"Can I take the day off today?!"
"Aren't you in a 'day-off' state every single day?"
Fu Xuan shot Qingque a sidelong glance and replied irritably.
"Lady Fu Xuan, don't wrong me! I'm divining too!"
"Oh?"
The corners of Fu Xuan's lips lifted slightly.
She naturally knew how capable Qingque was at divination.
But if she did not give this child a reminder now and then, Qingque's talent would be far too wasted.
If the general stepped down someday and she herself succeeded him, there would be no one in the Divination Commission to force this child to take up the position of Master Diviner despite her talent and ability.
Well then, Fu Xuan was already considering what would happen after Jing Yuan stepped down.
Watching the two of them from the side, Liuge nearly lost it.
What was this?
An adult dragging a child home to attend class and do homework?
Still, as Liuge stared at Fu Xuan's back—especially the ties there—he inexplicably felt the urge to grab a pair of scissors and snip them off just to see what would happen.
The instant that thought surfaced, Fu Xuan frowned slightly, silently turned around, and looked at Liuge.
"For some reason, I feel that you are thinking about something unpleasant."
"No, no, no. Lady Fu Xuan, you're overthinking it. I was just wondering what I should do next. I'm really bored out of my mind."
Hearing Liuge's words, Fu Xuan's slightly furrowed brows finally relaxed.
She pondered for a moment.
"If you have nothing to do, would you be willing to patrol the various areas of the Xianzhou?"
As one of the Six Charioteers, Fu Xuan had a certain degree of authority over the Xianzhou, so she was also worried about its current state.
"Hm?"
"Come with me."
Fu Xuan frowned, glanced at the noisy surroundings, then led Liuge and Qingque into a guest room at a nearby inn.
Seeing how serious Fu Xuan was, Qingque also became earnest.
At the same time, she was curious why Lady Fu Xuan wanted Liuge, of all people, to patrol the various regions of the Xianzhou.
Liuge had only spent some time with the Cloud Knights Army, was a little more adaptable, and could fight a little better than most. There was nothing especially remarkable about him—oh! It seemed that he could transform into other people now.
"Liuge... I can call you that, right?"
"Yeah."
Liuge nodded.
"You know what happened that day. Lord of Ruin: Phantylia destroyed part of her body and escaped."
"Although things may remain peaceful for a while because of that, Lord of Ruin: Phantylia is still fundamentally on the Xianzhou."
"And now, there is also an organization called the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus within the Xianzhou. This organization seeks to overthrow the existing Xianzhou. They worship Yaoshi the Aeon of Abundance and believe that becoming Mara-Struck is a trial of the body brought by long life."
Fu Xuan explained these matters to Liuge.
In Fu Xuan's view, Liuge had lost a portion of his memories concerning the Xianzhou, so it was necessary to explain them to him.
But Liuge himself had played the game and already knew these things fairly well, so hearing them again did not provoke much of a reaction.
Yet in Fu Xuan's eyes, he simply appeared very calm.
"So, Lady Fu Xuan means that Phantylia might contact the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus and even bring disaster upon the Xianzhou?"
Fu Xuan fell silent for a moment at Liuge's words.
Her bright eyes fixed on him.
"Not might. She definitely will!"
Fu Xuan's words left Qingque, who had been standing nearby watching the show, completely stunned.
Lady Fu Xuan was this certain? Then something was definitely going to happen!
After hearing that, Liuge thought for a moment and nodded.
Before the Astral Express crew arrived, he really had been bored out of his mind.
And if he remembered correctly, before the Astral Express crew came to the Luofu, the Luofu had already seen many people fall Mara-Struck due to the Stellaron outbreak. Later, after the crew arrived, the Stellaron completely erupted and spurred the revival of The Ambrosial Arbor.
So could he perhaps see what would happen before the plot began?
"I understand. I'll take this... assignment!"
After accepting the task Fu Xuan had given him,
Liuge watched Fu Xuan drag away Qingque, whose face was full of exhaustion, toward the Divination Commission.
Liuge shook his head and began wandering around.
Since The Ambrosial Arbor had not yet revived on the Xianzhou, its roots had not erupted in many places.
Because of that, Liuge was not worried about suddenly encountering some unexpected battle and getting hit by a weakness exploit in one shot.
Ahem. The real reason was simply that the Xianzhou was not in turmoil yet, and the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus had not started causing trouble.
Fu Xuan had asked him to look around precisely to see whether there were any signs of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus appearing.
After all, several days had already passed since Phantylia's escape.
That was definitely enough time for her to get in touch with the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus and plot against the Xianzhou.
Of course, with part of her true body shattered as it was, even if she had contacted the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, she would need time to recuperate before emerging to cause trouble again.
Well, that was Liuge's own guess. After all, as an Emanator of Destruction, if there was something that could bring down the Xianzhou, she might just force herself through her injuries to make it happen.
After wandering aimlessly for a while, he soon arrived near the Dan Ding Division.
The Dan Ding Division was not as sparsely populated as it was in the game. There were quite a few people here now.
Liuge wandered around, looking at the several enormous pill furnaces shrouded in mist, and felt a hint of tranquility.
But the next moment, Liuge sensed that something was wrong.
Why did it suddenly feel as though something inside his body was stirring, as if something were about to burst out and cover his entire body?
"Something's wrong. This is seriously wrong."
A faint medicinal fragrance lingered at the tip of his nose. At first, Liuge thought it was simply characteristic of the Dan Ding Division, but once he felt the agitation rising within his body and even his thoughts beginning to grow muddled, he knew there was a problem.
Sure enough, the next moment, beneath a tree not far away, a Xianzhou resident who had been chatting with someone suddenly had his face twitch as a pained expression appeared.
Immediately afterward, things resembling golden ginkgo leaves began growing from his body.
But Liuge recognized them. They were devil taro... ahem, signs of becoming Mara-Struck.
In that instant, Liuge reached a conclusion.
That trace of medicinal fragrance he had smelled was a drug concocted by the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus within the Dan Ding Division, designed to trigger the Mara-Struck condition in Xianzhou residents.
"Damn it!"
Liuge still did not know whether he was truly a Xianzhou native, but the abnormalities in his body gave him no time to think.
With a wave of one hand, Aether Edit appeared before him, immediately equipping the Stat-Stick Character Card of "Flower Field Tyrant Yukari Yakumo."
As light flickered, Liuge transformed into a woman wearing a red floral-patterned vest and holding a pink parasol, looking like a queen.
She was none other than Flower Field Tyrant Yukari Yakumo!
At that very moment, chaos also broke out within the Dan Ding Division.
Dozens of innocent Dan Ding Division residents and passersby were all stirred into becoming Mara-Struck by that medicinal fragrance, transforming into Mara-Struck Soldiers.
Their minds already twisted by the Mara-Struck condition, everyone they saw was an enemy.
"Ah! They've become Mara-Struck?!"
"Run, run! Go call the Cloud Knights Army!"
"Damn it, how did this happen?!"
For a time, the entire Dan Ding Division fell into complete chaos.
Many people rushed past Liuge, who had transformed into Yukari Yakumo.
But watching this scene, Liuge had no time to worry about anything else. Once he had transformed into Kazami Yuuka, the agitation in his body immediately vanished without a trace.
Clenching his fist, Liuge put away the parasol in his hand.
Since he had become Yuuka, he could use these people who had become Mara-Struck to test the strength of this Character Stat-Stick.
Even if he could only unleash fifty percent of its power right now.
With that thought, Liuge stepped forward and blocked a Mara-Struck Soldier. His small fist shot out, colliding with the soldier's blade-like hand.
Crash!
The blade-hand shattered instantly, but before the Mara-Struck Soldier could attack again, the parasol in Liuge's other hand came down like a club.
Bang!
The Mara-Struck Soldier was sent flying by a single parasol strike, crashing into and knocking over several Mara-Struck Soldiers.
At the same time, Liuge felt as if the blood in his body were boiling.
An intense desire flooded his heart.
Beneath those crimson eyes surged an overwhelming thirst for battle!
—Fighting feels great!
Moving at astonishing speed, Liuge darted through the Dan Ding Division like a swimming dragon. None of the Mara-Struck Soldiers before him could withstand his fists.
Even with the Mara-Struck's extraordinary regenerative ability, they stopped moving the instant his second punch landed.
"Hahahahaha! Not enough, nowhere near enough!"
Perhaps because the Character Card was incomplete, that powerful desire for battle seemed as though it would nearly consume him.
But since the Stat-Stick's power was itself his own ability, no matter how intense his fighting spirit became, he knew he could dispel this state instantly. Thus, he let that surging battle intent run wild.
To him now, every Mara-Struck Soldier within the Dan Ding Division was an enemy. As for the ordinary civilians, aside from helping those trapped, he simply let those capable of escaping run past him.
From the moment Liuge transformed into Yuuka and began fighting the Mara-Struck Soldiers, the casualty rate throughout the Dan Ding Division plummeted. Most of those who should have perished in this Mara outbreak survived because of him.
Meanwhile, inside the General of the Xianzhou Mansion,
Jing Yuan, who had been reviewing intelligence reports sent from across the Xianzhou, frowned slightly.
"Yanqing, go see what is making such a commotion."
He looked toward Yanqing, who stood beside him holding his sword and seemingly pondering something.
"Yes!"
Yanqing, who had been thinking about sword techniques, was startled and immediately snapped back to attention.
He then went to investigate what exactly had happened.
Before long, Yanqing hurried back, urgency visible on his face.
"General, news just came from the Dan Ding Division. An unknown incident has occurred there. It is suspected that the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus placed drugs that trigger Mara within the pill furnaces, causing a large number of civilians to become Mara-Struck."
"What?!"
Jing Yuan abruptly rose to his feet.
"What are the casualties? Immediately dispatch a squad of Cloud Knights to suppress it!"
Yanqing immediately replied,
"At present, apart from the more than one hundred people who have become Mara-Struck, ten people are missing. Their circumstances are still unknown!"
Before you continue