A corner pavilion within the Luofu Xianzhou's Delves.
A breeze brushed past the pavilion eaves, and the hanging bell chimed with a faint, crisp tinkle.
Tea fragrance curled upward. Black and white stones lay scattered across the board, and a silent game between master and disciple was underway.
Yanqing frowned slightly, holding a white stone between two fingers. He pondered for a long time before finally placing it.
He was still only a youth, yet already recognized within the Luofu's Cloud Knights as their strongest swordsman—sharp-eyed, brimming with edge, forever hungry for the pinnacle of swordsmanship.
Jing Yuan—Luofu's "eyes-closed general," an Emanator of the Hunt—looked nothing like him in temperament. Leisurely to the bone.
He lifted a white jade teacup and took a light sip, gaze drifting across the board, the corners of his mouth carrying a gentle smile that never quite revealed what he was thinking.
The steadiness carved by time, and the open-minded ease born of countless storms endured—those qualities fused into a uniquely unhurried composure on him.
Jing Yuan held black. Just as he was about to place his stone, the piece paused midair.
Not hesitation—
The entire world congealed.
The swaying wind-bell, the rising steam above the teacup, even the threadlike incense smoke in the pavilion… all froze in place.
But only for an instant.
Jing Yuan and Yanqing blinked almost simultaneously. The haze in their pupils vanished at once, clarity and sharpness returning.
"Tch." Jing Yuan clicked his tongue softly. No panic showed on his face at all.
The stone in his fingers fell with a pat, landing steadily on the board and breaking the surrounding dead stillness.
For Jing Yuan—whose will was iron as an Emanator of the Hunt—and Yanqing—young, but with a crystalline sword-heart—the illusion of [Mirror] that reflected inner desire was something they could shatter in a heartbeat.
"General?" Yanqing instinctively tightened his grip on the hilt at his waist, eyes sweeping the surroundings with vigilance.
Jing Yuan set down his teacup. His smile didn't change, but a subtle ripple passed through the depths of his gaze.
He looked up.
Beyond the pavilion was no longer the simulated sky of the Delves, but an endless black square mirror.
"General!" Yanqing's voice shot up, full of a youth's raw excitement now that he realized what was happening.
"Do you think it can actually succeed and ascend as a Heavenly Lord?"
Yanqing was too young. Something as vast as an Aeon's ascension existed, for him, only in legends and dusty records. Seeing it with his own eyes made his blood surge.
Jing Yuan tapped the warm cup wall lightly with a knuckle, producing a small, crisp sound.
He watched the colossal mirror, voice calm.
"Strictly speaking… it has a chance."
Yanqing's eyes lit up.
"But…" Jing Yuan's tone shifted, his smile carrying a faint, nearly invisible regret.
"It chose the crudest, most direct method. With that… the road ahead will be difficult."
"Why?" Yanqing didn't understand.
"The Paths it selected have already been occupied by other existences."
Jing Yuan glanced at Yanqing, expression placid.
"Unless it can tear off a piece of concept—alive—from the Paths governed by the Chorus Heavenly Lord, the Locust Calamity Progenitor, the Luminous Heavenly Lord, and the Heaven-Mending Arbiter… otherwise…"
He stopped there and only shook his head lightly.
"So… it'll fail?" Yanqing's excitement ebbed, replaced by disappointment.
Not because he felt any deep affection for the newborn Aeon-embryo—only because it was natural to regret the collapse of something grand.
"Mhm. Nine times out of ten," Jing Yuan said, as if discussing tomorrow's weather.
His eyes no longer lingered on the doomed [Mirror]. Instead, he began to study the surroundings with interest.
He had already sensed the strangeness: this wasn't the illusion-space from before—it was reality.
And yet the air was stagnant; the scent that should ride the wind was gone. Fine sand in an hourglass hovered midair, refusing to fall.
The Delves' simulated clouds and shifting daylight were completely locked in place.
An unusual power—freezing time and space—blanketed the entire cosmos.
"Interesting," Jing Yuan murmured, fingertips brushing the edge of the jade stone box.
He rose, not relying on any special power—simply stepping forward like a man taking a casual stroll, smooth and unhurried.
He lifted his teacup and drank again, the warm tea sliding down his throat.
He walked to the other side of the board, picked up one of Yanqing's white stones, and placed it at a new point. The click of stone against board was crisp; even the tactile feel was no different than usual.
He could pick up the pastries on the table; his fingers felt their soft texture.
He could move. Taste. Touch. Hear.
Everything tied to his own actions flowed without resistance, as though these frozen laws had politely made an exception for him.
The only things stilled were those outside him:
Flowing clouds. Falling leaves. Dripping sand. Flickering light and shadow…
They looked like a meticulously painted background in a scroll.
In Punklorde's slang, it was like switching the lighting simulation from ray tracing back to rasterization.
A light tap of his fingertip—an instant flash of the Divine Lord's edge—yet it couldn't leave even the faintest mark on the dining plate.
"What a peculiar method of time-stasis…" Jing Yuan stroked his chin, sinking into thought. He'd never heard of such a power.
As he pondered, a Cloud Knight soldier in armor approached the pavilion with steady steps, clasped his fists, and bowed. His voice rang clear and firm:
"Reporting to the General!"
Jing Yuan withdrew his searching gaze and turned to the soldier, his gentle expression unchanged. "What is it?"
"Regarding that True Lord's origin, the Divination Commission is still pushing the calculations at full strength. We have no definitive results yet," the soldier reported loudly.
He paused. "Another important discovery: after returning to reality from the initial illusion, it is still possible to actively attempt to connect to that True Lord again. Once connected, one's consciousness enters a strange space constructed by that True Lord's power."
He continued with details. "In the center of that space stands another 'self.' But its face isn't flesh—it's a pitch-black mirror surface. Its strength, combat technique, even battle experience… according to every brother who has tried, it matches the original perfectly. Not a hair's difference!"
At this, Yanqing's eyes flared with light. His fingers unconsciously rubbed the sword hilt—clearly itching to try.
The soldier went on. "If the challenge is failed, the consciousness is safely ejected and returns to reality. No harm to body or mind. But if the challenge is cleared…"
His tone rose, unable to hide excitement and a trace of envy.
"Those who succeed receive precious materials closely tied to their own Path! Many brothers have already obtained them—it's… tiny fragments of the divine arrow shot by the Reignbow Arbiter!"
"Fragments of the Reignbow's arrow?" Jing Yuan's relaxed look finally tightened. He leaned forward slightly.
"Confirmed?"
"Confirmed, General!" The soldier nodded hard, voice eager.
"Although the Divination Commission assessed them as mirror-copied products—not true fragments—the Hunt Path power within them… in quality and quantity, compared to genuine fragments of the Arbiter's arrow, is identical!"
After speaking, the soldier clenched his fist unconsciously—clearly one of those who had failed the mirror trial and missed out on that readily available power.
Jing Yuan fell silent for several breaths.
The smile faded from his face, replaced by a weighty, contemplative seriousness.
An unknown existence attempting ascension was already an event that shook the cosmos.
But now—after forcing all beings through an illusion reflecting their deepest desires—it was also "generously" scattering gifts capable of directly raising individual strength…
It inevitably reminded him of the Plagues Author who spread Abundance spawn.
To casually sprinkle power around…
What was the intent?
If this True Lord—even after failing to ascend—still retained part of its power, and could continue to stably provide these mirror challenges and rewards…
Then, in the Interastral Peace Corporation's terms, the average "value" of every individual in the galaxy would skyrocket in a short time.
For the Xianzhou Alliance, for the order of the entire galaxy—would that be blessing or curse?
A new chance at prosperity…
Or the fuse for another cycle of chaos and conflict?
How would internal balance shift? How would relations with other factions evolve?
Even Jing Yuan—renowned for calculating without omission—couldn't see through the fog to the direction ahead.
Too many variables. Too much unknown. Too many threads entangled.
He exhaled softly, rose, and brushed at dust that didn't exist. His signature smile returned—only now, deep in his eyes, there was an added gravity.
"Looks like I'll need to pay Lady Fu a visit," Jing Yuan murmured.
Beside him, Yanqing heard he was headed to the Divination Commission and immediately scratched his head with an awkward grin.
"Uh, General… I… won't accompany you this time."
Jing Yuan paused, turned to the boy, amusement clear in his eyes.
"Can't wait to challenge the mirror version of yourself?"
Having his thoughts exposed, Yanqing wasn't embarrassed at all. He admitted it openly, face bright with enthusiasm.
"Haha—of course you saw right through me! A chance to fight another me like this is once-in-a-thousand-years! Next time we run into it, who knows when it'll be!"
His eyes shone, filled with hunger for battle and breakthrough.
Jing Yuan looked at his vitality and shook his head, helpless.
"Go on," he said warmly, indulgent like an elder.
"Just remember—caution first."
Watching Yanqing's consciousness leave his body, a flicker of worry crossed Jing Yuan's eyes.
So far, the True Lord's illusions seemed to be largely based on each person's own experiences.
For Yanqing, that might mean limited effect.
He was too young. Life had treated him kindly. His talent was exceptional. He hadn't truly suffered the kind of bone-deep defeat or overwhelming hardship that carved people apart.
His illusion would likely be minor trials—unable to touch the root.
Jing Yuan couldn't help recalling what he himself had just experienced in that illusion…
He'd been dragged straight back to the unforgettable years of centuries past—
The era of the High-Cloud Quintet.
Friends. Betrayal. Duty. Sacrifice…
All the fierce emotions he had buried, deliberately worn down through long years and endless trivialities, detonated in an illusion so real it was as if yesterday had returned.
The instant he woke, Jing Yuan's mara-struck state had nearly flared.
Even now, he still hadn't fully settled.
Still—Jing Yuan had never believed in "hardship education."
Yanqing as he was now…
Was fine.
The Divination Commission—core of the Grand Observation Array.
A massive disk floated in midair. Countless profound sigils flowed like a river of stars, casting a dim, eerie glow.
Diviner Fu Xuan stood at the edge of the array. Her slender fingers formed complex seals, her brows knotted so tightly they almost twisted.
Her face was pale.
Partly because she too had been reflected by [Mirror]—
Dragged back into the past, forced to relive the pain of personally divining an outcome that drove her master toward a destined death, while she could do nothing but ultimately accept it.
Even with her iron will, her heart still churned when she thought of it.
But what truly unsettled her was something else:
The information she and Senior Sister Yaoguang of the Yuque Xianzhou had derived—working together through the Grand Observation Array to push their calculations of that abruptly appeared True Lord…
It was too shocking.
And far too elusive.
A familiar voice, relaxed and smiling, suddenly sounded beside her.
"Ha—Fu Qing, those brows are tied in a knot. What's troubling you?"
Fu Xuan whirled around.
Jing Yuan's half-transparent projection had appeared at some point, leisurely as ever—as if he'd simply dropped by for tea.
"Hmph!" Fu Xuan shot him an annoyed look, as if finally finding somewhere to vent the pent-up frustration in her chest.
"The thing I envy most about you is that even if the sky is falling, you can still wear that relaxed face!"
She paused, her tone carrying a faint complexity that was hard to name.
"Even I almost couldn't withstand that illusion's impact. You old fossil…"
She looked him up and down, judging that seemingly flawless smile.
"You're forcing it right now, aren't you? Looking at you just makes me mad! How about you hand me the General's seat immediately? Save me the headache!"
Her mouth was merciless, but watching that unchanging smile, the tightness between her brows loosened a fraction.
Jing Yuan laughed it off, waving a hand.
"This Luofu General position—sooner or later it'll be Fu Qing's prize. But…" He dragged the word out, eyes smiling.
"Right now is indeed a bit early. This old skeleton can still hold on a while."
Then his teasing eased, and he smoothly guided the topic back to business.
"So, Fu Qing. Any findings?"
"I'll say it," a flippant female voice cut in.
With it, the projection of Yaoguang—the Yuque Xianzhou's Rongtao General—appeared as well.
And that was only the beginning.
Projections of Feixiao of Yaoqing, Xuanquan of Fanghu, and Huaiyan of Zhuming appeared one after another.
Fu Xuan immediately drew herself together, respectfully saluting the generals.
Then she stepped back to a position one pace behind Jing Yuan's projection, yielding him the floor.
Jing Yuan's usual lazy smile was gone now. His gaze swept across the assembled projections, a flash of nostalgia and emotion passing through his eyes.
"What a… long-missed kind of bustle. Aside from the Marshal and the Dustdark General of Xuling, everyone's here."
"Save the reminiscing," Feixiao cut in impatiently with a wave. "Later we'll drink with you properly."
"Right now, business comes first. Rongtao General—what's the situation? That thing on the heavens… what exactly is it?"
Join here to read ahead.
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Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 110)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
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I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter100)
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Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 60
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 40
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 60
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 50
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From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 50
The Way the Umamusume Look at 31
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 26
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 26
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