Ye Xuan had no interest in judging whether the young Wangquan Baye's decision to go to the Outer Circle had been right or wrong. But if it were him, without power that clearly surpassed every Demon Emperor within the circle, he would never have allowed himself to venture into an unknown and dangerous environment.
Once Ye Xuan went offline and Su Mengyao put down her phone, she still found it hard to believe what had just happened. She was even beginning to suspect that even without the Wangquan Baye template, Ye Xuan's innate talent on the sword path alone would have been enough to make him a top-tier fighter in the future.
"Comprehending his own Wangquan Sword Intent through his own effort? Is that actually something a person can do?"
"Wangquan Baye, Wangquan Wumu, and Wangquan Fugui all had the Wangquan Sword itself as a point of reference. Ye Xuan has nothing. Is it really possible to trace the origins through only the Wangquan family sword techniques and the Heavenly Sword that came with the template, and from that alone arrive at the Wangquan Sword Intent?"
"And aren't you a student? Why are you this obsessive about cultivation? Don't you play games? Don't you watch anime? Do you have any hobbies at all?"
"And what did you mean by that last line, 'a level like this is still nowhere near enough to protect oneself in the current era'? Among all of humanity right now, isn't the only person stronger than you Elder Zhong, who obtained the Rex Lapis template?"
"That is a God's template! You are, quite literally, the first person beneath God right now. If even this level of strength isn't enough for you to feel protected, then what kind of strength would ever be enough? Are you actually planning to surpass Elder Zhong?"
"Is this what people mean by the true arrogance of youth? Blazing and full of ambition."
"I think I understand now why you were able to obtain the Wangquan Baye template."
"Perhaps you are the person Wangquan Baye longed and yearned most to become after returning from the Outer Circle."
Su Mengyao shook her head, but the look on her face betrayed genuine delight. As far as she was concerned, the stronger Ye Xuan's talent and the faster his growth, the greater the benefit to her. Joining the Celestial Pivot Bureau, or even being considered worthy of a cooperative arrangement, required more than just an awakened ability or a cross-dimensional treasure.
Talent, potential, character, and value. Every aspect had to be weighed before a decision was made.
As one of the Bureau's responsible officers, her invitation quota was limited. If the ability users or treasure holders she contracted grew at a pace that fell short of expectations, she bore responsibility for that as well.
But on the other hand, if they showed a rate of growth that far exceeded initial projections, she would receive resources to advance to a higher position.
She had originally planned to wait until Ye Xuan's synchronisation rate with his template had risen a little further before reporting his progress to her superiors and requesting additional resources. But looking at the current situation, it seemed she needed to start preparing sooner.
"By the way, some of the animals in the Hangzhou Nature Reserve have undergone mutation and we've already placed the area under lockdown."
"It hasn't appeared on the mission board yet, but if you're interested, you're welcome to go hunting in the Hangzhou Nature Reserve sometime."
"Just don't hunt too many. Mutant creatures are also a kind of resource at this point."
"I've opened access for you. You can head there directly whenever you're ready, and someone will be there to receive you."
After that, Su Mengyao remembered something and passed the information about the Hangzhou Nature Reserve along to Ye Xuan.
Even at this early stage of mutation, the creatures' strength had already increased dramatically. They were still vulnerable to human firearms, but for an ordinary person they were lethally dangerous. That was why the reserve had been closed off entirely, with even the previously designated safe zones now off-limits to visitors.
In truth, the very concept of a "nature reserve" had become largely irrelevant. Before the Spiritual Energy Awakening, humanity had established nature reserves to protect biodiversity and maintain ecological balance. After the Awakening, those places had become territories for mutant creatures. Everything with the necessary foundation would evolve to a higher level under the nourishment of Spiritual Energy, while everything without it would be weeded out.
They might be weak right now, but in the future, these creatures had the potential to become enemies of humanity. There was no sense in protecting a population of creatures that would eventually turn against the people trying to protect them.
So why not simply kill or contain them all now, before the Spiritual Energy Tide arrived and they became an organised threat?
On one level, it was because mutant creatures held enormous economic and strategic value for humanity. The stronger they became, the higher that value grew. Used correctly, they could play a significant role in advancing the interests of the state. Governments were reluctant to eliminate something with so much potential simply because of an uncertain future threat.
On another level, there was public opinion. Even if they could predict that as Spiritual Energy concentrations rose, these creatures would eventually require more food, more land, and more resources and thus come into conflict with humanity, as long as that hadn't happened yet, a mass culling of creatures that had "done nothing wrong" would invite public condemnation.
The stated purpose might be to protect people, but before ordinary citizens had actually been attacked or lost someone they loved to a mutant creature, who would care? They would only see it as arrogant bloodlust. No one wanted to bear the weight of public perception like that.
So everything would wait until the Spiritual Energy Tide arrived. At that point, everyone would understand on their own that there was no such thing as peaceful coexistence between humans and mutant creatures.
Since Ye Xuan had expressed interest in mutant creature meat, Su Mengyao took the opportunity to grant him access to the Hangzhou Nature Reserve, where he could hunt while sharpening his combat experience.
Since Ye Xuan was already offline, he hadn't seen the message yet. Su Mengyao, for her part, began preparing the documents to report Ye Xuan's talent to her superiors and secure more resources.
Ye Xuan was no longer simply "a growing genius" or "a future powerhouse." He was, as things stood, legitimately the second strongest person in the entire world. He was the one who needed resources most. The other treasure holders could develop at their own pace. Even given resources, their growth would never be this fast.
Devil Fruit users? How many years would it take them to reach the level of an Admiral or a Yonko, to say nothing of awakening their fruit's true power? Five years? Ten? The real world had no Kaido to train them.
Zanpakuto holders? First they needed to raise their Spiritual Energy. If they couldn't even achieve Shikai yet, what did it matter that they knew their sword's name? Without talent on the level of Kurosaki Ichigo, reaching genuine strength could take decades.