'Not just [Truth]?'
Besides [Truth], the only other faith that could view the entire world through "relatively rational" thinking was [Folly].
Connecting this to Galusha being a [Folly] follower...
'Bad news. Did Pe Laya get assimilated by Galusha?'
'She's treating [Folly] as the new [Truth]?'
But for a scholar who appeared so utterly composed — how had she so casually beco a [Folly] follower? Besides, she showed none of [Folly]'s signature mannerisms.
Cheng Shi was curious, but this clearly wasn't the ti for stray questions. Explaining the Ritual of Truth had already burned precious ti. Pe Laya's form was beginning to fade — he had to seize the mont and ask what contingency plan the Erudition Presidium might prepare against the traitor and the invaders.
And that plan was most likely the trial experint the players were searching for.
Pe Laya frowned, calmly analyzing every piece of information the players had fed her. Before long, her entire body shuddered. Her pupils contracted sharply and she raised her head, barely suppressing fury as two words left her lips:
"Retrogression!"
'Retrogression?'
Cheng Shi knew all about retrogression. Pe Laya's own Barren Walker experint had deconstructed spaceti — using bloodline as a guide to build spaceti linkages, then retrograding back to the Rosna Empire to find Dizel's soul inside the Gift of Sores.
But what would the Erudition Presidium retrograde to that era for? Even if they had the ans to fuse an envoy's soul and shell through the Ritual of Truth, Dizel's soul was already gone — personally destroyed by that lord.
If so, what was the point of retrogression? What could they possibly retrograde to?
Wouldn't this trial's answer — this supposedly critical [Truth] experint — be fundantally impossible to complete?
The thought stunned Cheng Shi. He genuinely hadn't expected previous wish trials to have blocked the path for this special trial.
The others were clearly familiar with this grand scholar's experint too. Hu Xuan cast a knowing glance at Cheng Shi — sa wavelength.
Only Fang Yuan frowned in confusion: "If the Ritual of Truth could truly assemble an envoy, the Tower of Logic would never have declined. Grand Scholar, are you sure they're continuing your unfinished experint?"
"No. Who said they're continuing my experint?
Fusing a divine being isn't that simple, and ti constraints make it even less feasible. They certainly plan to use retrogression to prevent current events — but the retrogression target definitely isn't the Barren Walker...
To deconstruct spaceti, you need a temporal linkage between two objects from different tilines. If I'm not mistaken, Volent and the others want to deconstruct the spaceti linkage not of the Barren Walker carrying pseudo-god potential — but of...
The Barren Walker and !"
"And you!?"
Everyone's eyes sharpened. They imdiately understood.
"You an they want to deconstruct your spaceti linkage to retrograde and prevent your betrayal?"
Pe Laya nodded darkly. This was the only explanation she could think of.
Assembling a pseudo-god — questionable feasibility aside — would never be enough to halt the subterranean forces sweeping across the nation. But if Pe Laya's influence were erased at the root, then under the Ritual of Truth's enhancent, the Erudition Presidium could very well rebuild the ruined Tusnat!
"Not just . They might also use it as bait to hook spaceti linkages related to her — to annihilate her at the source!
As long as the plague from the underworld is eliminated, Volent can use the Ritual of Truth to rebuild Tusnat."
By this point, Pe Laya's voice was practically grinding through clenched teeth.
Cheng Shi caught the shift. The "her" clearly ant Galusha. But even when analyzing her own targeting, the grand scholar's temperant hadn't wavered this much. Why did ntioning Galusha unleash such hatred — as if she wanted to slaughter every last mber of the Erudition Presidium?
'They're that close?'
'Strange. How exactly did Galusha turn this [Truth] believer?'
Fang Yuan deliberated briefly, then seized the last monts before Pe Laya's reflection dissolved:
"Based on your knowledge of the Erudition Presidium — where would they set the trap for you?"
"Sowhere I can't anticipate."
"?"
"Activating the Ritual of Truth takes preparation ti. If they want to use it to deconstruct the spaceti linkage between
and the Barren Walker, they'll want to delay my arrival as long as possible.
So on this question, I cannot give you an answer."
"But without a hint, how can we help you?"
Cheng Shi saw the trail about to go cold again and switched to emotional manipulation. Though in truth, the way to clear this trial was probably to facilitate this very experint.
Pe Laya was no fool. Even if she couldn't pinpoint the Erudition Presidium's location, she could have listed every plausible site for elimination — but she didn't.
She couldn't read these players' motives. And those detailed revelations earlier hadn't been pure cooperation — she'd had her own calculus of introducing variables into the ga to buy her real self a sliver of survival.
As always, when ti rewound to the Land of Hope, this world's natives were the era's true protagonists.
Pe Laya silently surveyed them. Her form gradually dissolved. The players exchanged glances, each with different expressions.
"That's grand-scholar cunning for you." Fang Yuan sighed, then turned to Cheng Shi: "Fate Weaver, it's been a pleasure working with you. But for efficiency, I'll head out first.
I'll sweep the south side for suspicious locations, then rendezvous at the ti you set.
As for you three... together or separate, your call."
With that, Fang Yuan blasted open the void once more and vanished without looking back.
Watching the Elental Judge leave, Cheng Shi suspected the "efficiency" excuse was fake — escaping ng Youfang's delusions was probably the real motive.
Still, having a teammate who actually did trial work was a good thing. He glanced back at the compliant Hu Xuan, then at ng Youfang with his "I'm sticking with you" attitude, and sighed inwardly.
'Ti to adjust the plan.'
'Is it really this hard to score so points in a trial?'
"Life Sage, let's split up for a bit. For efficiency, please check the north side.
As for ... I've got another role to play."
The words had barely landed when — amid Hu Xuan's nod and ng Youfang's mild confusion — three n and one woman appeared in the courtyard outside the laboratory.
The Afterglow Church. The very architects of the surface world's endless [Chaos]. They'd arrived with suspicious, trembling hearts of pilgrimage.
...
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