[So after all this drama, the only consensus reached is that Master Gongshu is the one who got hurt?]
[Hahaha, yeah, that seems to be the case.]
[Master Gongshu returns to the Forge Division: Huh? Why are all my golden automatons broken?]
[Master Gongshu's world has collapsed.]
[Master Gongshu: Come on, guys, no one thought to apologize to me first?]
——
Watching Yunli's departing figure, Stelle believed Yunli had already calmed down.
Since there was still time, she decided to inform Huaiyan, so the old man wouldn't worry.
Soon.
Stelle returned to the Seat of Divine Foresight once more.
At that moment, Huaiyan was pacing back and forth alone in the room.
Fortunately, Stelle's appearance brought a trace of joy to Huaiyan's face.
He quickly approached Stelle. "Little girl, my granddaughter didn't cause any trouble, did she?"
Stelle shook her head, then recounted the events in detail. Huaiyan's tense expression eased somewhat.
"Thanks for the spectacle. Yunli told you quite a lot, but now listen to this old man's side of things."
Over the following time, Huaiyan explained the truth about demonic swords.
In summary:
As a rare genius craftsman after Yingxing, Hangguang was naturally immensely talented.
But his obsession with sword-forging drove him to create blades that surpassed human intellect—swords that could turn anyone into a battle-hardened veteran without any training.
Xianzhou sword-forging traditionally imbues weapons with simple intelligence to make them easier for soldiers to wield. Yet overcoming fear and developing sharp combat judgment still requires long, arduous time.
Thus, Hangguang chose to cast Stellarons into swords. This allowed the weapon to transmit experience, conquer fear, and even make judgments in place of the wielder. But unlike other tools, a weapon's sole purpose is to kill enemies.
Yet it was still a Stellaron. After countless battles, emotions of bloodlust, rage, and terror were absorbed by the Stellaron within the sword. Soldiers who gripped it inherited not only sword techniques but also the shared killing impulses, becoming puppets controlled by the sword.
[So I have a question—didn't Silver Wolf solve this perfectly back then?]
[(⊙⊙)?(⊙⊙)?]
[You know, that peak Scott plotline—there was a part where Silver Wolf added an AI into it. So why not use that method?]
[Don't ask. Asking means foreshadowing.]
[Probably afraid of an AI uprising. That stuff can really kill people once it gets going.]
——
After listening, Stelle understood Huaiyan's painstaking intentions.
"No wonder the General didn't want her to see that sword..."
"Yes." Huaiyan continued earnestly. "I don't want this child to live her entire life under the shadow her father left... Hangguang's mistakes shouldn't be borne by his daughter.
Though Yunli swore to 'hunt down every demonic sword and sever them all,' fulfilling that vow comes at no small cost—merely traversing the stars in search of them is like searching for a needle in the ocean.
And to reclaim a demonic sword, she must duel its blood-soaked wielder, constantly teetering on the edge of life and death. She has recovered over three hundred demonic swords and suffered over three hundred near-fatal wounds.
I took Yunli in and raised her because I wanted to see her do innocent, carefree things at an innocent, carefree age—not embark on a 'sword-hunting' journey.
Even if one day she melts down every demonic sword, where will her life go from there?"
[Poor parents of the world.]
[After revenge, then what?]
[Yunli's age forever stopped on that one day—she's never truly moved past it.]
——
Stelle had one more question. "That sword really had a Stellaron forged into it?"
"Guyun is indeed one of the demonic swords Hangguang forged. Very few artisans can use a Stellaron as sword-forging material—Hangguang was one of those rare few. He paid a terrible price for his experiments..."
Stelle nodded and brought up the main point. "Yunli plans to talk with you tomorrow..."
"This Guyun was supposed to be an opportunity—I planned to tell her that the 'father' in her memories wasn't unchanging. Even the Hangguang she resents could forge a 'hero's sword.'
I also wanted to find a chance to discuss this sword's whereabouts and history with her properly... but that shouldn't have been at the 'Sword-Gifting Ceremony.' You could see it wasn't a good opportunity.
I've already instructed the Forge Division to store the sword securely in the armory. If you're still worried, feel free to ask the relevant people."
[I feel like this is foreshadowing.]
[Definitely foreshadowing. What level is Huaiyan at? Would he not know if something was wrong?]
[I always feel there's an untold story in there.]
——
Taking the chance, Stelle pulled out her phone to confirm the situation with Master Gongshu.
And Master Gongshu still hadn't noticed his golden automatons had been smashed.
Only after everything settled did Stelle suddenly remember, "Eh? What was I originally supposed to do?"
"Now that I think about it, I've been running around the entire Luofu while someone else is skipping class and enjoying leisure time. Come on—let's go catch her red-handed on the Express."
After finishing everything, Stelle returned to the Express and caught March 7th skipping class.
The two drank milk tea, gossiped, and time passed unnoticed.
The next day...
Just then.
A message came from the Seat of Divine Foresight's great office: the demonic sword had vanished without a trace. An investigation had now been formally opened.
And the prime suspect was none other than Yunli!