Chapter 119: Why does Miss Ting Yun look like someone who enjoys a good show?
「 As Stelle was shocked by the grandeur of the Ambrosial Arbor, the restraints on Kafka's hands suddenly 'snapped' open.
"Huh?" Stelle, who had come back to her senses, saw Kafka about to escape and hastily prepared to give chase.
But after only a few steps, Blade descended from the sky, holding the Shard Sword, blocking Stelle's path.
"Let's go, Bladie. We still have two more places to visit."
Kafka walked to the edge of the Divination Commission's Matrix of Prescience, her hands clasped behind her back. Her gaze was directed downwards, as if a curious young girl was observing something. She spread her arms and elegantly leaned backward, as if behind her was not a ten-thousand-foot drop, but a comfortable mattress.
In contrast, Blade, who was beside her, plunged straight down like a deep-sea torpedo. 」
「 .....」
〜Demon Slayer World〜
"Just let the two of them go?"
Sanemi Shinazugawa voiced his dissatisfaction.
"At least have a spar with that guy named Blade, right?"
That Blade looked ridiculously strong... and it was rare to see a master swordsman. Since witnessing Jingliu last time, several members of the Demon Slayer Corps hadn't seen Luofu's swordsmanship in a long time.
"Blade's attire suggests he's also a Xianzhou native. He should also have Mara-struck, right? He feels like the same type as Jingliu. If they really fought, Stelle might not be his match."
Everyone present had witnessed Stelle's strength. Although Stelle, with a baseball bat, was indeed very strong, she didn't have that murderous intent to kill.
When fighting others, she mostly left a glimmer of hope.
...Subdue, but not kill.
Even with Cocolia, she merely forced her to deactivate her transformation.
But Blade was different. Just by looking at his eyes, everyone could tell that once this person made a move, he would genuinely kill, not just spar.
"Among those in Xianzhou who can fight Blade, besides the General, there should only be Jingliu, right? Now that Jingliu is dead, if the General doesn't make a move, we probably won't have the chance to witness Xianzhou's swordsmanship,"
Iguro Obanai, the Serpent Hashira, sighed.
"How can that be? Have you forgotten that young man named Yanqing?"
Shinobu Kocho suddenly interjected.
"He's the General's personal guard at such a young age. In terms of swordsmanship alone, perhaps only General Jing Yuan can surpass him, right? And, he's about the same age as Muichiro."
The last sentence significantly altered the atmosphere in the room.
The Hashiras' gazes towards the Mist Hashira instantly changed, from initial observation and learning to now an expression of watching a spectacle.
These guys...
Muichiro Tokito let out a long sigh. He slightly raised his head, his mint-colored eyes half-hidden in the shadows cast by his eyelashes.
"I wonder whose swordsmanship would be superior between us?"
—
「 Stelle hurriedly ran to the edge of the central hub to check, but it was too late... Kafka and Blade were no longer there.
"Did Kafka escape? Argh, how are we gonna explain this to the master diviner!?" March 7th looked annoyed.
Recalling what she had just said, Stelle hesitated, "If she didn't lie to us, we probably don't need to explain anything..."
"...Hey, you weren't brainwashed by her, were you?!" March 7th exclaimed, covering her mouth.
Stelle briefly relayed Kafka's words to March 7th and Welt, proving that she hadn't been tricked by the mature older sister.
They planned to first find Fu Xuan and Jing Yuan to discuss the next course of action. But on the way, they found Tingyun standing on a nearby skybridge, gazing at the still rapidly growing Ambrosial Arbor in the distance with a look of intoxicated fascination.
March 7th was puzzled, "Isn't this the half-withered tree stump Qingque showed us? How did it grow all of a sudden?"
Tingyun paid no attention, merely marveling to herself, "Amazing, absolutely amazing! Even the long-lived might not witness something like this in their lifetime! I'm so lucky!" 」
「 .....」
〜Genshin Impact World〜
Teyvat Continent, Fontaine.
"Huh? So this is how Xianzhou people react to the revived Ambrosial Arbor?"
Furina was looking at Tingyun with a strange expression, wondering if this foxian lady was someone who enjoyed watching drama unfold.
Navia, who was silently sipping black tea nearby, suddenly praised,
"The Ambrosial Arbor revived, and the Divination Commission's people have all vanished. Miss Tingyun isn't thinking about escaping disaster, but instead, her first thought is to admire the Ambrosial Arbor's scenery... This is even bolder than the Spina di Rosula's way of doing things."
Clorinde, however, frowned slightly.
"But when she was helping Stelle and the others capture Kafka, Miss Tingyun didn't seem to show this personality. My impression was... she was quite afraid of death. Didn't she say she wanted to live another hundred or so years of stable life?"
Navia lowered her head in thought.
"Indeed, Miss Tingyun does feel a bit strange, but I can't quite pinpoint what's strange about her..."
—
「 "Perhaps it was given powerful fertilizer?" Stelle stroked her chin, suddenly recalling a certain fertilizer advertisement that claimed "one bag is as good as two."
March 7th gave her a speechless look.
"Such extraordinary energy... It's the Stellaron."
Welt analyzed, "The Stellaron that the Xianzhou Cloud Knights are searching for is most likely the culprit behind this anomaly!"
Meanwhile, Fu Xuan had already informed Jing Yuan of all the intelligence she had gathered using the Matrix of Prescience through a communication projection.
Even now, she still wore a shocked and doubtful expression.
"Stay calm, Diviner Fu, the Matrix of Prescience does not lie."
With great calamity approaching, Jing Yuan's tone remained as calm as ever. Not only was he not flustered in the slightest, but he was even comforting Fu Xuan.
"The logic you have laid out concerning Kafka makes sense — it has helped me to fill in another piece of the puzzle."
"I agree there is a hostile external force at work on the Luofu. The Stellaron didn't appear out of thin air— someone managed to sneak it onto the ship. As for the culprits behind the Luofu's internal strife, I believe we are dealing with the so-called Disciples of Sanctus Medicus— that shadowy organization of the Denizens of 『 Abundance 』."
"The moment the planter of the Stellaron revealed themself. The Xianzhou has the blessing of the Reignbow Arbiter— only another Aeon's Emanator would be capable of sneaking onto this ship without my knowing. We are dealing with an external threat."
"The Stellaron has corrupted various places, yet it bypassed the Divine Foresight Department and the Shackling Prison, clearly with ulterior motives. The enemy's planning indicates they possess internal intelligence on Luofu; thus, an internal threat will emerge. Understanding these two points is not difficult..." 」
「 .....」
〜Frieren: Beyond Journey's End World〜
"An Emanator... but from a different Star God? So, you're saying the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus have an Emanator of 『 Abundance 』 behind them?"
Stark scratched his head, the pieces not quite fitting together in his mind.
"I find that unlikely,"
Frieren stated calmly, her analysis as dispassionate as ever.
"The Disciples of Sanctus Medicus are already brazen enough to recruit openly in the streets of Exalting Sanctum without an Emanator's backing. If they truly had such power, their arrogance would be... unimaginable."
Perhaps, this is called leveraging another's power?
"As the situation stands, Xianzhou has become an intersection for three Star God factions,"
Frieren continued, laying out the logic.
"If we rule out an Emanator of 『 Abundance 』, the only remaining possibility is 『 Destruction 』.
"An Emanator of 『 Destruction 』?"
Fern interjected, her voice tinged with skepticism as she recalled the tales.
"But don't they leave only ruins in their wake? The First Guardian of Belobog had to summon an eternal blizzard just to fight off the ordinary Antimatter Legion. If a true Emanator had come to Xianzhou, would the outcome really be so... quiet?"
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