The Cloud Knight Evan had just rescued and regrouped with his unit as soon as his wounds finished healing.
Before leaving, he repeatedly thanked Evan and the others with genuine sincerity.
"Seriously… why does something go wrong everywhere we go?"
March 7th crossed her arms, looking in the direction the Cloud Knights had departed, clearly annoyed.
"A perfectly good Trailblazing trip, and we run into a Stellaron again."
"That thing really has it out for us."
"Someone's stirring trouble, obviously," Evan replied calmly.
"But the Cloud Knights reacted fast—faster than I expected."
"It's just that this time, the Abundance spawn were stronger than usual."
"Still, the Xianzhou has capable people."
"From the Stellaron's eruption to the Cloud Knights mobilizing—it only took a few minutes."
"Now all the ports and the Jade Gate are sealed."
"Finding whoever's behind this shouldn't be too hard."
He'd said it back on Jarilo-VI too—
Stellarons loved bullying weaker civilizations.
Jarilo-VI was fragile, so the Stellaron spent seven hundred years growing a consciousness,
slowly corrupting the Supreme Guardian.
But against a major power like the Xianzhou?
A Stellaron alone wasn't much.
This one clearly hadn't formed naturally.
Someone had deliberately brought it aboard.
"Still…"
"March, Evan—the Jade Gate's closed. We can't leave anytime soon."
Just minutes ago,
orders from Sichen Palace had sealed all routes.
No entry.
No departure.
"Relax. I expected that," Evan said casually.
"I already messaged Uncle Yang—we'll be staying a while."
March 7th held up her phone confidently.
"Then we're good."
"But the trouble isn't over," Evan continued.
"Let's split up."
"March, you and Stelle handle problems elsewhere."
"I'll check areas near the Alchemy Commission and the Artisanship Commission—see if I can help."
With that, Evan headed in the direction the Cloud Knights had gone.
March blinked, staring at his back.
"…Is he always this proactive?"
Seriously.
"He's not even taking us with him," she sighed.
"Come on, Stelle. Let's help out too."
The two of them left as well.
As for Evan?
Did he really go just to help?
Of course not.
The system prompts had already flagged treasure chests
near the Alchemy Commission and the Artisanship Commission.
The more important the location—
the higher the chest's quality.
As for why there were no chests inside Sichen Palace?
Not his problem.
Probably because the key NPCs hadn't shown up yet.
Artisanship Commission
One of the Six Commissions of Xianzhou.
True to its name, the Artisanship Commission oversaw all industrial development across the Luofu.
Weapons.
Starships.
Automatons.
Mechanized constructs.
From everyday civilian machinery
to interstellar warships and even Hollow Domains—
Nearly everything was designed, manufactured, or improved here.
Its importance to the Xianzhou was unquestionable.
Next to it stood the Alchemy Commission.
Though its prominence had declined after the Arbor was destroyed,
it was still a place where outworlders came seeking medicine.
Once, the Alchemy Commission had flourished beyond imagination—
using remnants of the Arbor to interpret the Path of immortality,
drawing countless followers.
Compared to that era, today's Alchemy Commission felt… diminished.
"Is this the Artisanship Commission?"
When Evan arrived, the place was already heavily overrun.
Thick Arbor branches covered every major route.
At the entrance, many craftsmen had gathered—
having evacuated immediately when the Stellaron erupted.
Cloud Knights had sealed off nearby passages.
[Beep—beep—beep!]
[Treasure detected nearby. Location marked.]
[Location: Artisanship Commission · Molten Gold Workshop]
Evan slipped past the crowd and entered the compound.
By now, almost everyone inside had been evacuated.
The Molten Gold Workshop was one of the Commission's most critical facilities.
When Evan reached it, the doors were sealed—
locked under a protective formation.
And judging by the Cloud Knight corpses on the ground?
Whatever was inside wasn't simple.
"Mara-afflicted Cloud Knights?"
No—if it were ordinary mara, the Cloud Knights wouldn't have failed.
Especially with the Ten-Lords Commission already intervening.
Something else was at work.
Evan retrieved a keystone from one of the fallen soldiers—
a jade-like key.
He inserted it into the seal and twisted gently.
With a rumble, the formation dissolved.
The doors opened.
And Evan frowned immediately.
The moment they parted,
a flood of shattered mechanical constructs spilled out.
Parts everywhere.
The stench of blood filled the air.
The Artisanship Commission had been one of the first targets of the Arbor's awakening.
And also one of the first places where Abundance spawn appeared.
Its craftsmen had almost no combat capability.
The fall had been inevitable.
Evan stepped inside without hesitation.
Before long—
He heard labored breathing.
"S-someone… here?"
"H-help… I'm pinned—someone help!!"
Evan followed the voice.
Soon, he found an elderly man trapped beneath shattered machinery.
Nearby, several out-of-control automatons patrolled aimlessly.
"So the Stellaron can even hijack machinery…"
The Stellaron didn't just awaken the Arbor
and summon Abundance spawn—
It increased the frequency of mara outbreaks
and caused widespread mechanical failures.
No wonder the Luofu was spiraling into chaos.
If Evan didn't have the identity of a Nameless,
he'd already be locked up.
…Though, honestly, being locked in the Shackling Prison wouldn't be all bad.
Plenty of interesting things in there.
After a brief pause, Evan acted.
He mimicked the Moonlight Throne,
power output—maximum.
"Boom!!"
A surge of energy blasted forward,
sweeping up mechanical debris
and smashing straight into the rogue constructs.
Explosions echoed.
The trapped man tried to look up—
but the Moonlight Throne's relentless bombardment
quickly destroyed the automatons' cores.
Only wreckage remained.
Outside, evacuated craftsmen watched nervously.
"Another explosion!"
"Master Gongshu still isn't out!"
"Can those constructs really handle the rogue machines?"
Inside the workshop—
Evan approached the man once the danger was cleared.
"You alright?"
"Cough—cough… I'm fine…"
Evan helped pull him free.
Seeing he was unharmed, Evan finally turned his attention elsewhere.
Treasure chest. Treasure chest. Treasure chest.
[Treasure located. Ready to collect.]
[Collection successful. Open chest?]
"You're not from the Xianzhou, are you?" the man asked.
"I'm Gongshu, a craftsman of the Artisanship Commission."
"Thank you for saving me."
"No problem, Master Gongshu."
"You should evacuate immediately."
"The Artisanship Commission isn't safe anymore."
"Cloud Knights will escort you outside."
"Yes… yes. Everything's here—nothing missing."
"I'll leave at once."
"Oh—what's your name, young man?"
"If you ever need something made—especially weapons—come find me."
"I'll craft something custom for you. Consider it my thanks."
With that, Master Gongshu hurried away, clutching a stack of blueprints.
Evan watched him go.
Then—he opened the chest.
[Congratulations! Silver Chest acquired!]
[Obtained: Xianzhou Hollow Domain Spatial Technology]
[Key technology used by the Xianzhou Alliance to construct Hollow Domains aboard their vessels.]
[Hollow Domain technology enables large-scale spatial folding for habitation, industry, and infrastructure.]
[Reward stored in inventory.]
Evan blinked.
Spatial folding technology?
This wasn't the same as tossing items into Imaginary space using Herrscher authority.
That was brute-force—
tearing open space with personal power.
Xianzhou Hollow Domain technology was different.
This was systematic, stable, and scalable.
"…Now this," Evan murmured,
"is a real treasure."
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