Fu Zhu glanced at the Vidyadhara women the Dragon Master had led in and raised an eyebrow. "Are all these people named Bailu?"
The Dragon Master waved his hands frantically, a smile plastered on his face. "Of course not. This is the Lady Dragon of our Vidyadhara, Bailu."
The Dragon Master gave Bailu a little push from behind, urging her forward.
Suddenly pushed, Bailu pouted in displeasure, but upon seeing Fu Zhu among the people she was meant to meet, her face broke into a smile. She waved at him.
"Big Brother Fu Zhu, what are you doing in the Scalegorge Waterscape? Are you here to play with me? And who is this... big brother I don't know?"
Seeing Bailu greet him, Fu Zhu couldn't help but smile back. He always had a soft spot for well-behaved children.
"Nope. The one who's here to see you is this big brother next to me."
Fu Zhu pointed to Dan Heng beside him and introduced them. "He is my companion, Dan Heng, also one of the Nameless."
Bailu tilted her head up to meet Dan Heng's gaze, nodded, and gave a sweet, polite greeting. "Hello, Big Brother Dan Heng."
The Dragon Master's eyes shifted between the two for a moment before he asked with a smile, "Do the two of you require a private chat?"
Dan Heng glanced hesitantly at Fu Zhu. After Fu Zhu gave him a reassuring nod, Dan Heng turned to the Dragon Master and said, "Then I'll trouble the Dragon Master to prepare a quiet room for us."
The Dragon Master stroked his white beard and nodded in agreement. He turned sideways and waved a hand at one of the Vidyadhara women who had followed him in. The woman stepped forward and approached Dan Heng and Bailu.
"Lord Dan Heng, Lady Bailu, please follow me."
Dan Heng and Bailu followed the woman into a side chamber off the main hall, leaving only Fu Zhu, the Dragon Master, and a crowd of silent, head-bowed Vidyadhara women.
After watching Dan Heng and Bailu disappear completely from sight, the Dragon Master suddenly took several steps forward to stand directly in front of Fu Zhu. The Vidyadhara women behind him followed suit, moving in unison to stand before Fu Zhu before bowing deeply in perfect synchrony.
Seeing them suddenly bow, Fu Zhu immediately stood up and moved to the side, raising an eyebrow. "Dragon Master, what is the meaning of this? I cannot accept such a sudden bow."
"No!"
When the Dragon Master saw Fu Zhu change position, he stubbornly turned to follow, bowing to Fu Zhu again. The Vidyadhara women behind him mimicked his every move, turning to once again bow towards Fu Zhu.
"Lord Fu Zhu, you have blessed my Vidyadhara clan with three new lives. This deed is more than worthy of our bow!"
Seeing their persistence, Fu Zhu could only sit back down in his chair. According to them, he had indeed earned this bow, so he didn't have to worry about shortening his lifespan for no reason.
"Be that as it may, could you perhaps rephrase that? The way you say it makes it sound like I'm the one who gave birth for your Vidyadhara. It's kind of creepy."
Upon hearing this, the Dragon Master immediately bowed again in apology. "My apologies, Lord Fu Zhu. I was overcome with emotion and my words were improper. Please forgive my transgression."
"...It's fine, it's fine. I was just saying."
Fu Zhu sighed and rubbed his forehead. Dealing with this old man was making him feel tense all over. If the old man didn't press him on how he did it, he would just head straight back to the Express as soon as Dan Heng was done.
But his hopes were dashed. The Dragon Master ultimately couldn't suppress his curiosity. He looked up, his eyes fixed on Fu Zhu, burning with a fierce, palpable desire.
"There is one more matter that has me deeply curious. I wonder if Lord Fu Zhu would be able to provide an answer?"
The moment Fu Zhu heard this, he knew what was coming. The man was definitely going to ask why the coral could allow the sterile Vidyadhara to give birth.
"Go ahead and ask whatever you want to ask."
Whether he was willing to answer was another matter entirely.
Seeing Fu Zhu agree, the Dragon Master nodded, taking a moment to carefully arrange his words before speaking.
"Lord Fu Zhu, I am not certain if you are aware of my clan's history. We Vidyadhara are descendants of [Immortality], but ever since He perished, my clan has lost the ability to procreate."
"Yet today, you performed a miracle. Using only a few pieces of seemingly common coral, you allowed my Vidyadhara to give birth to three new lives. This is simply the stuff of fantasy!"
There was another point the Dragon Master didn't mention. According to what Huanxi had told him, the very first newborn had appeared after Fu Zhu stuffed two corals into the mouths of two male Vidyadhara. There was no mating involved!
The only unusual thing was that both men had hearts appear over their heads.
Setting aside the Vidyadhara's inability to procreate, the fact that Fu Zhu could skip the biological processes of mating, gestation, and birth to directly produce a newborn was utterly inconceivable!
This was nothing short of a divine miracle! Perhaps this was a feat only the Aeon of [Procreation] could have achieved!
Could it be that Lord Fu Zhu was a follower of the Path of [Procreation]? But if so, he would have to be an Emanator-level follower to pull something like this off! Besides, it was unheard of for any being besides the Swarm to walk the Path of [Procreation].
A myriad of questions flooded the Dragon Master's mind. He desperately wanted to hurl all of them at Fu Zhu, but he was afraid of upsetting him. He could only watch Fu Zhu's expression with painstaking caution, waiting with bated breath for his answer.
Fu Zhu stroked his chin, smacked his lips, and opened his mouth. "This question..."
Just as he was about to say something, a cheerful laugh echoed from outside the hall, interrupting him.
"Haha, that's a question I'd like to know the answer to as well. I wonder if I might listen in?"
Jing Yuan walked in with a beaming smile, his hands clasped behind his back, Yanqing trotting quickly behind him.
"Jing Yuan?!"
The Dragon Master was visibly surprised by Jing Yuan's sudden appearance, but he quickly corrected himself, his tone changing. "General, what brings you to the Scalegorge Waterscape? Is there some official business?"
Jing Yuan paid no mind to the Dragon Master's slightly disrespectful initial address. He walked directly to the empty seat beside Fu Zhu and sat down.
"What's this, Dragon Master? Do I need official business to visit the Scalegorge Waterscape as a guest?"
The Dragon Master quickly waved his hands with an apologetic smile. "Of course not. The Scalegorge Waterscape will always welcome the General's visit."
"That's good to hear."
Jing Yuan nodded, then turned to Fu Zhu with a smile. "What were you two just talking about? I didn't miss anything, did I?"
Fu Zhu shook his head. He had just been about to speak when Jing Yuan showed up.
"No, you've arrived just in time. I was just about to explain. However, before that, I'm afraid I have to answer a question from someone else first."
"Someone else?" echoed Jing Yuan and the Dragon Master in unison.
Besides Fu Zhu, there were only the two of them here. Who else had just asked Fu Zhu a question?
Fu Zhu smiled mysteriously and pointed a finger at the ceiling of the great hall. "The biggest curious cat in the entire universe."
His words left Jing Yuan and the Dragon Master utterly bewildered. The biggest curious cat in the universe? Who was that? And why hadn't they sensed anyone else's presence?
Fu Zhu didn't answer them immediately. Instead, he looked up at the ceiling and muttered to himself.
"I wonder if you want to know. If you don't, then I guess I'll have to find someone else."
In the next instant, a wondrous aura enveloped the entire hall. Jing Yuan almost subconsciously grabbed the arms of his chair, his grip so tight he crushed them into powder.
And in that same instant, Fu Zhu vanished from before Jing Yuan and the Dragon Master's very eyes.
The Dragon Master stared, extending a trembling hand to point at the empty space where Fu Zhu had been. "Where... where did Lord Fu Zhu go?!"
Jing Yuan looked down at the powdered remains of his chair's arms, then raised a hand to rub his temples, sighing under his breath.
Fu Zhu, oh Fu Zhu, you really are full of surprises!
Though I had heard that you were summoned by Nous during your previous journey, I never expected that this time, you could attract His curiosity with just a few words, prompting Him to summon you again.
Just how terrifying is the technology you hold in your hands? This is an honor that not even the geniuses of the Genius Society have ever received.
...
Within the Path Interstice, Fu Zhu opened his eyes. He looked up and immediately saw the massive, shadowy form of Nous. He couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, a relaxed smile spreading across his face.
"As expected, your curiosity is second to none."
From the moment Fu Zhu understood the importance of procreation to the Vidyadhara, he had been planning to find an Aeon to fly a big banner and intimidate them, just to prevent them from doing something irrational over the technology he possessed.
And the best choice for this was the curious cat himself, Nous. Fu Zhu was confident that Nous wouldn't be able to resist asking about this technology from MC.
As it turned out, he had bet correctly.
Nous also understood this, but He didn't care. He just wanted an answer.
And so, Nous asked directly.
[Question: How did you enable the Vidyadhara, who have lost [Procreation], to give birth to newborns?]
Fu Zhu was already prepared for this. He took out the few pieces of coral he had secretly kept, holding one in each hand and raising them high.
"Here, with this."
A red light flashed on Nous's shadowy form. Countless bytes and symbols streamed out, forming two currents that wrapped around the corals in Fu Zhu's hands and pulled them towards the Aeon.
The massive indicator light on Nous's form swept a beam of red light over the two corals.
A moment later, Nous returned the two corals to Fu Zhu, which surprised him slightly.
"You're not going to keep them for research?"
Nous didn't answer, but His next question served as a response from a different angle.
[Question: This slightly peculiar coral possesses no inherent power, yet you used it to enable the Vidyadhara to give birth. Is this coral a necessary tool for you to trigger a certain rule?]
"Hmm... you might have hit the nail on the head."
Fu Zhu found Nous's line of reasoning to be quite sound.
Because even in MC, whether it's the wheat that allows cows to breed or the seeds that allow chickens to breed, the items themselves don't possess any special power. It is only when Steve uses the wheat and seeds on them that the outcome of procreation occurs.
From this perspective, items like the coral truly were just the necessary tools for Steve to trigger the rules.
After receiving Fu Zhu's confirmation, Nous posed a third question.
[Question: Have you devoured a fragment of the Path of [Procreation]?]
"No."
To this, Fu Zhu's answer was firm. He had been in this world for a very short time, and he was absolutely certain he had never come into contact with any fragment of the Path of [Procreation].
Upon receiving this answer, Nous fell silent. Although He had been able to perceive whether Fu Zhu possessed a Path fragment the moment he entered the Interstice, there were too many oddities about this human. He couldn't be sure if He had missed something.
But with Fu Zhu's answer just now, He could confirm it was the truth, which meant the answer to another one of his questions was clear.
All the strange powers on this human came from beyond the known universe, from outside the current sphere of all knowledge!
Fu Zhu tilted his head up and waited for a long time. Seeing that Nous hadn't asked another question, he spoke up.
"Lord Nous, do you have any other questions? If not, please send me back. The next time you have a question, feel free to summon me again. Of course, remember to give me some benefits."
Nous remained silent, but the giant indicator light flashed red once more. Fu Zhu felt his vision blur.
At the same time, a system prompt sounded.
[Path of Erudition Upgraded: I → II]
Before Fu Zhu had a chance to check the specific effects of the Path upgrade, he was back in the Scalegorge Waterscape.
When his vision cleared, the first thing he saw was the Dragon Master's astonished old face, which made Fu Zhu instinctively recoil.
"What's wrong?"
The Dragon Master, seeing Fu Zhu suddenly reappear, immediately pulled out his phone to check the time. Only a single second had passed.
While this might have been Lord Fu Zhu suddenly demonstrating his abilities, the Dragon Master was certain that wasn't the case!
The proof was the incredibly dense aura of the Path of [Erudition] now emanating from Fu Zhu!
He might be old, and the only Emanator he had ever met was Jing Yuan, but he wasn't so senile that he couldn't tell that the aura of [Erudition] on Fu Zhu was now approaching that of Jing Yuan's!
Could it be that Lord Fu Zhu, in that single moment he was about to explain the technique for Vidyadhara procreation, had earned a glance from Nous and become an Emanator of Erudition?!
In an instant, countless thoughts raced through the Dragon Master's mind. The petty schemes he had been considering just moments before were completely shattered by the sight of Fu Zhu being summoned by Nous.
They had originally planned to use any means necessary to keep Fu Zhu, or at least his technique, in the Scalegorge Waterscape after seeing his ability to create new Vidyadhara life. But now...
A Nameless who had become an Emanator of [Erudition], and also a great benefactor of the Luofu...
The option of taking him by force was off the table. If they tried, they would be counting their lucky stars if the Vidyadhara didn't suffer heavy losses!
Meanwhile, Jing Yuan also snapped out of his brief shock and processed what had just happened to Fu Zhu. The corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl into a slight smile. He turned his head to Yanqing, who was standing behind him.
"Yanqing, this is a major news story. A Nameless has become an Emanator of [Erudition] here on our Luofu. This is absolutely huge. Why aren't you sending this out immediately?"
Yanqing snapped to attention, nodded, and quickly took out his phone to contact the Six Commissions of the Luofu and prepare to disseminate the news.
Jing Yuan turned back to look at Fu Zhu's profile, a sense of relief washing over his heart.
Today, even if Fu Zhu hadn't become an Emanator of [Erudition], he would have had to spread this news to prevent the Vidyadhara from doing something irrational in the future. At the very least, it would make all the Vidyadhara hesitate.