Jing Yuan always remembered that dinner gathering.
That day, he learned that his good friend Zero and his master had known each other long ago.
He learned that his master liked Zero.
His friend had gone through being forced to practice swordsmanship, being threatened, getting hit with patrol tokens, being sent to the Alchemy Commission by Shanglu, and a whole series of other incidents...
And then Zero and his master got together.
Jing Yuan, "..."
It really wasn't easy.
After that, he felt he had already seen enough of the world.
But unexpectedly, after leaving the battlefield, taking exams, and coming back afterward, his master was about to propose to Zero.
Jing Yuan, "..."
Right after that, the Marshal of the Xianzhou sent invitations to several of them.
Jing Yuan was completely confused, so he went to find Dan Feng in advance. The four of them met up, and Yingxing stopped being human and became a Vidyadhara.
While still deeply shocked, he and Baiheng circled around Yingxing, who now had dragon horns and a dragon tail.
The fox and the human tried asking questions.
But neither Dan Feng nor Yingxing gave a clear answer. They only said Yingxing would head to Xuling in the future and return to the Luofu after a hundred years.
The moment they heard that, they understood.
It was to avoid trouble.
Yingxing had changed from a short-life species into a long-life species.
Since he was still standing there perfectly fine, it had nothing to do with the "Plagues Author."
On the Xianzhou, topics related to "immortality" were the most taboo.
On top of that, the Vidyadhara race couldn't reproduce in the first place. Now that another member had appeared, the dragon elders would definitely start causing trouble again.
Dan Feng could usually suppress his clansmen, but when it came to matters involving the entire race, that wasn't guaranteed.
Sending Yingxing away from the Luofu was the best choice.
While Jing Yuan was thinking that, Baiheng asked, "Then are you changing your name?"
Yingxing looked confused. "Huh? I have to change my name too?"
Baiheng's ears twitched.
"Then are you giving up forging?"
Yingxing became even more confused. "Huh? Why would I give that up?"
Baiheng was thoughtful. Besides her friend's safety, she also considered his reputation.
"Uh, the Vidyadhara suddenly gain someone who looks exactly like Imbibitor Lunae's friend, has the same name, and is equally talented at forging..."
The foxian paused, then said with difficulty, "Wouldn't that be weird?"
Storybooks already loved making up nonsense...
Now things were even worse. Dan Feng and Yingxing would probably end up with some strange rumors.
Would Yingxing, after becoming a Vidyadhara... get rumored into being his own child?
Dan Feng understood Baiheng's hidden meaning. His expression turned strange as he looked toward Yingxing.
Yingxing had heard plenty of ugly words before and experienced a lot of malice.
As time passed, he stopped trying to figure out the hidden meanings and hostility in other people's words.
Yingxing didn't care.
"I like my name, and I like forging. Let them spread whatever rumors they want."
People who understood him and held goodwill toward him would naturally speak properly.
Some groups existing at all was simply proof of biodiversity.
Even Zero, the strongest human, hadn't gotten rid of them. How could Yingxing, just an ordinary craftsman, control what they thought?
The universe was so large. There had to be room for them to exist.
If they had opinions about him, they could say it to his face. What kind of thing was gossiping behind his back?
Dan Feng stopped dwelling on it.
If Yingxing himself didn't care about rumors or storybook gossip, then if Dan Feng still cared about such a small matter, wouldn't that make him seem narrow-minded?
Seeing that Yingxing and Dan Feng had made up their minds, Baiheng stopped saying more. She shot Jing Yuan a look, and the fox and the human immediately began chasing Yingxing around.
Before they could touch Yingxing's tail, Dan Feng stopped them and vaguely stated that Zero had an unusually close relationship with the current Marshal.
At the time, Jing Yuan wondered whether Zero was like those storybook protagonists. Secretly testing the people around him?
Hiding his identity on purpose, then one day restoring his true status, returning as the Dragon King, transferring one hundred million patrol tokens to the people around him, and promoting them heavily.
Then would Jing Yuan, like the protagonist's friend in those stories, rise through the ranks and eventually become the Luofu General?
Of course, storybooks were still storybooks.
He just hadn't expected them to become reality.
His friend really was the Dragon King.
The main culprit behind all his overtime work.
The protagonist of the book jointly written by him, General Tengxiao, and Diviner Xiaoin.
The strongest human who made the entire universe tremble.
Even though huge waves rose in Jing Yuan's heart, he could only pull himself out of the shock and sit down under General Tengxiao's urging, bracing himself to join this dinner gathering.
He knew very clearly that, as the youngest person present, there was a high chance the Marshal would pick him as the topic to break the ice and ease the atmosphere.
What he didn't expect was that the first question would be about exam scores. Was this really some common problem among elders?
They could've asked about any other subject. Why history, the memorization-heavy subject he'd abandoned?
While complaining internally, Jing Yuan kept a smile on his face.
Like attending a family dinner, he skillfully acted modest first, then praised the other side in return.
If it had been someone else, they might not have noticed anything strange.
Unfortunately, Jing Yuan was only a child under twenty.
And at the same time, the people facing him were Hua and Guanliang.
One had fought Zero to a draw.
The other constantly argued intensely with Zero.
The moment they saw Jing Yuan's expression, their hearts sank.
Hua showed nothing on her face and smiled kindly.
Seeing this, Tengxiao stepped forward at the right time to praise Jing Yuan.
"Do you still remember that book? Jing Yuan helped me quite a lot in it."
Hua instantly relaxed.
With a faint smile, she glanced at her father before clearly saying, "You mean that book, Five Thousand Years of the Xianzhou Alliance Walking Beside the Crownless Emperor? As expected of the Cloud Knight you value."
Zero, "..."
'Hua, you did that on purpose, didn't you?!'
'Five thousand years is one thing, but did you really have to say the full title like that?!'
Under the table, he grabbed the hand Jingliu had taken the initiative and stretched toward him and glared at Hua unhappily.
Hua slightly lifted her chin and gestured toward Jing Yuan.
"Father, do you have anything you want to ask?"
Zero understood.
Hua wanted to train Jing Yuan as a successor.
Zero originally wanted to say a few words.
For example, deciding on a candidate after only meeting once...wasn't that a bit too hasty?
Or, Hua, you should respect Jing Yuan's choice and ask what he thinks.
Unfortunately, Zero himself had no position to stop her.
Back then, when he met Hua, he never cared about her thoughts either. He directly decided on his successor on his own.
Zero could only go easy on Jing Yuan.
"Jing Yuan, if it rains, what would you do?"
Jing Yuan hesitated for a moment. Unable to catch the hidden meaning, he could only answer dryly, "...Use an umbrella."
Zero followed up very carelessly, "What if there's no umbrella?"
Jing Yuan tried to do reading comprehension, but couldn't figure anything out.
So he could only answer literally.
"...Hide from the rain."
Zero gave an "oh," then looked at another person at the table.
"I'm done asking, Guanliang."
Jing Yuan also looked over.
The person Zero called "Guanliang" wore a dark blue cross-collared robe, with black hair and black eyes, sitting beside the Marshal.
That person stared at Jing Yuan for a moment with dull, lifeless eyes before asking, "Are you a Marshal fanboy?"
Jing Yuan blanked for a moment.
'Marshal? Which Marshal did he mean? Zero, or the current Marshal?'
And why ask whether he was a Marshal fanboy? Was he testing his stance?
He stopped thinking and decided to give the standard answer from test papers.
Guanliang narrowed his eyes, impatience appearing on his face as he bluntly said, "Don't give me nonsense like serving the Xianzhou people or believing in the Reignbow Arbiter. Interpret it literally and answer my question."
Jing Yuan, whose thoughts had been predicted and exposed in advance, "..."
'Why did this guy break routine just like Brother Yingxing?!'
From the corner of his eye, he saw the general giving him an encouraging look, so he replied, "No."
Guanliang looked toward Hua.
Hua smiled and asked, "What kind of people do you think are the rarest in the Xianzhou Alliance?"
Jing Yuan suddenly found himself in difficulty.
How was he supposed to answer? Brutal criminals? Or traitors who pursued the "Plagues Author"?
The person opposite him was the Marshal of the Xianzhou.
No matter how he answered, it felt inappropriate.
Hua changed the question at the right moment.
"Let me ask differently. On the star network, what kind of people are the rarest?"
Jing Yuan stayed silent for a moment before cautiously saying, "...Normal people?"
Unexpectedly, the Marshal nodded in satisfaction and praised him emotionally, "As expected of the famous strategist among the Cloud Knights."
Jing Yuan genuinely couldn't figure out what was worth praising in his answer of "normal people," so he could only smile along.
Hua asked again, "Do you want to become Marshal?"
Her tone was calm, as though she wasn't discussing a change in rulers, but simply asking Jing Yuan which dish he liked.
When Jing Yuan first heard it, he thought it was just a simple question.
But after repeating those five words in his mind and understanding them, his eyes widened and he instinctively looked toward General Tengxiao.
Jingliu instinctively gripped Zero's hand.
Zero used his other hand to lightly pat the back of her hand. Just as he was about to change the topic, Hua chuckled.
"Just kidding."
Jing Yuan thought, 'You really don't look like you're joking at all!'
Though countless thoughts ran through his mind, he could only laugh along on the surface.
Hua said meaningfully, "I'm not the kind of unreliable adult who hires child labor. I'll respect all my successor's choices."
Zero glanced at her without speaking.
Yes, respect all their choices.
But Hua's condition was that they had to be the successor first.
Hua brought her fingers together and gestured toward Matthias.
"This one is Matthias."
Jing Yuan turned his head and first noticed golden hair.
His gaze lowered.
It was a young child, looking only thirteen or fourteen years old.
The two looked at each other, and Matthias gave him a shy smile mixed with slight awkwardness.
Seeing that, Jing Yuan hurriedly nodded before looking back at the Marshal.
She said, "The three of us can be considered the same generation."
"There's another one. Something came up temporarily, so I'll introduce Them to you another day."
Jing Yuan's smile was becoming stiff.
He couldn't help thinking, 'He, a Cloud Knight under twenty years old...'
'Was in the same generation as the Marshal of the Xianzhou?'
'Who exactly was the other person the Marshal mentioned?'
He vaguely had a guess, but didn't dare think deeper about it.
Soon, the topic was taken over by another elder with black hair and blue eyes, who guided everyone through introductions.
Tengxiao smiled brightly, acting as the woman's side's relative to liven up the atmosphere. After everyone learned each other's identities, attendants began serving dishes.
Finally, the elder smiled and said, "Zandar. His teacher."
An elder sharing the same name as the Number One of the Genius Society made Jing Yuan's thoughts spiral uncontrollably.
He remembered the meme he used most often while chatting with Zero...Path of Erudition.
Before Zero and his master started dating, Jing Yuan often traded memes with him and joked around.
Just like when your friend studies hard for exams and wants a government job, you'd joke that they belonged to some bureau or department and remind them not to forget you once they became rich.
The two of them often joked about each other using Paths.
But this person before him... could he really be the First Seat?
Then how exactly should seniority be counted? What was Zero's relationship with Nous? And what relationship did he himself have with an Aeon?
Of course, what Jing Yuan most wanted to know was whether the absent person today really was the Reignbow Arbiter. Did that mean he and the Reignbow Arbiter were from the same generation?
Hua and Guanliang exchanged glances.
Both saw through Jing Yuan's thoughts and sighed internally at the same time.
Good news, not a Marshal fanboy.
Bad news, an Lan fanboy.
Still, not a big problem.
There was the old story of Lord Ye loving dragons. At worst, let the god and the human meet once. No matter how thick the filter around an Aeon was, it would completely shatter.
Jing Yuan knew nothing about this and focused on eating.
For some reason, even the usually lively Baiheng had quieted down and buried herself in eating along with him.
The elder named Zandar softly asked Jingliu, "I heard from Zero that your swordsmanship is outstanding, and that you're the Luofu Sword Champion."
Jing Yuan looked at his master.
She habitually wore a cold face. The more special the situation, the colder her face became.
At this moment, his master kept a cold face as she nodded at Zandar.
Zero lightly patted Jingliu's hand to comfort her.
Smiling, he said, "Yeah. Unfortunately, I've only seen her dance the sword in the Cloud Knight camp."
Jing Yuan instantly understood Zero's intention.
Some things couldn't be told to elders.
Putting himself in their place, if Jing Yuan accepted a student and learned the student's lover fought them while drunk...
Jing Yuan would definitely advise them to break up.
He picked up his chopsticks, grabbed some cold dishes the attendants brought over, and continued listening to the conversation.
Zandar sighed.
"His physical condition is extremely special."
"You have to protect him well."
"You can't let him suffer even the slightest injury."
After hearing this, Zero immediately felt trouble coming.
Zandar was fishing for information.
He was testing whether Jingliu knew about the special nature of his flesh and blood.
Zero looked toward Jingliu, just about to hint at her with his eyes, when Zandar shot him a sharp glare.
Jingliu's expression became especially serious as she earnestly said, "Please rest assured. I won't let him get hurt."
Zero silently poured tea for Jingliu.
In the end, it still couldn't be hidden.
There was no smile in Zandar's eyes, though his tone remained extremely gentle.
"Hehe, that's good."
He glared at the student avoiding his gaze.
'And you still say you didn't tell Jingliu!'
'Lying even to your teacher, you lovestruck idiot!'
'You're hopeless!'
Zandar chuckled again and added, "He also never checks prices when buying things..."
Jing Yuan, silently eating while listening nearby, "..."
'Zero, are you the Princess and the Pea?!'
'The kind that can't handle even the slightest bump?!'
'What kind of male-side elder tells the woman's side to take care of the man?!'