That afternoon, inside the General's residence of the Xianzhou Luofu—
"Have you confirmed everything?" General Teng Xiao asked sternly, facing one of his trusted aides.
"General," the aide reported respectfully, "our emergency investigation matches what Lord Wei Qing said. The foxian clans do, in fact, have serious internal issues."
"And the 'Linglong' who was impersonated by the Annihilation Gang Lord Phantylia—there is no such person among the foxians. That identity was entirely fabricated."
Teng Xiao's brows knitted tighter. "Keep digging. I want every hidden claw rooted out of the Luofu."
"Yes, General!" The aide took his leave at once.
Standing silently to the side, Wei Qing—who was, frankly, one of the people least qualified to be optimistic here—felt deeply skeptical.
Can you really pull that off?
Probably not…
"Wei Qing," Teng Xiao said, rubbing his brow. He looked tired. "You did well. This was hard on you."
The universe had been anything but peaceful lately.
The Abundance-aligned factions were stirring again, and the long-vanished Abundance Emanator Shuhu had even begun to show signs of resurfacing.
On top of that, the Destruction forces under Starcrusher were moving restlessly—and now even an Annihilation Gang Lord like Phantylia was probing ways to infiltrate the Luofu.
It gave Teng Xiao a bad feeling.
He'd planned to step down for a while now, but with chaos piling up like this, he couldn't leave with peace of mind.
Still… the Luofu wasn't lacking in top-tier strength. If anything, it was packed with talent.
If he could shepherd them through this transition, the Luofu would prosper for at least another thousand years.
Especially Wei Qing—his own disciple—who had shattered Phantylia's scheme ahead of time. That only made Teng Xiao more confident he could eventually pass the burden of General to him.
This succession wasn't something only Teng Xiao cared about.
Even the Marshal of the Xianzhou and the other Arbiter-Generals were watching with interest—curious what kind of "reaction" Wei Qing might trigger once he truly became a Hunt Emanator, given that "unusual blessing" from the Reignbow Arbiter.
"This is what I should do, Master," Wei Qing said modestly—though his expression was practically screaming the opposite.
Praise me. Praise me. Praise me.
Important things must be said three times.
Teng Xiao was long used to his disciple's unserious personality. But Baiheng, as one of the affected parties, looked genuinely anxious.
"Wei Qing—are you alright? Did Phantylia hurt you?"
No one could blame Baiheng for panicking.
She'd assumed her "cousin" only wanted to meet Wei Qing out of faith in the Reignbow Arbiter—never in her wildest dreams that it was an Annihilation Gang Lord in disguise.
If Wei Qing had gotten killed because of her, she'd never forgive herself.
"I'm fine," Wei Qing waved it off, putting on a relaxed face. "A mere Annihilation Gang Lord can't hurt me."
Baiheng still didn't look fully convinced, but at least he didn't appear injured.
After a pause, she leaned in with lingering worry. "But… she escaped. What if she keeps—"
"No need to worry," Teng Xiao said heavily. "I've ordered heightened security throughout the Luofu. An Annihilation Gang Lord may be powerful, but she won't dare run wild here."
Wei Qing silently roasted him in his head.
Master… you're way too optimistic.
If we go by how the plot usually goes, the Luofu is absolutely not 'stable' a few hundred years from now.
But of course, he didn't say any of that out loud.
Then—
"Right. Wei Qing." Teng Xiao's tone shifted abruptly. "You and Jingliu lately…"
"Cough—!" Wei Qing nearly choked on his own saliva.
Why are you calling me out right now?!
Only then did he remember: Jing Yuan had messaged him last night, and it sounded like his master had passed by with Jingliu.
Since when did this old man get so gossipy? Isn't he usually dignified?!
"Master… why are you suddenly asking about this?" Wei Qing said carefully.
"Don't play dumb. I don't believe Jing Yuan told you nothing," Teng Xiao replied, giving him a flat look.
"Jingliu may be older than you, yes—but for people who've advanced far enough on a Path, that's hardly a problem."
What they called mara was essentially the accumulation of emotional burdens reaching a tipping point.
Take the Arbiter-General of Xianzhou Zhuming, Huaiyan—compared to him, Jingliu wasn't even "that old."
And Teng Xiao meant it. On the Xianzhou, those with status and means did have ways to suppress emotions and delay the onset of mara.
Wei Qing stared, speechless. "Master… you know what I'm like."
With Jingliu's personality, misunderstanding him wasn't surprising.
But with how well Teng Xiao knew Wei Qing, it was hard to believe he couldn't tell Wei Qing had been doing nonsense and trolling.
Sorry for being a professional clown, I guess.
Teng Xiao stroked his beard and smiled with a knowing look.
"Of course I know you. But Jingliu, that child…"
"The look she had last night—honestly, it's the first time I've ever seen her wear that expression."
Wei Qing's heart skipped.
That expression…
He was thinking of the moment she'd heard his shameless "simp speech."
Even remembering it now made his soul want to leave his body.
All because of that brain-dead system…
"Enough," Teng Xiao said, waving it off. "I'm old. You young people can handle your own young-people matters."
With that, the General walked away hands clasped behind his back, leaving Wei Qing and Baiheng staring at each other.
"So…" Baiheng suddenly leaned in, eyes glittering with pure gossip. "What exactly happened between you and Jingliu?!"
Wei Qing sighed theatrically. "It's not a big deal."
"I just… accidentally released a tiny bit of charm, and your bestie kind of fell for me."
Baiheng rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. With how unserious you are, Jingliu would fall for you?"
"Why not?" Wei Qing countered shamelessly. "Look at me—good face, strong combat power, genius-level intellect. Jingliu's got great taste. Falling for me is perfectly logical."
"And honestly—if I weren't so loyal to the Reignbow Arbiter, the universe might've gained an Emanator of Erudition or Beauty."
Wei Qing felt the injustice deep in his bones.
He was telling the truth… and she still didn't believe him.