Zero's eyes curved with a smile, his tone cheerful, "Bacchus, for that 0.01 percent, you all better work hard."
The man and the dragon didn't understand, but Aha did.
Aha, "..."
With your memory gone, you might not treat the Xianzhou kindly. You would only use the engine to keep restarting over and over.
And they, too, were repeatedly trialing and correcting mistakes.
This time was the closest cycle to success…
So what would the Aeons do? Of course, they would try to replicate this success and correct any errors.
Aha's mouth twitched slightly.
'As expected of my best friend… another win-win! You trust us a bit too much, don't you?!'
'Fuli would probably cry hearing this!'
Aha thought again. Since everyone was going to die anyway, he might as well use this time to mess with his best friend's reputation.
His best friend definitely wouldn't have the energy to think about what he said. Even if he noticed something wrong… he'd probably be too lazy to argue.
The Aeon's body trembled, his expression exaggerated.
He shivered and tightly hugged himself.
"Wow, I don't even want to imagine how much it would hurt if you whipped me with that thing."
Yingxing, "..."
'Whip what?'
'Zero, what exactly did you do to this kid?!'
Dan Feng, "..."
'Marshal, the guy next to you is a Masked Fool, right?!'
'You already speak in ways that are easy to misunderstand, don't let him drag you off track!'
Dan Feng didn't get Zero's explanation, only hearing him say something even worse.
"What? I never whipped you before?"
The red-haired boy nodded seriously. "Nope, you never whipped me. Usually I stab you in the back, then you or Nanook counter-kill me."
The man and the dragon looked at the two of them, and only one thought remained in their minds.
'Wait, Zero, you actually do whip people?!'
'Hold on, why is the 'Destruction' Aeon involved too? And who even is Bacchus?!'
Zero quickly ended his conversation with Aha.
Under the Aeon's gaze, he took out his jade communicator and sent a message to Zandar.
[Zero: I'll be a bit late]
[Zandar: What's wrong?]
[Zero: Helping someone deal with infertility]
[Zandar: ????]
Zero put away the communicator.
He wanted to know whether the High Elder could transform humans into a more perfect species.
The blood of a "higher-dimensional invader" had allowed Shuhu to become truly immortal.
Then what about humans?
Right now, among those around Zero who had come into contact with his blood, there was only Shuhu.
He didn't want anyone to become some near-immortal aberration.
Back then, Shuhu had been on the verge of death after coming into contact with a large amount of his blood. To verify his hypothesis, Zero used a "Abundance" fruit to save Shuhu's life.
Then he used a blade to stab that Emanator back to near death.
He repeated that process over and over throughout the entire night.
He kept Shuhu alive to this day, turning it into an immortal monster.
Then what about Jingliu?
The amount of blood Jingliu had come into contact with was different from Shuhu's, and her reaction was also different.
Zero guessed that since Jingliu hadn't become an aberration, she might… no longer fall into mara.
A small amount of the "higher-dimensional invader's" blood could make an originally immortal Abundance Emanator truly eternal, and it could suppress the mara of Xianzhou people.
Originally, Zero had planned to ask Zandar and verify his hypothesis with this scholar.
But he hadn't expected that just as he needed something, it would be handed to him.
With interest, Zero asked, "Dan Feng, need some help?"
Yingxing stared tightly at the knife in Zero's hand and subtly took half a step back.
He tried to pull Dan Feng, but couldn't move him.
'Zero, even if you're the strongest human… you probably can't conduct this kind of experiment, right?'
'With that posture… are you here to help, or are you about to stab both him and Dan Feng?!'
'Dan Feng, reject him already! Wait, Dan Feng doesn't seem reliable either!'
Yingxing roared inwardly while trying to signal Dan Feng with his eyes.
Unfortunately, Dan Feng was lost in his own thoughts, as if he hadn't understood Zero's words at all, just staring blankly at him.
Zero continued, "I don't understand the Aeon of 'Permanence' or the Vidyadhara, but I granted Shuhu immortality, gave it an indestructible body…"
"In a sense, isn't that also a form of 'Permanence'? Maybe I can help you."
Zero kept throwing out massive revelations one after another, enough to shake the entire universe, leaving the two momentarily speechless.
Dan Feng's face showed confusion.
'How could that be? If you could grant humans immortality, why would the Xianzhou need to pursue the Abundance so desperately? Why would you and your people suffer like this?'
Dan Feng struggled to piece together the clues he knew, but couldn't make sense of them.
He saw the red-haired boy named "Bacchus," who seemed to be an Aeon, trying to stop Zero.
He saw Zero push the boy aside without hesitation and walk toward him step by step.
Then, Zero placed a hand on his shoulder and spoke gently, "Dan Feng, I understand you."
"For these past hundreds of years, you've always done well."
If it were the Aeon of the Hunt or the current Marshal, hearing Zero's tone, like he was coaxing a child, would have set off alarm bells.
Only before killing someone would Zero say something soft.
Unfortunately, Dan Feng didn't know this. He just listened quietly, trying to find missing clues in the overwhelming information.
"You've been brave in battle, never made mistakes. You upheld your alliances and guarded the Ambrosial Arbor…"
"Stay in a position too long, and you lose your humanity."
Zero chuckled softly, "But you're different. You're a perfect leader. Emotions don't sway your decisions, and this time is no exception."
In just a few sentences, he defined the entire situation.
"Shuhu was cunning and deceitful, infiltrated the Luofu, trying to seize the Ambrosial Arbor. Luckily, the High Elder and the Master Artisan reacted quickly and stopped it."
Considering Yingxing didn't know the truth, Zero spoke vaguely, "After that… it's a matter within your Vidyadhara clan. You handle it yourself."
Yingxing looked at them, wanting to speak but holding back.
Dan Feng no longer hesitated and raised his hand to knock Yingxing unconscious.
Zero lightly patted Dan Feng's shoulder and urged, "Alright, let's begin."
Dan Feng didn't refuse.
He was the High Elder who understood the power of the High Elder best.
He was the leader his people placed their hopes in.
The survival of the Vidyadhara depended on him.
And now, all obstacles ahead had been cleared by Zero.
So what reason did he have to refuse?
In the next moment, he smelled blood.
Dan Feng belatedly looked at Zero.
In one hand, Zero held a blood-stained knife. From the fingertips of his other hand, blood kept dripping.
He muttered, "So short-lived species are 'ageless'…"
Dan Feng instinctively raised his hand and used a spell to heal him.
Zero lowered his eyes, glanced at his fully restored fingertips, then put the knife back into his pocket.
His expression was gentle as he gave Dan Feng a warm smile.
"Next time, you won't have to go to the battlefield again. You won't have to point your blade at comrades who've fallen into mara."
"The conflict between 'Abundance' and 'Hunt' ends here."
Dan Feng turned his head and saw Yingxing's temples gradually darkening, his appearance returning to normal, and a buzzing filled his ears.
The final missing piece that had troubled him for so long finally fell into place.
'So what you gave Shuhu… was your flesh and blood!'
'This is the truth of your death!'
'Then what… were you saying just now?!'
Dan Feng's back trembled, his pupils shaking.
His mind went blank. He could only act almost mechanically, following the plan he had rehearsed countless times in his mind.
After an unknown amount of time, Zero placed his hand on Dan Feng's shoulder again and smiled.
"Dan Feng, you succeeded."
Dan Feng's unfocused eyes slowly regained clarity as he stared at the person beside him.
He thought, 'I failed.'
———
A piercing alarm rang out. It was the Marshal's jade communicator.
Jingliu quickly stood up and walked briskly to the desk, waiting for orders.
Out of the corner of her eye, she accidentally glanced at the photo frame on the Marshal's desk, and her expression froze.
In the photo… there was someone who looked very familiar.
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