Pushing the timeline back slightly, to the moment the Express squad set off from the Divination Commission towards the Artisanship Commission.
Seat of Divine Foresight, Inner Cabinet.
After dismissing the holographic projection, Jing Yuan sat at the head seat, his brows slightly furrowed, the smile fading from his face.
"Another puzzle piece added... An Emanator of the Plagues Author, Lord Ravager Phantylia! I truly didn't expect it to be her."
Jing Yuan had long guessed that an existence at the level of an Emanator was hiding behind the scenes, manipulating the chessboard with a hidden hand.
"It makes sense. Only you could manage to deceive the heavens and cross the sea, entering the Xianzhou without anyone noticing. It would be absolutely impossible for anyone else to enter without leaving a single trace."
The Antimatter Legion and the vast majority of interstellar civilizations were naturally opposed to one another—provided the civilization's leaders didn't have something wrong with their brains.
Many interstellar civilizations had even reached mutual defense agreements to resist the Legion of Destruction. The Plagues Author and their lackeys could be said to be reviled by all.
Even the IPC would provide massive amounts of supplies, interest-free loans, and credit point assistance to civilizations suffering from the Legion's invasions. Sometimes, the IPC would even waive their debts after the war.
The Xianzhou, naturally, also participated in this.
After all, if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold; once the Antimatter Legion's forces spread throughout the entire Galaxy, the Xianzhou would inevitably suffer greatly in the future.
"Ngh..."
Jing Yuan clutched his head, his chest feeling inexplicably tight. It seemed some kind of pain was turning his face ashen, before he slowly returned to normal.
"Sigh, I really should go to the Alchemy Commission to recuperate for a while later."
If this continued, he might really become Mara-struck.
With just a single sigh, Jing Yuan's thoughts became active again, spinning into motion.
If there were truly no other way, Jing Yuan did not wish to engage in a massive battle with Phantylia inside the Xianzhou. The civilians would likely suffer heavy casualties, and it would cause economic losses that would cut to the bone.
Unless he launched a sneak attack to injure her, then used deterrence to force Phantylia to leave.
"Difficult to handle."
Phantylia was a considerably troublesome opponent. Not because she was incredibly powerful—in terms of combat strength, she was merely at the bottom among the seven Lord Ravagers. The truly troublesome part lay in the fact that Phantylia's true body was a Heliobus.
She could seize the bodies of others and lurk within a civilization to cause trouble. Unless the Marshal was present, or he used the power of an Emanator to inspect very carefully, it was fundamentally impossible to see through Phantylia's disguise.
Fortunately, there was Caelus... Although Jing Yuan didn't know what means Caelus used to confirm the other party's identity, that wasn't important right now.
The other troublesome aspect of a Heliobus was their ease of movement and strong ability to flee.
The Great Heliobus, Ignamar, was beaten into fragments by General Teng Xiao because Ignamar had a proud personality and fought General Teng Xiao head-on.
But regarding Lord Ravager Phantylia, one could tell her style of conduct from the way she destroyed civilizations.
If a Heliobus was bent on running away, even Jing Yuan wouldn't be able to stop them.
Therefore, no matter what, he had to hide in the Alchemy Commission first and wait for an opportunity to strike Phantylia. As long as he inflicted heavy damage on her, the room for subsequent operations would be much larger.
If a battle was unavoidable, it was best to choose one of the Xianzhou's few uninhabited large-scale Grotto-Heavens, or the Ancient Sea at the bottom of the Xianzhou.
"Ancient Sea, Ancient Sea..."
Jing Yuan tapped open a secret file. Inside were photos captured by cycranes: a black-haired young man wearing a loose coat with a white-indigo gradient. Below the photo was the trajectory the young man had traveled.
Judging from the trajectory, the other party was heading toward the Scalegorge Ancient Sea.
"You've returned."
A trace of emotion and nostalgia flashed through his eyes, but he quickly returned to his original state. Jing Yuan's gaze flickered. "Old friend, you'll have to put in some effort this time."
With this dialogue, the situation with Phantylia could tentatively be handled, but...
"Not enough manpower."
Jing Yuan sighed. What a headache!
Aside from Phantylia, he also had to keep a close watch on two groups of people.
The Stellaron Hunters.
After Blade broke out of prison and escaped, Yanqing had volunteered to go out and capture the atrocious Stellaron Hunter.
Jing Yuan, with the intention of having Yanqing keep an eye on the Stellaron Hunters, allowed him to go.
But given Yanqing's personality, if he really investigated something and chased them into a fight, then...
Yanqing was indeed a sword art prodigy rare in this world. Even compared to his master, he was not inferior at the same age.
But at this moment, Yanqing was, after all, only in his childhood years. Both his sword art itself and his Sword Heart required a long time of honing to forge a true edge. The current him could not possibly be Blade's opponent.
However, presumably, Blade wouldn't do anything to Yanqing. The problem was that Blade was chasing Dan Heng's trail.
If Blade and Dan Heng met, a conflict would inevitably occur between those two.
aside from the Stellaron Hunters and his two old friends, Jing Yuan also needed to pay attention to his Master and that traveling merchant. The latter was very likely an Abomination worshipping the Medicus.
All of them were big troubles!
Jing Yuan lacked the ability to divide himself.
Sorting by importance, going to the Alchemy Commission to ambush Phantylia was the top priority; he had to go.
The Stellaron Hunters and the two old friends could be put aside for now; Yanqing shouldn't be able to catch up in a short time.
But what about Master and the traveling merchant?
Jing Yuan wanted to send someone to keep watch... but there was truly no one available...
"General, the Dragon Lady is visiting."
While Jing Yuan sat on the main seat, frowning deeply, Qingzu's voice came from the desktop communication device.
"The Dragon Lady?"
Jing Yuan raised an eyebrow, revealing a look of surprise. "Why would she come to the Seat of Divine Foresight? And at this time?"
After the incident at the Alchemy Commission, Jing Yuan had sent people to investigate Bailu's status and only sighed in relief upon discovering that the little one had run away from home before the incident occurred.
Leaving the Alchemy Commission at this point in time was good; otherwise, it would have been very dangerous.
"The Dragon Lady also brought two friends, saying they have important business to discuss with you. Shall I bring them to see you?"
Qingzu knew that the General was currently very busy, contemplating extremely important matters.
Jing Yuan mused for two seconds.
After confirming Bailu was safe, he hadn't paid much more attention, but he hadn't expected the other party to come to the Seat of Divine Foresight to find him.
Important business... Could it be that they discovered an undercover agent of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus within the Alchemy Commission?
Dan Shu was the Head of the Medicine King's sect, so the Alchemy Commission must have long been severely infiltrated. Little Bailu discovering an anomaly and running to find him was the correct choice.
"Mm, I will wait for them in the cabinet."
Not long after, Jing Yuan saw his own Chief Strategist leading a tiny purple-haired loli, accompanied by a girl in a red skirt with orange hair, and a girl in a frost-white dress with brown hair reaching her ankles.
They were all unfamiliar faces, yet somewhat familiar, as if he might have seen them inadvertently in the past.
Jing Yuan's gaze fell upon Bailu, his smile kind and amiable.
"What wind is blowing today to blow the Dragon Lady to the Seat of Divine Foresight?"
"Ya! General, stop dawdling, we have important things to tell you!"
Her tail swinging back and forth, Bailu's voice was somewhat anxious.
"Beneath the Alchemy Commission, there is a Grotto-Heaven secretly built by the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus. Inside, there is an entire medicine warehouse of Ascension Elixir Powder." Bailu drew a big circle in front of her with both hands.
"That is a forbidden drug from the primeval era. An entire warehouse of Ascension Elixir Powder—if fully effective, it's enough to make a million Cloud Knights fall into the Mara-struck state."
"Pfft!"
Originally thinking they had discovered a member of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, Jing Yuan absolutely did not expect Bailu to drop an intelligence nuke. He directly lost his composure!
"W-What?!"
Leaving aside the construction of a secret Grotto-Heaven, which implied the small matter of Disciples members being within the Artisanship Commission.
Primeval forbidden drug, Ascension Elixir Powder?
Capable of making a million Cloud Knights Mara-struck!?
What kind of concept was that!?
If it were true, the entire Xianzhou would turn into a mess, plunging into unprecedented chaos!
"It's true, General. We've already been to those bad guys' base camp."
Bailu said with a serious small face.
His breathing pausing for an instant due to this sky-high bad news, Jing Yuan felt entirely numb.
He felt like he could fall into the Mara-struck state at any moment.
"But rest assured, General, we've already resolved the Ascension Elixir Powder!"
Bailu stuck out her chest and raised her head, her quirky and cute little expression written all over her face.
You better praise us properly. Later, when those old geezers in the clan ground me, you have to help me slap their faces hard and stand up for this Young Miss!
"You... this... cough cough cough!"
Jing Yuan almost couldn't catch his breath, choking until he coughed frantically.
Bailu's way of speaking with such dramatic pauses almost scared him to death!
But Jing Yuan had no mind to care about such things right now.
"Resolved? How was it resolved?"
Jing Yuan immediately pressed for answers. Having calmed down amidst the explosion of the intelligence nuke, he also realized something.
Sure enough, in the next second, Bailu provided the proof.
"The three of us resolved it, ya!"
Bailu patted her chest with a bang bang, looking like 'We three are super amazing~!'
Jing Yuan knew exactly how much capability Little Bailu had. Which meant... Jing Yuan raised his head solemnly, his gaze toward the two young girls changing somewhat.
"And these two are?"
Being watched by Jing Yuan with a solemn gaze, Guinaifen immediately scratched her head in embarrassment, scratching her head with a flushed face.
"My name is Guinaifen. Oh, this is the Xianzhou name Shangshang gave me. My birth name is Guinevere. My profession is a street performer and streamer. General, you can just call me Little Gui!"
Guinaifen was so excited she was a bit incoherent. The person in front of her was the Xianzhou General; not just anyone could see him whenever they wanted.
What virtue or ability did a tiny street performer like her have?
Little Gui never thought she could enter the Seat of Divine Foresight, this critical Xianzhou location. Unfortunately, she couldn't livestream, otherwise the traffic would definitely explode!
"Street performer and streamer?"
A trace of confusion flashed across Jing Yuan's expression, becoming gradually subtle.
He had thought about the identities of the two girls, but he never thought in that direction. No wonder he had a slight sense of familiarity.
"Greetings, General. I am a Cloud Knight rookie, Li Sushang. General, you can just call me Sushang."
Moonscar introduced herself with a chuckle, preparing to gift a wave of big credit to Little Pillow.
"Sushang..."
Jing Yuan's eyes widened slightly. It really was that carefree Cloud Knight rookie!
Sushang was a Cloud Knight transferred from the Yaoqing Xianzhou. Her parents had quite a reputation on the Yaoqing, considered a family of the Sword Art. Jing Yuan knew a little about Sushang's family.
Mainly because Yanqing had mentioned this Cloud Knight rookie to him before.
Yanqing, who had a hobby of collecting precious swords, had taken a fancy to the Xuanyuan Sword at a glance. He went to ask Sushang where she got it, wanting to seek one for himself, but it turned out to be a family heirloom. Yanqing had regretted it for a long time, muttering about it daily.
Only then did Jing Yuan remember this Cloud Knight rookie.
When he visited the army in his free time, he seemed to have seen Sushang once. In his impression, the difference in temperament from the frost-white robed girl before him was very large, so Jing Yuan hadn't dared to recognize her.
The Dragon Lady, a street performer, and a Cloud Knight. A strange combination...
"What did you all discover? recounting the events in detail."
Jing Yuan's expression turned serious.
Bailu and Guinaifen both looked toward the brown-haired girl. Moonscar smiled faintly.
Seeing that Sushang had no intention of explaining, the two of them immediately scrambled to tell the story.
"General, it happened like this..."
"I have video evidence here..."
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