Hui Feng stayed silent for a long time.
Only then did she realize that Eric had never truly managed to walk out of that past.
Zandar had fallen into an endless time loop because of the "Time Worm," losing contact with the outside world.
Those who knew the truth, considering Eric's age and the relationship between the two, chose to hide the matter from him.
In the end, this pair of teacher and student was forced to stand on opposite sides.
Zandar, who had completely lost his will to live and whose mind had long since collapsed, still tried to comfort his student before his death, "If it's you, I'm willing to die by your hands."
Eric did as he said.
Afterward, he killed the "Time Worm," gave up the higher-success probability ascension plan, chose the "Imaginary Tree," and restarted the world.
In the end, he gave Hui Feng the order to protect Zandar and said, "I owe him a life."
Hui Feng's feelings were extremely complicated.
If either of them had made even the slightest mistake, if their cooperation had been exposed to the Aeons…
"High-dimensional invaders" cannot be killed. Because of this, Eric possesses an ageless body and an immortal soul.
But what about Zandar? He would definitely die.
These two people had both entrusted their lives to each other.
Hui Feng had never expected that Eric, who guarded himself equally against everyone, would actually be willing to hand the power over his own life and death to Zandar.
'Eric, you really are someone who keeps his promises and never goes back on his word!'
'You said you owed Zandar a life, and you really planned to repay it!'
'Or was it because you had experienced the helplessness of watching someone close to you seek death while being unable to stop them, so you left a backup plan, unwilling to let your teacher experience the same pain you once felt?'
Hui Feng looked at Zandar.
The scholar who had been crying and laughing earlier had now put away all expression, staring intently into the void.
Hui Feng guessed that since he couldn't see the system, he could only rely on Eric's earlier description and imagine what the system panel looked like in his mind.
He had said it was like a game, where players could freely choose their attributes.
Zandar must be using the system's attribute panel right now to change Eric's life and death, right?
Just as she was thinking this, Zandar suddenly said, "I remember he once said he wanted to grow up in a peaceful place without war, right?"
Hui Feng's eyes widened.
She looked at Zandar, then turned to look at the grown man inside the medical pod.
'This height… he's still going to grow?'
Zandar took the initiative to explain, "I found that the panel also shows age."
Hui Feng hesitated. "Are you planning to change his age and raise him again?"
Zandar smiled helplessly. "What else could I do? You know how suspicious he always is."
"After going through life and death, he'll forget his previous memories. His mentality will be closer to fifteen or sixteen, which was the state he was in when he first descended into the low-dimensional world…"
"When Eric learns my identity…"
Hui Feng understood the unspoken meaning.
Even a fifteen or sixteen-year-old Eric wouldn't be easy to fool.
Zandar didn't want his student to become suspicious because of his identity, so he was considering changing his age.
At the same time, they also had to consider another issue.
They couldn't just keep stubbornly trying to ascend dimensions forever, right? They had to think about backup plans.
If they kept failing, what then?
If Eric were made even younger, would that allow him to better integrate into the low-dimensional world?
The more she thought about it, the more Hui Feng couldn't help but suspect Zandar's real motive.
"You're not planning to raise him from childhood again, are you?"
Zandar kept a straight face and ignored the question.
To be honest, he did have selfish motives.
But more than that, he wanted his student to stay away from the Xianzhou.
Don't get close to the Xianzhou. It only brings misfortune.
They raised a bunch of troublemakers and even forced Eric to bleed for them.
If the student had stayed with Nanook, he could have ruled the star sea within a hundred years. But what about the Xianzhou?
After a hundred years, he was still just a minor general. Just when he finally found help, he was suddenly forced into slumber and ascended into godhood, leaving Eric to keep going alone without rest, enduring for thousands of years until he completely lost his will to live.
'Truly inferior to Nanook.', Zandar thought to himself.
He understood his student.
He knew Eric would rather suffer than be deceived.
He knew that compared to staying with Zandar, Eric would actually prefer to stay on the Xianzhou, a place similar to his hometown.
But this time, Zandar was going to be a controlling, overbearing, and annoying parent.
He had equipment by his side that could block the Aeons' perception, allowing Eric to stay far away from that awful past and forget those ungrateful ingrates.
Still want to keep bleeding for those insatiable parasites? Impossible.
Even if the Aeons noticed something unusual, he would still keep Eric by his side.
Zandar said with emotion, "This time I won't make things hard for him. He can take it easy. Just reading out a few doctorates will be enough."
Hui Feng: "…"
'Zandar, you can't be this obsessed with his diplomas just because you never saw Eric graduate with a doctorate, right?!'
'The "few doctorates" you're talking about are actually nine, right?'
'Eric, your life is really miserable!'
Hui Feng watched helplessly as Zandar selected nine doctoral degrees for Eric. After that, he even started talking about the "Genius Society."
He spoke endlessly, "What do you think about making him the second seat of the Genius Society?"
Hui Feng: "…Would the other members mind?"
Zandar didn't care. "It just means everyone else moves back one seat. They won't mind."
Hui Feng opened her mouth, trying to persuade him. "He likes the Xianzhou more. It's very similar to his hometown."
"And the Xianzhou is peaceful. There's no war there."
"Besides, what if you get exposed to the Aeons? That would be too dangerous..."
In the mind of the nanomachine, the top priority was saving other low-dimensional worlds, and second was protecting Zandar.
On top of that, Eric hated being deceived more than anything.
That was something that had never changed, even after countless cycles of reincarnation.
Tracing it back to the root, wasn't this also partly Zandar's and the Genius Society members' fault?
If they hadn't hidden the news of Zandar's disappearance from Eric back then… if Eric hadn't killed Zandar…
These scars wouldn't have been carved into his soul.
Hui Feng blinked, but in the end she didn't tell Zandar about this past.
She only said, "Zandar, think it over carefully. I still believe sending him to the Xianzhou is the most suitable choice."
"Only that way will both of you be safest."
"The Aeons won't notice anything unusual. He'll grow up under the protection of the Aeon of the Hunt."
Zandar still wore that unconcerned expression.
Hui Feng had no choice but to continue. "Fuli will give him back his memories. He will remember you."
"Only then will he not resent you."
Zandar fell silent for a moment and sighed. "I'll think about it."
That consideration lasted decades.
Zandar finally said unwillingly, "Back then he only ate with me for three years, and he could still cry at me when he got drunk. If I don't send him to the Xianzhou, that wouldn't make sense, would it?"
Hui Feng couldn't help complaining in her heart.
'Bread so hard you could use it to smash cucumbers, plus raw meat without any seasoning. Anyone would cry after eating that for three years!'
In the end, Hui Feng didn't say what she was thinking.
Zandar continued, "If the Aeon of the Hunt doesn't appear, then bring him back again."
Hui Feng nodded.
She had already tried very hard to let Eric live the life of an ordinary person.
If the Aeon didn't appear, then Eric would have no choice but to stay with Zandar and study for doctorates.
Very soon, Hui Feng brought Eric to the Luofu. Avoiding the crowds, she arrived at an empty room in the Alchemy Commission.
She turned off the device that blocked the Aeons. The next moment, the Aeon of the Hunt appeared.
Hui Feng looked out the window. That enormous phantom, large enough to blot out the sky, appeared above the Luofu.
The people of the Xianzhou could not hide their excitement. They shouted "Reignbow Arbiter," while a small number of people knelt on the ground and kowtowed toward the faith they followed.
Hui Feng picked up her communication device and sent a message to Zandar.
[The Aeon has appeared]
[Zandar: ...]
Hui Feng thought for a moment, then put away the device.
Next, where should she go to save the world? How about going to find the true owner of "Feather Dust"?
Someone who could become Eric's close friend must have a very good temper.
Half an hour later, Xianzhou Xuling.
The "Reignbow Arbiter" suddenly descended upon the Luofu.
At the same time, a child appeared in the Alchemy Commission.
Guanliang and Hua both fell into silence.
The two exchanged glances, and Hua almost laughed out loud.
This child was just like her.
Just like her, appearing on the Xianzhou for no apparent reason.
Hua couldn't tell what she was really feeling.
Was it surprise? Or anger?
Was that person really brought back from death? Or had someone copied him? Had they even managed to fool the Reignbow Arbiter?
Guanliang gently advised, "People have already been sent to investigate. Just wait a bit. We'll have results soon."
Hua was silent for a while, then suddenly asked, "What if it really is him?"
Guanliang asked in return, "Then what do you plan to do? I think we could bring him to Xuling."
He paused, then joked, "After all, who could refuse being called Dad by that guy?"
Hua burst out laughing.
"If it isn't him, then bring him back anyway. We can at least consider him his bloodline."
Hua put away her smile and said coldly, "Then follow the trail and find the one behind the scenes."
Another half hour passed, and a new report arrived in the office software.
It was the genetic test result between the former marshal and that child.
The result showed they were the same person.
Hua destroyed this report, one that would have shaken the powerful figures of the universe.
She took a deep breath and steadied her tone. "Silence whoever needs to be silenced."
Guanliang nodded and asked, "Should we keep investigating?"
Hua shook her head. "No need."
Back then, that person hadn't asked about her origins. This time, she also wouldn't pursue the truth.
She looked at the maple tree in the courtyard and said out of nowhere, "Find me a few pots of pothos."
Guanliang hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself.
'Hua, that guy is a person. You won't be able to raise him to death!'
In the end, Guanliang said nothing. He followed the order and bought several pots of pothos.
Over the next dozen days, Hua made time to take care of those pots and discussed the famous teachers of the star sea with Guanliang.
"What do you think about inviting Mr. Zandar over?"
Guanliang's expression froze for a moment.
Could he say that the Xianzhou had almost sent troops to kill Zandar?
If he said that, wouldn't he have to explain the reason?
And explaining the reason would involve the former marshal's special physique.
Guanliang kept a straight face. "Zandar? A few hundred years ago he made a joke of himself, teaching a student who could only write academic garbage..."
Hua found it very strange, so she deliberately searched the related news and scrolled to the acknowledgments section at the end.
[After all, I decide your position in academia. I decide whether your reputation is ruined or whether your name spreads across the star sea.]
Hua: "…This must be a prank by the Masked Fools, right?"
Guanliang nodded along.
Very soon, Hua gave up the idea of finding a teacher for that person.
Her green plants became droopy.
Hua raised her hand and plucked off the pothos leaves that were gradually turning yellow, then sighed.
"…Then let's pick a couple and have them take care of him."
Guanliang asked again, "Should we tell the others?"
Hua hesitated for a moment, then replied, "Wait until he's a bit older."
If those people found out… they'd probably just raise an uncontrollable demon king.
A few more years passed, and Hua and Guanliang discovered that the person didn't seem to get along with the selected couple.
And the couple, who received a nine-digit amount of patrol tokens every month, could never treat him normally either.
That person was extremely perceptive. He quickly noticed something was off and became wary of them.
Hua and Guanliang discovered that even without his memories, he still kept to himself.
As if his past habits had been carved into his soul.
They couldn't help sighing and instead started reading reports from the academy.
Only then did they discover that when the Reignbow Arbiter descended, all the children born on that same day had been given high expectations.
Even when assigning homework, teachers would deliberately give them special attention.
Hua: "..."
Guanliang: "..."
They tried very hard to hold back their laughter.
'So you have days like this too!'
After thinking it over repeatedly, the two told the former generals about this matter.
They were so happy they cried, talking all at once with the crown princess.
Everyone decided to follow the example of the five gifts they had given before and customize identical ones to give to the marshal in the future.
Then they discussed how to transfer assets to the marshal's nominal parents.
Before they could even finish organizing the marshal's assets, news came from the academy that he had been bullied.
Everyone was furious. Hua had to persuade them again and again before they finally calmed down.
After that, the person began selling talisman papers.
Hua once again stepped in to stop everyone, reminding them to restrain themselves and absolutely not spend too many patrol tokens.
Otherwise it would be far too suspicious.
A few more years passed, and Guanliang suddenly asked, "Do you think any Aeon could refuse when he calls them Dad?"
"Not even a god could refuse. Even I couldn't."
Hua: "..."
'Guanliang, why don't you just say the name of the Aeon of Elation directly?'
Got it. That couple should probably leave him an inheritance now.
Very soon, they had the couple leave the Luofu, faked their death records, and left that person with an enormous inheritance.
Daiyang was busy investing in hot pot restaurants on the Xianzhou, so she was a bit slower. When she checked the inheritance, she immediately got angry.
"How did he only inherit a few tens of billions of patrol tokens in assets?!"
Chanzhen let out a long sigh.
"…Did you forget? You raised the inheritance tax rate before to restrict the Vidyadhara High Elder."
Daiyang: "..."
'How was I supposed to know it would end up affecting the Marshal?!'