This was probably the most speechless and most boring trial Cheng Shi had experienced in recent mory.
Two days in, and all he and his two teammates had done was travel and probe, travel and probe. Zero external threats the whole way; internally, everyone stayed wary, but nowhere near the threshold of violence.
In this complex, awkward atmosphere, the three finally reached Boro Highlands in Twin Lakes County before sunset on the second day. Gazing up at the Grand Tribunal banners blotting out the sky above the highlands, they realized: the grandest battle of the mid-to-late Civilization Epoch was about to unfold before their eyes.
The fire of War had been smoldering for a long ti, but a nation had yet to be founded.
The true spark hadn't originated in the Grand Tribunal — it had ignited within the Tower of Logic.
When the Erudition Presidium funneled all experintal resources exclusively into projects they personally evaluated and approved, those scholars walking the road of Truth — who could see no hope yet had no more resources to continue — realized that if this went on, Truth would be monopolized by the few.
This clearly contradicted the Tower of Logic's vision of universal knowledge and shared wisdom. Internal protests erupted first.
Particularly during that period, the underground's various faiths had also grown restless. Under the accelerating spread of countless belief systems toward the surface, the Tower of Logic's protests intensified until full-scale factional confrontations erupted across academic departnts and cities.
As departnts clashed and tensions boiled over, soone finally declared:
"Since our respective Truths can't convince anyone at the debate table — let's smash the table, whittle it into spears, and stab the heretics peddling false doctrines."
Whether those stubborn Truth followers deserved to be called fake or not was debatable. But those who actually smashed tables and took up spears had certainly stopped being Truth followers.
And so the sparks of War blazed across Truth's domain. The Tower of Logic erupted into multi-front civil wars under the banner of "Clarifying Truth."
The chaos grew uncontainable, eventually spilling across borders to ravage the Grand Tribunal.
After all: if the so-called "compendium of universal laws" that was Truth could harbor oppression — how could Order, which was "rely" a "single rule of discipline," possibly be exempt?
And so the war fire that burned across the surface of the Land of Hope intensified, nearly toppling a thousand years of civilization that humanity had built with its own hands.
Fast-forward to the present. After years of campaigning, the various weary armies had been encircled in the south by the Grand Tribunal and the Tower of Logic. The vested interests of Order and Truth were counting on a single decisive strike to restore peace to the surface.
But every player knew this hope would soon be dashed. Not only dashed — this very battle would let War's followers swallow countless elite troops from both nations, found their own kingdom in the south, and formally stamp War's na into every corner of the continent.
So despite the awe-inspiring sight of banners ripping in the wind across the highlands, they all knew: within days — very possibly within this trial's fifteen-day window — those waving flags would beco the finest kindling for War's fire.
All three were moved.
Sun Miao pulled out her electronic beeper:
"Too many sentries. Without the convoy, we can't approach the central army tent through legitimate ans. We'll need to scrounge up two sets of battle armor.
War supervisor uniforms would be ideal — they'd let us blend in and reach... whichever NPC each of us finds interesting."
Cheng Shi had the sa idea. But he had no intention of doing the grunt work himself — not when there was soone better suited.
So he and the Mi Master exchanged a glance, then jointly looked down at the rabbit in his hand — its ear fur nearly yanked bald.
The rabbit was on its last legs. Under Cheng Shi's deliberate-yet-casual abuse, it had gone almost limp.
But Du Qiyu was still very much alive. That was all that mattered.
He'd co to the front line because his prayer was also connected to this battle. But upon hearing a mage with far lower stats presu to order him around, Du Qiyu — lurking at a distance — snorted coldly. He released the two juvenile hawks from his hands and vanished silently into the river valley below the highlands.
He was gone.
Du Qiyu was confident he'd mapped Xiao Shi's capabilities and had tagged the target. He could return and find him at any ti. So first: complete his own prayer wish. Then, before the trial ended, he could send his old friend to reunite with another old friend — faster and better.
As for what his goal was...
He'd prayed to obtain a long-coveted item.
Allegedly imbued with the power of War, this item would let him dispose of Xiao Shi with ease — and even counter-ambush the two self-righteous "justice warriors" who'd slashed his face.
So he slipped away without a sound, using his talent to bypass the two and infiltrate the Grand Tribunal's camp first.
After waiting for a long ti without response, Cheng Shi snorted, tossed aside the dead-eyed rabbit, and grinned at Sun Miao.
"Let's move, Master. The animal's a lost cause. We're on our own now."
Sun Miao knew Zhao Xiaogua had left too. But instead of heading out imdiately, she fixed her expressionless gaze on Cheng Shi and frantically typed:
"Your relationship with him is unusual. Care to share that history with ? In exchange, I can leak so of our president Zhen Xin's past to you.
These are absolute secrets that have never been recorded in any docunt or book. Even the other vice presidents in our school have never heard them.
With these stories, you'd likely gain a degree of leverage in your partnership with her.
So — interested?"
Cheng Shi blinked. 'This woman is sothing else. She'd sell out her own boss for intel.'
'Still — your nose for information is solid. Unfortunately, your eye for trading partners... isn't.'
"What secrets — you an the one about her growing up in an orphanage, like ?"
"?"
At Cheng Shi's quip, Sun Miao's hands visibly seized. Despite her unchanged expression, her shock showed through a dozen micro-details.
"Interesting. Your relationship with her seems far more complex than I imagined.
Don't tell
you're actually Zhen Yi's boyfriend?
Sothing this private — aside from Zhen Yi, I can't imagine any other way you'd find out."
'Zhen Yi's boyfriend?'
'Tsk — that's ancient history. You're behind the tis, girl.'
'The current version is...'
"Hee~"
Cheng Shi let out a spontaneous "hee" — and that single syllable made the ever-eager, ever-stoic Mi Master's expression combust for the first ti. In a panicked reflex, she raised her hand and blanketed her own feet with an indiscriminate Silence Domain.
"..."
Cheng Shi couldn't speak anymore. But the laughter in his eyes and the smirk at his lips were more "venomous" than any words.
She'd lost composure again — the second ti, after misjudging the Folly teammate's movents.
Sun Miao realized it was just a joke. But the joke dredged up certain... unpleasant mories.
She glared at Cheng Shi, took several deep breaths, then typed again:
"I hope there won't be a next ti for jokes like that."
Cheng Shi shrugged indifferently.
'All I did was mimic a certain soone's verbal tic, and it scared you this badly. Heh — Zhen Yi really does live up to her title as the number-one jinx.'
'But that's exactly what makes the "hee weapon" a credible deterrent.'
The Silence Domain was still active. Cheng Shi opened his mouth and silently mouthed a few words, then imdiately decided that looked idiotic. So he reached out and gestured for the electronic voice box. With clumsy fingers, he typed:
"Stop wasting ti. Go find us uniforms."
Sun Miao's eye twitched. Her face was stone cold. She stared at her own "mouth" in Cheng Shi's hands, her expression clearly asking: "Why ?"
Cheng Shi didn't bother explaining. He just typed on:
"Hee, hee, hee, hee—"
The electronic "hee" carried zero nace. But the Mi Master grasped the ssage loud and clear: if you don't go, I'll just keep "hee-ing" at you.
Sun Miao's face went dark. She had never in her life hated a single syllable this much. Nor had she ever found another human being this utterly detestable.
'No wonder he can partner with Zhen Xin. They're a perfect match.'
"Hee, hee, hee, hee—"
Sun Miao couldn't take it anymore. She snatched back her voice box and stord wordlessly toward the military camp.
Watching her leave, Cheng Shi stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"Interesting. Even after that much provocation, she still wants to team with . She really is fascinated by Order's current state.
But the question is — is it her who's interested... or them?"
...
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