Fu Xuan has always been a serious person, and she handles matters with strict care.
Although Nero didn't explain exactly what method he would use, given her high position, she still understood a bit about it.
But after all, every field has its own specialty. From her current perspective, Nero's so-called miraculous method of trying to repair the Matrix of Prescience simply felt like a fool's dream.
After all, this matter was far too unbelievable. Saying this now was just to remind Nero that the main task was what mattered.
However, Nero didn't react much to this. He just waved his hand and said, "What's the big deal? It won't waste any time anyway. If it works, it might even ease the current crisis a bit."
After saying that, without waiting for anyone's response, Nero directly raised his hand and slapped it onto the ritual platform in front of him.
Almost the very next second after his palm landed, faint sounds came from within the entire Matrix of Prescience, and at the same time, the whole grand formation began to tremble slightly.
Sensing this, everyone quickly took a few steps forward, moving toward the area around the formation core, looking around to observe and search for the source of the anomaly.
They saw that within the Temporal Terminal, runes lit up. Then light gathered and flowed, darting in all directions, each moving into its correct position, piecing together into patterned inscriptions. Immediately after, the formation base lit up, marking a successful activation.
Seeing this scene, March shouted from the side, "It changed! Does this mean it's fixed?! As expected of Nero, I knew that magical little pat of his would definitely work!"
Then Qingque's voice could also be heard sighing in amazement, "This is way too amazing! This kid never told me he had this kind of trick.
"Oh, Nero is so nice. Knowing that my ambition is to slack off and that I don't want to trouble myself with extra work, he specially stepped in to help me!"
But Fu Xuan, who was also witnessing this change, had a somewhat stunned expression. Her eyes unconsciously widened a bit, her hand resting on her chest as she muttered in shock, "How is this possible…?"
The Matrix of Prescience was extremely vast and had a complex structure. The talismans and inscriptions it used were numerous and exquisitely crafted.
As the Master Diviner of the Divination Commission, Fu Xuan naturally had a deep understanding of it.
Yet it was precisely because of this understanding that she had believed Nero's method of just patting it once to fix it was completely unrealistic.
But facts speak louder than words.
Now it seemed that Nero's method had actually worked, and it worked right before her eyes.
But as for the reason, aside from seeing Nero slap the ritual platform, she didn't see him use any other method, making it impossible to understand the principle behind it.
Just one slap, and the Matrix of Prescience was fixed?
That made no sense!
That wasn't scientific!
Even if you brought the Omniscient Heavenly Lord here, he would probably have to start from scratch, sort everything out, locate the issues within the formation, and then resolve them one by one before getting it running again.
Compared to mortals, it would only be a matter of speed.
But compared to Nero's method, that approach now seemed far too crude.
Just a slap to fix the Matrix of Prescience, this was far too mystical.
Under normal circumstances, if the formation base wasn't activated, the diviners of the Divination Commission would have to walk through it once.
If parts were missing, the Artisanship Commission would have to send people to work on it for several days.
Yet this time-consuming and labor-intensive task was solved by Nero with just a wave of his hand.
She had heard that on the Xianzhou, there existed an ancient technique to soothe machine spirits, but how could Fu Xuan not know about that tapping method?
Fixing minor issues like unstable signals or poor contact in ordinary objects was fine, but for anything larger or more distant, wouldn't it still require professional workers to study it?
Nero's action was simply too defying of heaven.
Fu Xuan's mind trembled, deeply shaken.
But it didn't end there. The reactions triggered by Nero's action weren't limited to just the Temporal Terminal base.
Looking again at the Spatial Terminal base and the Karma Terminal base, they too shone with shifting lights, connecting like constellations, their talismans transforming endlessly, mysterious beyond measure, and they activated on their own.
Seeing this scene, even Jing Yuan raised an eyebrow.
This method was truly astonishing.
"They… they're really all fixed! Lord Tail, how did Nero even do this?"
Huohuo looked at the Matrix of Prescience, which had already resumed operation on its own, her eyes filled with curiosity and excitement.
Thinking that Tail had lived for so many years and must be knowledgeable, she asked.
Unexpectedly, Tail just snorted twice and didn't respond.
"Lord Tail?" Huohuo asked again, confused.
Still no response.
"Lord Tail, what's wrong?"
"Stop asking, stop asking! Are you annoying or not, annoying or not, annoying or not?!"
"S-sorry…"
"What are you apologizing for? You timid little thing, soft all day long. Can't you learn from that kid?"
"Though that kid's personality is also strange, he doesn't take anyone seriously. You two should balance each other out."
"Also, I don't know how he did it either. My heavens, I've lived so many years and seen so much, but this is the first time I've seen something like this!"
"No wonder that kid can even touch Heliobus, even I feel… cough cough… if he can fix something like this with a couple of slaps, that's impressive, really impressive!"
Even Tail couldn't help but marvel at Nero now.
At the formation core, noticing that the Matrix of Prescience had been fully repaired, Fu Xuan couldn't remain calm at all.
Even so, on the surface, she maintained, or rather forced herself to maintain, a composed and serious expression.
But while her face held steady, her actions betrayed her.
The Master Diviner hurried forward in quick steps, arriving in front of Nero. She slightly raised her head to look at him, her hands at the sides of her skirt trembling faintly.
Finally, she asked, "Y-you… how exactly did you do it?"
"How did I do what?" Nero didn't quite understand what she meant. To him, this was something very ordinary.
Even though he knew others found it strange or astonishing, he himself didn't know how he did it, so he couldn't explain.
So Nero simply raised his hand in front of Fu Xuan and said, "I just did it like this. Just pat it and it's fine. It's always been like this."
Fu Xuan, "..."
The three from the Astral Express also walked over. Yang spoke, "Nero already showed this kind of method back on the train. But we still haven't figured out how he actually does it."
Yanqing, standing behind, suddenly spoke for no clear reason, "Maybe it's because Nero has an extraordinary innate talent, so he naturally knows this kind of miraculous skill?"
Bailu glanced up at him, "Extraordinary innate talent? Have you been reading too many storybooks?"
Yanqing's eyes wandered. He didn't know why he had blurted out that random guess in his mind.
At this point, he could only continue, "Uh… it's indeed written in 'Universal Sword Immortal'. But otherwise, there's no other explanation. And Nero uses ancient sword-control methods, so his talent must be extremely high."
March looked completely confused after hearing this.
The girl frowned, scratched her head, her face full of puzzlement, and asked, "What's ancient sword control? Is it different from how you control swords?"
After spending some time on the Xianzhou, the three from the Astral Express had gotten to know Yanqing a bit.
This kid was a true genius. It was said he could control flying swords and had already accomplished things many Cloud Knights couldn't.
Hearing this, Yanqing scratched his face awkwardly and explained, "The flying swords I use now come from the Artisanship Commission."
"They have aerial mechanisms installed inside, which connect to one's consciousness. With practice, you can control them to attack."
"But if you want to control more flying swords, that depends on talent. And if you want to fly with them quickly and for a long time, it requires even more hard training."
"But Nero's sword control is different. With that heavy sword of his, he doesn't rely on external tools at all. He uses only himself to wield it."
"Whether attacking, defending, or soaring through the clouds, it's as natural as moving his own arm, completely effortless."
March blinked, then looked at Nero and said, "Now I get why no matter how much you tried to teach me and Stelle in Belobog, we couldn't learn it. Turns out it's not that we lack talent, it's just that yours is way too hard!"
March only said half of it. She left out the part about Nero having basically no teaching ability.
Hearing her words, Nero tilted his head.
'Hard?'
Judging from March and Yanqing, it did seem quite hard…
But he himself didn't really feel it that way.
Aside from when he first went to Herta Space Station and tried the flying sword given by the system assistant, which had some flaws, he hadn't felt any difficulty afterward.
That time was just because it was his first attempt and he wasn't familiar with controlling it.
If you asked Nero whether it was hard, he really didn't think so. Everything just seemed to fall into place naturally.
As for whether it had anything to do with the system assistant, Nero didn't know.
Although he could usually grasp the skills given by the system instantly, it had never given him sword-control abilities.
But this wasn't particularly important.
March then turned to trouble Yanqing again. Looking at the genius youth from the Xianzhou, she asked, "So your sword control actually uses high-tech stuff inside? I thought it was all like Nero's!"
Yanqing spread his hands, "Come on, we Xianzhou people are still human. It's not like we cultivate immortality like in storybooks. Keeping up with the times is normal, isn't it?"
"Then why can Nero do it?"
"That's why I said his talent is extraordinary!"
March stood there, blinking twice. It was as if two broken lines in her mind suddenly connected, and she said, "Hey! You actually made that explanation work!"
Some things, no matter how you think about them or explain them, just can't be figured out.
Discussing Nero's "divine move" was like Dan Shu trying to figure out why she got captured, it was impossible to make sense of it.
Fu Xuan, being experienced, wouldn't waste time on this matter.
She interrupted the conversation, saying, "Since the Matrix of Prescience has resumed operation, I will now cast a divination to trace the source."
"Everyone, please go assist in clearing out the Stellaron corruption within the department. Staying away from the formation core will also reduce the impact of the calculations."
Following Fu Xuan's order, Cloud Knights escorted the clone captured earlier by Nero and the others to the center of the formation.
Meanwhile, the rest quickly moved out to eliminate the wandering Stellaron monsters nearby.
As everyone dealt with the enemies, Fu Xuan's observation began at the same time. The Matrix of Prescience started operating, the star plates rotated, sun and moon shifted, the grand formation moved, tracing causes and effects.
The Spatial, Temporal, and Karma Terminal bases connected with the core, allowing investigation of time, space, and causality.
Just as Fu Xuan had said, using the Matrix of Prescience brought considerable impact.
There was no physical storm, but mentally it felt like a surging flood and crashing waves. Waves of pressure spread through the mind. Even standing far away, people still felt dizzy and their heads swelling.
Within the Omniscia (Third eye) on Fu Xuan's forehead, starlight rippled. It was as if a sea of stars surged inside, then some light refracted outward.
Her serious expression suddenly froze, her eyes widened slightly, her teeth clenched tightly, as if she had seen something.
By this time, everyone had already cleared the nearby monsters and returned to the formation core.
As Fu Xuan's expression changed, her observation and deduction had already ended. The divine light of the Omniscia withdrew, and the glow of the treasure formation faded.
Fu Xuan slowly descended to the ground and took a deep breath.
"Well? Did you find their current base?" Nero asked.
"Those people… they actually…" Fu Xuan clenched her teeth.
"This matter is extremely serious. I need to report to the General immediately. As for your next step, wait for the General's instructions."
After saying that, Fu Xuan turned and left.
Jing Yuan's projection was already gone, and no one knew when he had left.
Nero watched Fu Xuan's small figure walk farther and farther away, but he could still hear her shocked muttering, "Scalegorge Waterscape… how did they even get there?!"
Seeing Fu Xuan leave, everyone didn't say much and gathered again around Nero.
"What now? From what the Master Diviner said, we don't have anything to do right now." March spread her hands and asked.
"Of course we eat well, drink well, play some cards, and get some sleep!" Qingque said, shaking her head like an experienced veteran, sharing her slacking philosophy.
"I say, you guys just have it too easy usually and don't understand how valuable slacking off is."
"Worrying about this and that, always giving yourselves extra work. When life is good, enjoy it to the fullest!"
"Then I suggest we go hang out! Let's go to Aurum Alley and eat something good first!", Bailu said.
Huohuo also nodded, "S-since everyone's already together, we might as well have a meal. And… it's really rare for us to have this kind of free time in the Ten-Lords Commission…"
Hearing Huohuo's soft voice and seeing the dark circles under her eyes, everyone found that quite convincing.
March blinked, thinking it sounded great.
She was just about to say something when she suddenly noticed something different in the distance. She pointed toward the horizon and changed her words.
"Look, isn't that the half-dead tree Qingque showed us before? Why is it suddenly growing?"
Hearing this, everyone immediately thought of Ambrosial Arbor and turned to look. Sure enough, they saw that Ambrosial Arbor had somehow regained life.
They saw that the towering divine tree grew wildly, life like jade resting on old branches. From the withered, broken section, new shoots stretched out, and fresh buds burned with green mist.
It reached deep into the sky, parting clouds and plucking stars. Its source unknown, golden talismans bound its mysterious roots.
Stelle frowned at the sight. "Did someone dump super fertilizer on it?"
Hearing her, Yang, standing behind, also frowned. "That abnormal energy… it's a Stellaron."
"You mean… the Stellaron caused Ambrosial Arbor to grow?" March asked.
Yang nodded. "Yes. The Stellaron the Cloud Knights are searching for is most likely the cause of this phenomenon."
Nero looked at the revived Ambrosial Arbor and scratched his head. "Ambrosial Arbor reviving isn't exactly good news."
"Sure, it looks nice, the leaves even look like colorful smoke, but this doesn't align with the Xianzhou's future plans."
After saying that, Nero clenched his hand, and Black Cutter suddenly appeared in his grasp.
He hoisted the heavy sword onto his shoulder and said, "If you ask me, we might as well go chop it down! Keeping it around is just trouble anyway."
Nero thought, after all, Lan had sent him so much power. Since the situation was right here, he might as well return the favor.
Come to think of it, sending this thing to a factory might not be bad either. That way, the workers would have more energy to work… maybe try transplanting it?
After all, it was a root of Abundance. Even in a Fragmentum, or on Belobog's frozen land, it would probably grow just fine.
But that might be a bit unfair to the people of Belobog. Then again, factories would expand sooner or later. Moving it to an uninhabited planet someday could also work…
While Nero was thinking about alternative ways to deal with Ambrosial Arbor, Bailu suddenly shouted from the side, "Chop it down? Are you serious? How could that even be possible?! Maybe let Jing Yuan handle it!"
But Nero just shrugged. "Didn't the Reignbow Arbiter cut down Ambrosial Arbor? Many Aeons used to be human. If that's the case, if he could do it, why can't we?"
Nero spoke with full confidence, but if others heard this, they would probably think he was insane.
Fortunately, everyone present knew him.
Many people who knew Nero said that at his core, he was extremely arrogant, but in everyday interactions, it was hard to notice.
Yet this sentence fully revealed it. Wasn't he putting himself on the same level as an Aeon?
But oddly enough, if he insisted on saying it like that, it didn't seem completely impossible.
Of course, others didn't know the details.
As for Nero himself, he felt that cutting down Ambrosial Arbor shouldn't be too difficult. After all, chopping Ambrosial Arbor wasn't the same as chopping the Abundance itself.
Besides, his strength had increased significantly recently.
But as always, what Nero considered normal didn't necessarily seem that way to others.
At this moment, after hearing his words, everyone froze for a second, staring blankly at the upright young man. For some reason, his small figure suddenly seemed incredibly tall.
These words were very different from the impression Nero had left on them before. Nero… was he really this arrogant?
Only Yanqing looked relatively normal.
He was already used to it. After sparring with Nero so often, he still remembered that match after visiting the Artisanship Commission, where Nero fought him without even using a weapon.
At first, he thought Nero was being arrogant, but the result was that his sword was taken away, and he was repeatedly struck down.
'Could it be…'
Yanqing suddenly shivered.
Had the gap between him and Nero already become that large?
Among the younger generation, could he only compete for second place at best?