Cheng Shi, having regressed back to the ruins, didn't rush to the western district. Instead, he first headed south to find Fang Yuan and gave him the code phrase.
When Fang Yuan heard the word "Ah Kuan" co out of Cheng Shi's mouth, he froze for a long while before collecting himself.
He looked at Cheng Shi, eyes brimming with suspicion:
"Who reset ti?
You, or ng Youfang?"
"ng Youfang!"
Cheng Shi felt that hesitating even one second would be an insult to the scapegoat's generous gift of calling him "old friend."
He smiled at Fang Yuan and said: "I don't know how he acquired this power either. All I know is that we were trapped in a hopeless dead end at the ti, with zero chance of clearing the Trial.
And when he offered to reset this space-ti, the first person I asked about was you. I knew that only you — a believer of [Order] — could help us win this Trial."
Fang Yuan fell silent.
"Ah Kuan" wasn't the na of anyone important. It was Fang Yuan himself — a nickna his childhood bullies had given him, a humiliation that followed him through his entire school years.
That was precisely why he'd chosen to follow [Order]. He understood better than anyone that when he couldn't fight back against external oppression, "order" was the only weapon that could help him escape.
Of course, whether in the past or the present, [Order] wasn't exactly orderly anymore — which was why he'd learned to exploit loopholes.
The reflection and reminder triggered by the na "Ah Kuan" was ant to help him find loopholes in ti-reset abilities like the Ti Battlefield.
After mulling it over for a long ti, Fang Yuan decided to trust this liar — just this once. He could detect a peculiar aura of "order" emanating from Cheng Shi. It probably had nothing to do with the god who governed the universe's order, but it was enough.
"What do I need to do?"
Cheng Shi's eyes lit up. He imdiately laid out the entire experint's process and said:
"Right now, we need to lock down everyone except the Grand Scholars and hold them until the experint concludes. Can you do that?
If not, even controlling half of them would be enough. The other half... we have another ally."
"The Life Sage?"
"Yes — the Sage. Trust that [Birth]'s power can bring 'harmony' to the experint ground."
"..."
'That "harmony" of yours better be actual harmony.'
Fang Yuan gave a strange look but agreed, then turned and followed Cheng Shi toward the northern district.
Hu Xuan was easy to find. The Sage never bothered hiding her tracks. But when the two of them located her, she appeared to have just parted ways with soone.
The mont Hu Xuan saw Cheng Shi arrive, her eyes sharpened. Before Cheng Shi could even speak, she said with utmost gravity:
"Watch out for ng Youfang. I keep feeling like several scenes today seem oddly familiar. Our ti might have been reset!"
"?"
Cheng Shi blinked. Hu Xuan shouldn't have been aware of the Ti Battlefield. But considering she already possessed a Container, perhaps [Birth]'s protection had let her sense the surging tide of [Ti] power?
He smiled, then reassured her:
"Don't worry. I'm the one who told him to do it. Ti was indeed reset. Now co with ."
Hu Xuan was taken aback as well. But since the issue traced back to Cheng Shi, she had nothing to worry about. She simply answered:
"Okay."
Fang Yuan watched the two of them, his expression growing increasingly peculiar.
The [Birth] Chosen — who normally scattered offspring everywhere she went — obeyed the Fate Weaver without question. It was hard to believe their relationship was purely academic.
She hadn't even asked what Cheng Shi needed her for. How did soone build that kind of trust with a liar?
Then, recalling the scent of "order" he'd detected on Cheng Shi, Fang Yuan gazed thoughtfully at the man's back.
Before long, the three found Chen Yi. Cheng Shi used the sa old trick, and under Hu Xuan's and Fang Yuan's dumbfounded stares, he baited the hook without bait and reeled Chen Yi in hook, line, and sinker.
Then everyone moved together according to Cheng Shi's plan.
This ti, Cheng Shi had eliminated every variable. He couldn't see a single possibility of failure.
And the facts unfolded exactly as he'd predicted. Working in concert, they sliced through the void into the experint ground and achieved absolute control over every person on site, catching even the Erudition Presidium completely off guard.
The Grand Scholars' faces darkened as they prepared to counterattack — but the next second, Cheng Shi laid his cards on the table, declaring he was here to help, not to interfere. Then he dragged out the immobilized Galusha and, right in front of the scholars, identified every one of her hidden contingencies and moles.
Events had so thoroughly exceeded the Grand Scholars' expectations that they digested the situation before them with inscrutable expressions. After lengthy deliberation, they had no choice but to accept Cheng Shi's arrangents and start the experint themselves.
When Volent said to Cheng Shi, "All data is normal — there absolutely won't be any problems," half the weight on Cheng Shi's heart finally lifted.
He smiled, patted Chen Yi on the shoulder, and said:
"The chance is in your own hands. Give it all you've got, Old Hunter."
Chen Yi's eyes blazed with the manic fervor of one about to et his god. He willingly embraced the roaring beam of spatiotemporal energy and plunged into the past once more.
Minutes ticked by in silence. Everyone in the experint ground waited quietly.
Cheng Shi's gaze never left Galusha. He watched the [Folly] follower — face darkened, about to die within this Trial — and his heart swelled with emotion.
Who could have imagined that such an adorable little girl would grow into such a terrifying lunatic? And who could have foreseen that the madwoman who'd toppled the Tower of Logic in history would die at the Erudition Presidium's hands within this very Trial?
Karma truly was a circle.
[Fate]...
Never mind — better not curse It. Any more complaints and It might get angry, and then who knew what fresh nonsense It'd cook up.
The thought had barely settled when, the next second, Chen Yi returned.
And the instant the [mory] devotee confidently announced his success, Cheng Shi's expression visibly sank.
Because the Galusha standing before him was still very much alive.
Galusha was stunned too. She'd assud her life had reached its end — yet these people had actually failed.
The gravity that had filled her eyes a mont ago vanished, replaced by a mocking smirk. As long as altering the past hadn't killed her, then here in the present — among countless slices — this group had even less chance of destroying her.
"Mr. Prisoner — it seems your plan has co up short."
"!!!"
"This is impossible!" Chen Yi snapped again, screaming about everything he'd done and lunging to finish Galusha off himself.
But this ti Cheng Shi didn't let him. Instead, he flicked out a scalpel, pressing its edge against Galusha's neck while raising his head — expression thunderous — to address the Grand Scholars on the platform above:
"Volent. I need an explanation."
Volent frowned, ran through every piece of experintal data one more ti, and spoke with a grave tone:
"There's no anomaly. I don't see a single contaminated parater. The entire experint proceeded smoothly. The only deviation from the plan is that the operative you selected didn't return through the regression channel — he chose to return on his own.
While that's a significant procedural lapse for experintal oversight, it shouldn't affect the results in any way.
So I, too, would like to know where the problem lies."
For a long mont, all six Grand Scholars furrowed their brows and exchanged bewildered glances.
...
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