"Interesting?" Lisa was momentarily stunned by Yu Jin's words, but then she relaxed. This was indeed something Yu Jin would do.
One could even say that most of his motivation was this: as long as it was interesting, Yu Jin would do it.
"Of course it's interesting, especially when you know someone shares your thoughts," Yu Jin said with a smirk.
That Doctor is quite wild, and the Akademiya is bold enough. Ambition is a good thing, but when that ambition doesn't match one's strength, it only becomes a joke.
"Someone else can align with the King's thoughts? Who is it? I want to meet him!" Lanssangx's reaction was much more pronounced than Lisa's upon hearing this.
She looked around, seemingly trying to find the person Yu Jin mentioned who shared his thoughts.
To have thoughts that align with Yu Jin's, one must be a little bit crazy. Lanssangx wanted to see it for herself.
"Bang!" Yu Jin punched Lanssangx on the head, then gritted his teeth and said, "So, Xiao Huang's habit of being a busybody is something he learned from you, isn't it?"
No wonder the Golden Tree always interjected when he was talking to Nahida. It was solved: he learned it from Lanssangx.
"Ugh… who said that? I didn't teach the Golden Tree anything! If anything, he learned it himself!" Lanssangx argued, covering her head.
What could she teach the Golden Tree? To generate electricity?
Everyone present watched the playful Yu Jin and Lanssangx, and their mouths twitched.
"Sigh~" In the end, Lisa sighed and asked weakly, "So, great Lord Yu Jin, what exactly are your thoughts?"
"Hehe, you flatter me," Yu Jin waved his hand, seemingly a little embarrassed by Lisa calling him great.
"Lisa, what's your impression of the Akademiya?" Yu Jin stopped being smug after a while. He didn't answer Lisa's question, but instead asked for her opinion on the Akademiya.
Yu Jin's words brought Lisa back to her memories of studying at the Akademiya. The mad Scholars, the prejudice against the Desert, the dull and boring spiritual life… just thinking about these things made Lisa feel uncomfortable.
"Not good. Arrogant people reside high in their towers, only caring about their own small domain," Lisa said, shaking her head.
The Akademiya could almost be said to have gathered all resources for research. As for other matters, those crude mercenaries could handle them.
This was also one of the reasons why there were so many mercenaries in Sumeru. The Akademiya itself was not a qualified political organization—it even hired its army.
While possessing immense power, it failed to fulfill its corresponding obligations. This void was then naturally filled by mercenaries.
However, the quality of the mercenaries was truly hard to describe. Murder, robbery, and price gouging were commonplace.
And most mercenaries were Desert People trying to make a living. In this situation, the animosity between the Desert and the rainforest deepened daily, almost becoming two separate worlds. The Akademiya, moreover, ignored it, as if the Desert were not part of Sumeru's territory.
"What about Sumeru's Dendro Archon?" Yu Jin nodded and asked next.
"The Dendro Archon?" Lisa fell into thought again. But as Lisa pondered, she gradually noticed something was amiss.
As the absolute center of a nation, the Archon had no presence in Sumeru.
Lisa's impression of the Dendro Archon mostly remained with the great Greater Lord Rukkhadevata from five hundred years ago. As for the newborn Lesser Lord Kusanali, she only knew her name.
The Lesser Lord Kusanali was Sumeru's living Archon. If things were normal, how could so few people know of her?
Recalling the Akademiya's intentional concealment of the Lesser Lord Kusanali's information for a long time, an incredible thought appeared in Lisa's mind.
"The Akademiya… wants to break free from divine rule and follow Khaenri'ah's path again?"
"Clang!" Yu Jin stumbled upon hearing Lisa's words. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said to Lisa:
"Lisa, your idea is great. Go compete for Grand Sage now, I, Yu Jin, will be the first to support you!"
With that, Yu Jin even waved his fist.
He never thought that beneath Lisa's seemingly ordinary exterior, there was such a turbulent inner world.
Yu Jin glanced at Lisa's trembling body again. Well, her exterior was also turbulent.
Upon hearing Yu Jin's words, Lisa immediately knew she had overthought things. She took a deep breath, exhaled her inner embarrassment, and then said dryly, "Isn't… isn't it? Then what do you mean?"
"Those Scholars aren't as bold as you think. At most, they just want to create a new god."
Yu Jin said, and then, as if feeling that this statement was inappropriate, he continued to explain, "Calling it a new god is a bit inaccurate. A… powerful and useful tool?"
Yu Jin nodded, feeling that this description was more fitting for those hot-headed sages.
Five hundred years were enough to change many things, just as Mondstadters forgot Dvalin, the sages seemed to have forgotten their reverence for the Archons.
Actually, Yu Jin didn't care about reverence or lack thereof. It's just that if you want to create an Archon, you need to understand the source of divine power, and how Archons become strong, right?
However, from Yu Jin's brief glance, the Akademiya seemed to be very lacking in knowledge in this area.
So they needed the Doctor's help. Yu Jin's evaluation of this behavior was: pure idiocy!
Even without judging the good or bad of creating an Archon, for such an important project, there was even a Fatui Harbinger involved! And he also had considerable influence in the project, which was quite fantastical.
"Creating an Archon… no wonder…" The doubts in Lisa's mind immediately dissipated. She finally understood the source of all the unusual occurrences in Sumeru.
If the Akademiya was trying to create a new Archon, then many things could be explained.
"What? Creating an Archon? That doesn't sound like a good thing!" Paimon exclaimed immediately. Creating an Archon, could such a thing really be done?
Moreover, creating an Archon sounded like an extremely dangerous endeavor.
"Indeed, I always encourage you to explore the unknown. However, some people try to rush into the sea before even building a proper boat, and then I have to pull them back."
Yu Jin shook his head, sighing with emotion. He had cleaned up after such messes many times.
"Oh, I almost forgot, Yu Jin, you're an Archon too," Paimon said, looking at Yu Jin, realizing it belatedly.
Yu Jin was too unconventional, which often made Paimon forget his divine status.
"Then what do you plan to do, senior?" Lumine asked curiously, looking at the shaking Yu Jin.
Such a thing should be stopped immediately, right?
"What to do? Nothing!" Yu Jin spread his hands, seemingly not too concerned about the Akademiya creating an Archon.
"Those guys have only created a body. They don't even have the energy to drive it, just an empty shell."
Yu Jin recalled that big guy underground in Sumeru. What kind of aesthetic? Such long legs? If it really fought Yu Jin, Yu Jin guaranteed he would break its legs immediately.
"Besides, Sumeru isn't without Archons. Although the Archons here are different from ours, they still have something."
"Relax!" Yu Jin yawned. He was weak after losing blood. Next, he would have to slack off for a while to recover properly.
"Alright… alright." Paimon scratched her head, feeling something was off. This was something that could change the pattern of The Seven Nations, yet it sounded like casual chitchat?
"Phew—I worried for nothing." Lisa rolled her eyes. She should have realized it sooner.
With Yu Jin around, what was she rushing for?
"No, you should be more worried now," Albedo, who had been silent, interjected.
He pointed downwards. Through the floating clouds, familiar figures could vaguely be seen on the ground.
It was everyone from the Knights of Favonius.
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