Aha thought to Himself, 'There was absolutely no credibility in that.'
Bestie, at least put on an act.
At the very least, move the hand resting on His neck.
The "high-dimensional descender" would never know that he wasn't just a walking disaster, but also a walking debuff.
Even if he did nothing, he would still affect Aeons to some degree.
And right now, the debuff was right beside Him.
For this wedding, He had to use His true body, avoid affecting the Luofu, and keep everyone present from noticing anything strange.
And on top of that, there was the negative effect that came with His bestie...
It sounded difficult, but in reality, it wouldn't affect Him much.
Of course, all of that depended on His bestie remaining in a state full of humanity.
Aha considered Himself familiar enough with Zero.
Even though the other's actions couldn't be judged by common sense, after enough time, some patterns could still be found.
For example, putting benefits first.
Always insisting on ending wars.
No matter what he did, he had to do it perfectly.
If anyone offended him... he wouldn't even need to spare them a glance. His people would naturally charge forward for him.
Ten generations would lose their heads, eggs would be shaken until the yolks scattered, earthworms would be split lengthwise, and even ants wouldn't be spared.
Luckily, there was only one "high-dimensional descender."
If there were more high-dimensional beings and they provoked His bestie...
His bestie would definitely find a way to travel to another world, wipe out every species in that world, and then casually destroy the world itself.
He specialized in pulling out weeds by the roots.
Even if His bestie came across an ant nest, he would pour boiling water into it.
At this point, killing an Aeon brought no benefit to His bestie.
That made the other's intentions easy to guess.
It was for the Aeon of Hunt.
A sudden guess appeared in Aha's mind.
His bestie wanted His avatar to replace the Xianzhou people.
Drawing hatred toward an Aeon that had ascended through hatred would definitely stir up conflict.
And His bestie couldn't possibly let the Xianzhou people die, so he set his sights on Him instead.
Aha knew this guess was somewhat absurd.
Could it be... that neutron gun had really been the right gift?
His bestie had actually been willing to entrust Him with his trust and had even invited Aha to join this plan.
Aha blinked and reminded Zero, "Is there a possibility that I'm not a Xianzhou native?"
His avatar wouldn't be able to draw hatred.
Zero replied gently, "The Realm-Keeping Commission will issue documents for you."
Swirling the wine in His glass, Aha asked with interest, "Then I'll be a Xianzhou native? How much allowance can I get? If I do nothing at all, how many patrol coins can I get every month?"
"We'll talk about that later." Zero's expression froze for a moment before he continued, "Bestie, before that, we need to find an Aeon."
Aha fell silent for a moment.
"You want to find Nanook?"
Zero thought, why Nanook again? Was he really that kind of person?
He forced out a smile.
"...No, Akivili."
Aha's hand suddenly stopped, and half the wine spilled out.
He asked uncertainly, "Who did you say? You mean... Akivili?"
If His bestie was a walking debuff, then flesh and blood were powerful weapons capable of dealing fatal damage to lower dimensions.
Back then, no one knew whether blood from a "high-dimensional" being would affect the Imaginary Tree.
Had it... accelerated the death of the Aeons?
Aha raised His head and drained the remaining wine.
"Good wine. Remember to send me a case later."
He smacked His lips in satisfaction and casually agreed.
"Sure. When?"
Zero answered, "In a few hundred years."
After thinking it through, he discovered that Eric had held something back and hidden a system with even higher authority.
That system could observe and lead him to other low-dimensional worlds.
It could even determine the life and death of other "high-dimensional invaders."
Zero thought this was perfectly reasonable.
As the creator of the system, how could he tolerate its holders threatening his position?
There was no such thing as a free lunch.
Hui Feng had taken away so many things.
Since those people had used his things, it was only natural that they would be controlled by him and entrust their lives to him.
As for the items in his inventory that clearly came from different worlds, they were only the most insignificant bit of interest he had collected.
Take Tenseiga, the resurrection item, for example.
Only someone with compassion could use it.
Zero couldn't use it, but before dying, he still left himself a backup and deliberately used it to cut open his own carotid artery.
Afterward, Hui Feng passed the sword to Akivili.
Nearly a thousand years later, Hua brought Tenseiga before him again.
At that time, Zero took a look through the system.
The system showed that the item was still on cooldown.
The answer was obvious.
Creations of lower dimensions couldn't kill Zero, nor could they change his life and death.
The one who had used the sword... was Akivili.
Aeons were different from humans. Maybe they needed more time to revive?
After learning this, Zero had only hurriedly left Hua with one sentence, "It'll still take several hundred years."
He didn't have the patience to wait.
Only after completely calming down did Zero devote some attention to thinking over the matter.
The system panel didn't show Akivili's location or condition.
Perhaps Akivili hadn't truly revived yet? Or perhaps because He had been stained with Zero's blood, the lower-grade version of the system couldn't observe Him?
Or...
Had the Imaginary Tree been affected by the blood, causing Akivili to descend into another world with the same power system, one that also had a Tree and Sea?
Once Zero fully understood the system, all these questions would be solved.
Forget the Imaginary Tree. Even if he had to cross dimensional walls and go to other low-dimensional worlds, Zero would bring Akivili back.
In a sense, Akivili had died because of him.
Zero couldn't ignore that.
Another reason was that Akivili was the next holder of the system that he had chosen.
Previously, because of Zandar, Zero had considered finding a new owner for the system.
In his vision, if this person wanted to survive the game against the Aeons...
They had to be intelligent enough, capable of overseeing the big picture, and able to withstand enormous pressure.
They absolutely couldn't be easily influenced by outside factors.
They had to be decisive and ruthless toward enemies, but not too extreme toward their own people.
Unfortunately, Zero never found a suitable candidate, nor did he dismantle the system, so the matter was shelved.
But what if it was Akivili?
He wouldn't need to play games against the Aeons.
By then, He could travel to other low-dimensional worlds and continue His Trailblazing journey.
Akivili was kind-hearted. He would never start conflicts on His own, nor would He attack the natives.
He would definitely like this gift.
Zero returned to the present and said to Aha, "When the time comes, we'll look for Him. If we can't find Him here, we'll look somewhere else."
Aha's eyes lit up.
What? They could go to other worlds for fun too? There was such a good thing?
He tugged on Zero's sleeve.
"You absolutely have to bring me along."
Zero agreed.
He withdrew his hand and placed it on Lan's shoulder instead.
"Actually, I have an easier method."
Zero looked at the red wine, which was close in color to blood, hinting to the Aeon.
Lan, "..."
Aha, "..."
Feed "high-dimensional" blood to an Aeon to strengthen it?
It really was simple and effective, but the prerequisite was... surviving.
"He may not have merit, but He's worked hard too. Forget it, who told you you're my bestie?"
Knowing full well the blood wouldn't end up in His own mouth, Aha happily watched the excitement and took out a table knife, handing it to Zero.
"No need to use a butcher's knife to kill a chicken. This will do."
Zero pushed Aha's wrist away.
Back then, he had drawn dozens of tubes of blood. Keeping them in the system space was useless anyway.
Lan stiffened His face.
"I refuse."
Aha thought, 'What difference does your refusal make?!'
Seeing Zero frown, He quickly asked, "Have you done experiments? How was the subject saved back then?"
Zero immediately thought of Shuhu.
Using the Fruit of Abundance, he had barely preserved Shuhu's life.
But if it were an Aeon... how many Matsutake Meat Rolls would it take to restore the health bar?
What?
To save Lan, he'd have to trouble the Aeon of Abundance?
He hadn't thought things through enough.
Zero sighed.
"Forget it."
He returned to his seat, raised his glass with everyone, and handed red envelopes to the younger generation one by one.
Chanzhen said reluctantly, "You promised me, don't forget, okay?"
Zero smiled and agreed.
She said she wanted a gift, but what she really wanted was to know how he was doing.
She wanted to know where he was and what he was doing.
Zero didn't think she was crossing the line.
In the end, it was his own problem.
If he hadn't frightened Chanzhen before, she wouldn't be so persistent.
Zero wasn't used to sharing information on social platforms where all his friends were added.
Another day, he'd switch platforms and register a new account.
They would find it.
Just as he was thinking this, the quiet Lan suddenly picked up His wine glass, stood up, and looked toward Daiyang.
Daiyang raised an eyebrow and said loudly, "How could I let you toast me?"
She thought to herself, not earlier, not later, and it had to be now.
What? Could she really turn against an Aeon in front of her father?
Her father would worry.
Daiyang picked up an unopened bottle of liquor, quickly opened it, and took the initiative to walk over to Lan, turning slightly and facing away from Zero.
She deliberately slowed down and leisurely poured herself a drink.
Before she could tilt the bottle, Lan expressionlessly took it from her and poured her wine.
After the liquid nearly overflowed, He turned the bottle around and poured Himself a drink.
He opened His mouth, preparing to say something, but Daiyang beat Him to it.
In an extremely humble posture, she bent down and clinked glasses with Him.
Then she said, "I offended you before. I apologize."
After hearing that, Zero took out several red envelopes and quietly instructed Hua to pass them to Daiyang.
Aside from Jing Yuan, no one at the table paid attention to the blue-haired man opposite them.
Baiheng was a bridesmaid and was busy checking whether there were enough red envelopes.
Dan Feng was communicating with his clansmen through his jade abacus.
Yingxing was focused on eating.
Jing Yuan noticed that the man opposite him had barely spoken.
And Zero hadn't given him a red envelope either.
But why had that former Luofu General addressed him with an honorific?
Jing Yuan grew curious and looked at Chanzhen.
After thinking for a moment, Chanzhen raised a finger and pointed upward.
Jing Yuan followed her finger and only saw the ceiling.
Who was up there?
He stared for quite a while before finally realizing.
Could it be the Reignbow Arbiter?
The Reignbow Arbiter was sitting at the same table as them?
The boy, not yet twenty and raised on stories of the Reignbow Arbiter's heroics, became dazed. His mind went blank.
'No, Zero, you can really invite Aeons?!'
Only after Zero and Master left the table to toast other guests did Jing Yuan barely regain his thoughts.
The red-haired and androgynous youth had already left.
The former Luofu General sat in the youth's seat and clinked glasses with the blue-haired man.
Jing Yuan stared at the Aeon opposite him.
He didn't want to leave a bad impression on a god. He straightened his back, suppressed the corners of his lips from rising, swallowed his laughter, and was determined to show the Aeon a reliable and steady side of himself.
Holding tightly onto his cup of milk, Jing Yuan stared without blinking at the Aeon.
That was the Reignbow Arbiter.
If he could exchange even one sentence with an Aeon, or toast Him once...
Then his life would be complete.
Jing Yuan watched eagerly.
After waiting and waiting, a servant added another chair for the two opposite him.
The Reignbow Arbiter poured wine again and again and clinked glasses again and again.
Daiyang narrowed her eyes and looked at the nearly empty bottle.
"After this drink, we're even."
Lan slowly shook His head.
"Not even."
He corrected her wording.
"It's an apology."
Surprise appeared on Daiyang's face, and she held her forehead.
An Aeon was apologizing to her?
Yes.
Because He was an Aeon and didn't care about believers.
Because He was an Aeon and didn't mind her reckless words.
Then she could offend Him however she wanted.
Resting her chin in her hand, Daiyang laughed softly.
"From the very beginning, you were the most special one in my heart."
Hearing the ambiguous statement, Lan's expression remained unchanged as He continued pouring wine.
Tilting her head, Daiyang thought to herself.
It was jealousy.
All the Yaoqing people were jealous that you could so easily gain his attention.
Jealous that, as the "Crown Prince," you had become the one closest to him.
Daiyang shrugged and took the initiative to bring up what happened after Lan had been forced into slumber.
"We contacted our hidden agents and successfully helped the General ascend to the position of Marshal."
"Not long after, we left Yaoqing."
"I never expected that being just one day late would change everything..."
Lan's heart remained calm.
After arriving at the Luofu, Daiyang hadn't immediately rescued Him.
She had deliberately delayed for one day, only to realize that even this simplest task couldn't be accomplished.
Compared with the Imperials who attacked with deadly intent and sought to kill their comrades, Daiyang had neither cut off supplies nor raised a blade against Him.
Even with selfish motives, she had only delayed for one day.
Even if she had helped immediately, it would have been useless.
Humans and gods couldn't change predetermined fate.
Unless that person acted personally.
Lan tried putting Himself in her shoes.
After some thought, He comforted her.
"This isn't your fault. He won't be angry."
Daiyang's expression turned strange.
Of course Father wouldn't be angry with her.
She glanced at the Aeon.
"I'm not you."
Lan, "..."
Daiyang finished her drink in one gulp and returned to her seat.
When Lan looked up again, He met a pair of bright golden eyes.
It was the student of the Marshal's wife.
And Hua's chosen successor.
The boy stared expectantly at His wine glass.
The Aeon let out an almost imperceptible sigh.
"Children can't drink."
Jing Yuan hurriedly held out his own cup and stammered, "Th-then what about milk?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he inwardly groaned.
'Who uses milk to toast an Aeon?!'
Unexpectedly, the Reignbow Arbiter agreed.
Holding His wine glass, the god clinked cups with the boy.
Secretly encouraging himself, Jing Yuan cautiously expressed his admiration for the Aeon and spoke of his wish.
The Reignbow Arbiter raised a hand, rubbed the top of his head, and softly encouraged him.
Jing Yuan grinned and no longer suppressed the smile on his face.
He was going to submit his application right away.
He wanted to become a Galaxy Ranger.
Hua watched Jing Yuan leave, emotions surging in her heart.
Jing Yuan's temperament had not fully settled. If he became a Galaxy Ranger now...
Then he definitely wouldn't be willing to take over her position as Marshal.
Hua stood and came to the seat beside Lan.
In a faint voice, she said, "Thanks to you, we've finally gotten someone who volunteered."
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