realist interest-based faction of the Disciples splitting up."
Noldrei couldn't care less about matters of faith. What he had given them wasn't a so-called faith, but a tool of life's dialectics used to distinguish between people.
Hadn't Dan Shu figured out her own position quite easily?
Once you understand your own position, you understand the comparison between all positions, and at the same time, you can roughly see your own future outcome.
"The existence of the Pure Land theory allows for compromise between Aeons and their followers. But it also, in fact, attracts 'believers' who 'believe when it's useful.' The true power of the Pure Land theory is its ability to integrate sufficiently capable believers into an existing order to contribute their strength."
"So, on the surface, the Pure Land Sect seems to be able to purify faith. But in reality, the Pure Land Sect isn't better at purifying faith, but better at using people who are pure in faith. This is what we usually call ideology."
"Of course, you can put it in a more idealistic way. It's the philosophical principles an individual holds. It's a tool in itself. Once a tool is created, people will automatically find ways to use it. The people of the Alchemy Commission will inevitably start using this set of tools."
Fu Xuan took a deep breath and stared at Noldrei. "Then what are you still chatting with me here for? Shouldn't you be getting back to keep an eye on the people at the Alchemy Commission?"
Noldrei grabbed Fu Xuan's hand, giving her no chance to leave.
Let her go? Why?
"If you go over there, won't you disrupt the Alchemy Commission's actions? If the Commission doesn't split, if they don't cause a big enough commotion, how will you, as an outsider, intervene in their internal activities?"
"Calm down. Don't act rashly at a time like this."
Noldrei's cold words finally made Fu Xuan realize the stark reality: this person who had always been so candid with her was an outsider, completely unrelated to the Xianzhou.
"What exactly are you trying to do?!"
Fu Xuan looked at Noldrei cautiously, wanting to hear a sliver of the answer she desired from his lips.
"I haven't done anything. At this point, everything that's happening is what you all wanted to do. I just told you people of the Xianzhou how you should go about it."
Noldrei didn't think he had interfered in anything. It was Fu Xuan who wanted to be General, Dan Shu who wanted to welcome back the Sanctus Medicus and clear its name, and the Alchemy Commission itself that was dissatisfied with its declining status. Even the people of the Pure Land Sect only chose it because it offered a way to compromise with The Hunt and protect their own interests.
Not only had he done nothing, he had even maintained his stance of being an outsider, not getting involved.
Even when he mixed in with the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, it was they who had come to him first.
Noldrei neither ordered Dan Shu to do anything for him, nor did he ask the Alchemy Commission to act for his new world.
The only thing he'd had the Alchemy Commission do was find people to give him a shoulder and leg massage.
"I can let you go now. But let me be clear... if you do something, and there are bad consequences, you can't blame me."
Noldrei wasn't at all surprised by Fu Xuan's choice.
He let go of her hand as he spoke.
And things went exactly as he expected.
Her expression changed the moment she heard his words.
As soon as she was free, Fu Xuan immediately began to perform a divination, then rushed off in the direction of the Alchemy Commission without a moment's hesitation.