Genius Among Geniuses

At the Wandering Star Forest camp, in a house shaped like a giant mushroom, Jie Yuanshao sat and spoke while Jie Zilong stood and wrote.

After Jie Yuanshao finished describing everything she had seen and heard in the Wandering Star Forest, she waited for her Third Uncle to question her. However, Jie Zilong said nothing. He only stared at what he had drawn on the blackboard, then suddenly circled several words.

Shelter, construction, resources, next wave of attacks, durability...

Jie Yuanshao did not see anything at first, but she gradually began to frown, her thick eyebrows drawing together.

"Do you see anything?"

"These words... feel a little strange."

"That's because these words are both new and old." Jie Zilong smiled. "They're new to us. I traveled through the three kingdoms of Liang, Zhou, and Qi in my youth, and I often ventured beyond the realm, but this is the first time I've seen words like these. At the same time, they're old. There aren't any unfamiliar characters in them. Even if we're seeing them for the first time, we can still understand their meaning."

"Compared with Jiang Shi's performance in the Wandering Star Forest, the 'specialness' revealed in her speech is even more intriguing."

"For example, this." Jie Zilong circled the words 'Blade Warrior.' "If you saw the Twin Blade General for the first time, would you give it that name?"

Jie Yuanshao thought for a moment, then decisively shook her head. "No. Its most prominent features are its twin blades and heavy armor covering its entire body. Compared with Blade Warrior, Twin Blade General obviously describes its characteristics better."

"Exactly. Twin Blade General is the nickname we gave it based on its characteristics, while Blade Warrior... may actually be its name."

"Name." Jie Yuanshao murmured the word, as though savoring its meaning. "Name..."

"Yuanshao, you know that some humanoid demons in secret realms can communicate to a certain extent. Some even possess texts that can be read. Our exploration of secret realms and our understanding of relics were basically derived from the demons' words and the secret realms' texts. That's why our understanding of secret realms and relics is extremely shallow. For example, three years ago, when the royal family was clearing the Fire Phoenix Blazing Plains Secret Realm, they accidentally triggered a hidden mechanism, causing a Demon King to appear inside. The casualties were so severe that everyone had no choice but to retreat."

Jie Yuanshao immediately recalled the funeral that had shaken Jiangnan City three years ago. In astonishment, she asked, "Was that how Prince Kuaiji died? Wasn't he said to have died of illness?"

"He died of his injuries after escaping." Jie Zilong said, "At least, he managed to preserve the relic."

"Not only have we failed to fully explore the secret realms, we may not even truly understand the relics. Do you know that our family possesses a Third Turn Rare Treasure Relic whose uses we still haven't completely explored? We don't even know how to use it."

"One could even say that most of the relics we know are merely conventional nicknames we gave them, not their true names."

Jie Yuanshao gradually understood her Third Uncle's unspoken meaning, and her expression grew increasingly solemn. "Do you think Jiang Shi..."

"A genius is someone with extraordinary talent, possessing abilities, opportunities, or secrets that set them apart from ordinary people. There are many geniuses in this world. Some excel at fighting on the battlefield, some at strategizing, and some even excel at binding demons and commanding beasts—the Five Elements Mastery." Jie Zilong said, "But there is only one kind of genius at the very top: geniuses who excel at exploring secret realms. They can see into the depths of secret realms, possess intuition beyond ordinary people, unravel hidden information thread by thread, and even directly perceive a secret realm's true nature. Compared with them, we're no different from blind men."

"Jiang Shi is a genius among geniuses."

Led by a servant, Qian Gongyu went up to the second floor of the Shang Family carriage, her heart filled with indescribable excitement—not only because she could see the inside of a carriage belonging to a noble family, but also because she had been brought in by a Shang Family servant under the eyes of so many people!

She could see Luo Weijin's expression twisting, while those who had looked down on her family in the past all wore extremely unpleasant expressions. To become friends with the Fourth Young Miss of the Shang Family—even if she was merely from the Blue Belt Esteemed Class—made her the emperor of the Blue Belt.

"Xiao Yu, you're here." Shang Xin Lei set down her brush and paper, then came over and pulled her to sit in the reception room. "How was the food from my family's kitchen? I rather liked today's American Giant Head Shrimp."

"There was so much." Qian Gongyu laughed. "There are only Jiang Shi, Uncle Lin, and me in my family. Besides you, Fourth Young Miss Shang, Jie Young Miss also sent food over. Even after Jiang Shi ate half of it, we still had plenty left."

"Jiang Shi ate half?" Shang Xin Lei was stunned. She gestured at her own waist. "I remember Jiang Shi's waist is even slimmer than mine. She ate half?"

Qian Gongyu blinked and said uncertainly, "It seemed like... some of the food disappeared as soon as she held it in her hand."

Shang Xin Lei's expression changed slightly. She said seriously, "If you don't want to harm Jiang Shi, you'd better not let this information spread. You should also persuade Jiang Shi not to reveal it in front of outsiders. Jie Yuanshao probably thinks Jiang Shi's storage ability only works inside the Wandering Star Forest. If others discover that Jiang Shi possesses such a large-capacity Storage Token..."

She paused, then helplessly shrugged. "But Jiang Shi is already in a situation where she's being cooked over a raging fire. A little more attention probably won't matter."

Qian Gongyu fidgeted uneasily, clutching her skirt tightly with both hands.

"Is it... really that serious? She only got a high score..."

"It's far more serious than you imagine," Shang Xin Lei said. "Granted, Liang Kingdom didn't think much of the Wandering Star Forest before, but that was based on the premise that the Wandering Star Forest's gains were limited. Now that we've obtained such a high score, the Personal Treasure Chest rewards at settlement will naturally be much richer. The rewards from the ten major treasure chests in nine days will also rise accordingly."

"This is only the change brought about by the four of us. What if dozens of people could all get high scores? Hundreds? The Wandering Star Forest is an extremely special secret realm. It has no limit on the number of participants and no entry threshold. In other words, as long as the imperial court wished, it could gather tens of thousands of people to participate in the Wandering Star Forest at any time. When everyone's rewards were added together, they might reach a level that would force Qi Kingdom and Zhou Kingdom to join forces and attack Liang Kingdom."

Qian Gongyu's legs began to tremble violently. Her teeth chattered, and her voice shook. "I-Is it really that serious?"

Seeing Qian Gongyu's appearance, Shang Xin Lei could not help bursting into laughter, covering her stomach as she laughed. Qian Gongyu's face turned red, and she bit her lower lip before standing up to protest. "Fourth Young Miss Shang, if you're going to be so disrespectful to me, then there's no need for us to continue associating with each other!"

"No, no, it's my fault. Sit down first." Shang Xin Lei pulled her back. "How about this? Consider it an apology. From now on, you can call me Xin Lei directly. Don't call me Fourth Young Miss Shang—it sounds too distant."

Qian Gongyu's eyes lit up, but she hesitated. "Wouldn't that be inappropriate? I'm only from the Blue Belt..."

"There's nothing inappropriate about it. I call Jie Yuanshao by her name too. Besides, I don't have many friends. I'd also like to become friends with someone as interesting as you, Xiao Yu." Shang Xin Lei smiled.

"Am I really that interesting...?" Qian Gongyu was a little confused, but she immediately accepted the statement, the corners of her lips rising. "So I really am interesting!"

"Then was what you said just now true, Xin Lei? Or were you trying to frighten me?" She eyed Shang Xin Lei suspiciously and said indignantly, "I'm a Baiyun Person. Don't deceive me."

Shang Xin Lei struggled to hold back her laughter. Waving her hand, she said with a smile, "Of course I was frightening you. Jiang Shi hasn't revealed anything, but I could tell that when she upgraded the shelter—at least, that's what she seemed to say—she didn't use any tools or incantations. It was as if she could see things we couldn't. That's an ability unique to her. I don't think it can be copied or spread."

"Jiang Shi is certainly extremely valuable, but not valuable enough to cause a war."

After a pause, Shang Xin Lei added, "Her beauty, on the other hand, might cause a war. She's breathtakingly beautiful even when she keeps a straight face. It's hard to imagine how devastatingly beautiful she'd be when she smiled. I don't even want to stand next to her."

Qian Gongyu nodded in complete understanding. "Exactly, exactly. The pressure of standing beside her is too great. Sometimes, when I can't help feeling jealous of her, I see her face and forget why I was jealous."

"But even if I think Jiang Shi can't be replicated, others may not think so." Shang Xin Lei said, "The Jie Family may not think so either."

At the mention of that enormous entity, Qian Gongyu opened her mouth but could not say a word. Two days ago, she had not even been qualified to exchange pleasantries with anyone from the Jie Family, let alone associate with them. Now, the Jie Family had taken the initiative to deliver luxurious meals prepared by their kitchen to her door. Heaven knew, there had been so much food that her carriage table could not even hold it all.

Qian Gongyu naturally knew why she was being treated so well, but she had no idea how to respond. The Jie Family was too powerful, and she was too young.

"By the way," she suddenly recalled something. "Yesterday, Jie Young Miss mentioned Jiang Shi's punishment..."

"Forget it. No one cares about that anymore. Didn't you notice that Luo Weijin has even slunk away?" Shang Xin Lei waved dismissively, picked up a box from the desk, and placed it in front of Qian Gongyu.

"Open it and take a look."

Qian Gongyu opened the box, and green light immediately surrounded her pretty face. Inside lay five strings of spirit jade. Each string was suffused with dark green, and there were astonishingly six strings of Hundred Jade!

Spirit jade had a very peculiar characteristic. When large amounts of spirit jade fell onto the ground, they fused and accumulated instead of occupying unlimited space. The more that accumulated, the deeper the green became. Once it reached the limit of one hundred layers, it transformed into dark-green Hundred Jade.

There were ten pieces to a string. Six strings of Hundred Jade amounted to six thousand spirit jade, already equal to the net profit of a small secret realm for several days. For the Qian Family, which had never truly controlled a secret realm, this was an unprecedented fortune. In Qian Gongyu's memory, the family's liquid assets had amounted to only a few hundred spirit jade at their peak.

Looking at the huge sum that could let her have a good New Year, Qian Gongyu wore an intensely conflicted expression. After struggling for a long while, she still closed the box and pushed it back to Shang Xin Lei, lowering her head as she said, "I'm sorry, but I can't make a decision for Jiang Shi. I can't accept this money. However, I can help you persuade her a little, Xin Lei!"

Shang Xin Lei blinked. "What do you think this money is?"

"Isn't it Jiang Shi's buyout payment?"

"Come here."

Qian Gongyu obediently moved over, only to have Shang Xin Lei grab her cheeks and knead and pinch them repeatedly.

"You can look down on Jiang Shi if you want, but how can you look down on the Shang Family? You actually think I'm so stingy that I'd try to buy Jiang Shi with this little money?"

"I was wrong, I was wrong—"

"This spirit jade is for you. I noticed that you stopped replenishing your spiritual power later in the Wandering Star Forest, so I thought you might not have brought much spirit jade with you. I'm giving you some for emergencies." Shang Xin Lei said, "Don't overthink it. This is so you can make a better investment tomorrow. If you suppress a few more demons tomorrow, I won't lose out."

"That simple?"

"That simple."

"No other conditions?"

"No other conditions."

Qian Gongyu carefully hugged the box. "Then is there anything else?"

Shang Xin Lei waved her hand. "There's nothing else. Go back."

Qian Gongyu reached the stairs but could not help asking once more, "There really isn't—"

"I've changed my mind. I want you to stay tonight and perform a belly dance—"

"See you tomorrow!"

Shang Xin Lei pushed open the window and watched Qian Gongyu return cheerfully to her own carriage. Beside it, Jiang Shi was practicing footwork while the two chattered animatedly. Shang Xin Lei shook her head helplessly and smiled.

"I thought I could make her feel ashamed of herself..." she muttered. "It seems her meeting Jiang Shi really wasn't just luck... She truly is an interesting person."