"Furthermore," Fu Xuan continued, her expression darkening significantly as she spoke. The nightmare once again surged in her heart. "Yu Xian's combat prowess is absurdly strong. In my dream, I witnessed Yu Xian, with no prior preparation and completely unarmed, single-handedly slay thousands of members of the Denizens of Abundance and save tens of thousands of civilians. He only sustained injuries and was narrowly defeated in the end because he was ambushed by an assassin."
"And not a single one of those civilians suffered any casualties."
As she spoke, Fu Xuan subtly glanced at Jing Yuan, observing his reaction.
"General, do you realize what this signifies?"
Of course, Jing Yuan—being a seasoned veteran of countless battles—understood perfectly well what this meant.
If it were merely about slaying several thousand ordinary Abundance abominations, many skilled fighters within the Cloud Knights had achieved similar feats on the battlefield before. It might seem unremarkable at first glance.
However, if the conditions were truly as Fu Xuan described—with those additional constraints—the situation became entirely different.
Jing Yuan's face showed genuine surprise, no, even shock as he softly articulated what Fu Xuan had left unsaid but both of them understood perfectly.
"If he were in peak physical condition and wielded a sharp blade produced by the Xianzhou, Yu Xian could likely take on at least five thousand foes."
"If beforehand, that masked fool named Yu Xian had taken just one even a single specially formulated pill designed to counter the Abundance abominations, he could contend with at least twenty thousand."
"If..." Jing Yuan almost didn't dare to continue the thought or speak it aloud. This potential seemed too good to be true, creating a sudden sense of unreality. "If he were equipped with the full arsenal of our Xianzhou Cloud Knights if he had the support of Cloud Knight reconnaissance, logistical backing on the battlefield... or even if he didn't need to expend energy rescuing innocent civilians and could focus solely on eliminating the enemy..."
Jing Yuan articulated his deduction, word by word.
"In that case, Yu Xian could eliminate at least two hundred thousand Abundance abominations."
The General of the Luofu closed his eyes.
"And at most...One million."
The sky-obscuring war-constructs would no longer be fearsome; the battle-hardened beast-ships of the Borisin could be easily destroyed; and perhaps, Yu Xian could even contend with a Borisin Hunt's leader the most formidable warrior of the entire Hunt.
The ability to alter the course of a battle.
Hiss... This level of combat prowess is even more unbelievable than Yanqing's!
Thinking this, Jing Yuan unconsciously straightened his posture.
Needless to say, Yu Xian's image in Jing Yuan's mind was gradually becoming taller and more radiant, completely severing any association with the impression Jing Yuan previously held of the "Masked Fools"...
...the stereotypical impression of those good-for-nothings who only cause trouble and never do any real work.
How could this be an unstable element? How could this be nonsense?!
Tears welled up in Jing Yuan's eyes.
This was nothing less than a beacon of light for the Luofu Xianzhou! With such a talent, the future of the Luofu was saved!
"Then," having reached this point in his thoughts, Jing Yuan completely disregarded the fact that Fu Xuan had dragged him out of bed. He sniffled and asked cautiously, a barely perceptible tremor evident in his tone, "Where is this Yu Xian you mentioned now?"
"Oh, he nearly died. He's currently recuperating at the hospital next to the Divination Commission."
???!!!
In just a few short minutes, Jing Yuan's emotions had truly experienced extreme highs and lows.
No sooner had he started feeling elated than Fu Xuan immediately followed up with this statement, which nearly caused Jing Yuan's heart to stop outright—making him feel his Mara-stricken state draw a step closer.
He shot to his feet.
Fu Xuan once again reached out and pressed Jing Yuan back down to sit on the bedside.
"Don't be impatient, General. Yu Xian is fine now. Aside from losing both arms and being somewhat weakened, he didn't suffer any major issues. According to Bailu's diagnosis, Yu Xian only needs two or three days of rest to recover completely."
Oh—
Jing Yuan finally felt relieved.
"Hahaha, I see, that's good, that's good." Jing Yuan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said, as if it were nothing, "Speaking of which, if this masked fool Yu Xian is truly as powerful as you say, Fu Xuan, the fact that he nearly lost his life this time surely indicates some behind-the-scenes manipulation by certain individuals."
"It's likely that one of those old-timers is still unable to sit still. Seeing a talent like Yu Xian gaining your favor, Fu Xuan, they grew concerned and thus moved against him in secret..."
The more Jing Yuan thought about it, the more sense it made.
"So, Fu Xuan, the reason you came to see me so late at night... is it because you have already apprehended the culprit who attacked Yu Xian, or having identified the mastermind behind the scenes but finding their status and position difficult to act against directly"
Fu Xuan had come to him, the General, seeking his cooperation to maneuver accordingly.
Of course, the possibility that Fu Xuan hadn't discovered the culprit's identity at all never crossed Jing Yuan's mind for a single moment. After all, that would be utterly absurd, wouldn't it? How could the esteemed Lord diviner of the Luofu Xianzhou, in command of the incomparable divination tool that is the Matrix of Prescience Ultima, possibly fail to deduce who harmed Yu Xian?
Therefore, that meant Fu Xuan was seeking his assistance and leverage to punish the true culprit—or perhaps even to use this incident as a pretext to rectify the prevailing atmosphere within the Luofu Xianzhou right?
Heh. Jing Yuan smiled faintly.
This was now entering his area of expertise.
Thinking this, Jing Yuan relaxed slightly instead. He shifted to a more comfortable sitting posture, propped his cheek with one hand, and instinctively narrowed his eyes—
Like a lion stirring from slumber.
"Come on, Fu Xuan, tell me who the culprit is! Hmph, anyone who dares to harm a promising young talent of our Luofu is no ordinary criminal. We must come down hard on them!"
Yes, Jing Yuan had already resolved that no matter who the culprit was, once Fu Xuan named them, he would undoubtedly investigate and punish them!
Under Jing Yuan's expectant gaze, Fu Xuan said coldly, "Regarding why Yu Xian suddenly fell unconscious and his body began to dissipate, based on my divinations, this matter...I divined nothing at all."
Huh?
Jing Yuan stood up for the third time—no, this time, he practically leaped to his feet.
Fu Xuan didn't push him back down. Fu Xuan felt like crying.
"It's true, General. After Yu Xian's incident, I kept watch over him for several days and performed continuous divinations, but ultimately found nothing. Who the culprit is, what methods they used... I couldn't divine any of it..."
Only that dream grew increasingly vivid, like a thorn lodged in her throat, Fu Xuan thought.
For a diviner of Fu Xuan's caliber, dreams were never something to be ignored. Especially that overly realistic and clear dream from a few days ago—Fu Xuan was certain it was some kind of omen.
An omen of the future.
If she ignored the dream and failed to change the course of events, then the dream would likely soon become reality, and Yu Xian would most 0 die...
Thinking of this, Fu Xuan silently lowered her head. Once again, she felt a profound sense of helplessness—of powerlessness—of helpless rage...
She clenched her fists.
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A/n: Hey over on my patreon there are currently two for the time being exclusive books which are
Life Simulator: Starting in Genshin Impact!
Zenless Zone Zero: Loving Daily Life Starting in New Eridu
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