The floor tiles in the Seat of Divine Foresight were polished very brightly today.
Bright enough to reflect the expression on Jing Yuan's face at this moment—the twitching of his mouth, the frequency of his eyelid spasms, and the slight tension in the fingers gripping his teacup.
Because in front of him was a mountain.
A mountain made up of members of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus.
This wasn't a hyperbolic figure of speech; it was literally piled into a mountain—the one at the very bottom was face-down, the ones in the middle were twisted into a pile, and the one at the very top was still holding a spellcasting pose, clutching a talisman that hadn't been thrown yet, with an expression frozen in a bewildered moment of "Where's my talisman?"
A rough count revealed at least twenty or thirty people.
Jing Yuan slowly set down his teacup.
"So..."
His voice was steady, steady enough to be dangerous.
"You grabbed this group of Disciples of Sanctus Medicus just to test that Gate of a Hundred Worlds?"
A few weak groans came from the bottom of the human mountain, as if answering, "Yes, we were indeed grabbed."
"[Dan Feng]'s idea."
[Dan Feng] took half a step back.
His movements were elegant, his robes fluttering, his tone indifferent—he shifted the blame so smoothly, as if he were simply commenting on the nice weather.
"Don't ask me."
Jing Yuan glanced at him.
The look meant: You've lost all the face of the High-Cloud Quintet.
But thinking about it, he was also one of the High-Cloud Quintet, so the look changed to: Forget it, let it be lost; it's not the first time anyway.
"Transformation and summoning, and with the memories of the original owner..."
Jing Yuan withdrew his gaze, his eyes lingering on the mountain of people for another two seconds.
The talisman held by the top Disciple of Sanctus Medicus finally slipped, drifting down and landing right on the face of a colleague below.
"What an outrageous ability."
His tone carried a complex sentiment—three parts amazement, three parts helplessness, and the remaining four parts being, "I've lived for hundreds of years and seen all sorts of things, but I've truly never seen this."
"The General is too kind," [Dan Feng] said modestly.
"...I wasn't praising you."
"..."
[Dan Feng] turned his head to look out the window, beginning to focus intently on the shape of the clouds today.
Jing Yuan rubbed his temples and continued to scan the hall, preparing to tally how many more outrageous things were waiting for him to deal with.
Then he paused.
Stelle was sitting in the chair on the left.
In her hands, she held a red... dumpling?
March 7th was sitting in the chair on the right.
In her hands, she also held a red... dumpling?
[Bai Heng] was standing between the two.
In her hands, she held a red... dumpling?
Three dumplings.
All had red hair, small bodies, soft cheeks, and small, short limbs hanging limply.
All three dumplings were in some kind of semi-conscious state—eyes unfocused, mouths slightly open, occasionally kicking their little legs, like three kittens just born a short while ago.
Jing Yuan: "..."
Jing Yuan blinked.
The three dumplings were still there.
Jing Yuan blinked again.
Still there.
"How did they become like this?"
For the first time, true confusion appeared in his tone.
Not questioning, not speechless, but genuine—why did my Seat of Divine Foresight suddenly turn into a nursery? Why does each of these three people have a dumpling in their hands?
"Um..."
A hand was raised weakly.
[Phainon] was standing by a pillar, with an expression that said, "I know the answer, but I don't really want to say it."
His posture while raising his hand was hesitant, his fingers only reaching shoulder height, as if he hoped no one would see, yet he was forced to raise it.
"I know what's going on."
"Speak."
Jing Yuan picked up his teacup and took a sip, preparing himself mentally.
No matter what he heard, today couldn't get any more outrageous.
[Phainon] took a deep breath.
"The cost of every time [Tribios] opens the Gate of a Hundred Worlds..."
He paused, seemingly organizing his words.
"Is the consumption of her own strength and the regression of her mental state."
Jing Yuan's hand holding the teacup paused.
"Each time the Gate of a Hundred Worlds is opened, it deepens the impact of her fragmentation..."
[Phainon]'s voice grew quieter.
"Leading her to gradually regress into an infant state."
March 7th looked down at the dumpling in her hands.
The dumpling kicked its leg right on cue.
"Eventually..."
[Phainon] closed his eyes.
"Eventually, there's a risk of disappearing."
Silence.
Deathly silence.
The Seat of Divine Foresight was so quiet that one could hear the snoring of a certain Disciple of Sanctus Medicus from the mountain of people.
The red dumpling in Stelle's arms—Stella [Tribbie]—slowly opened her eyes.
Her gaze was unfocused, her eyes were dark-rimmed, and her pupils spun like two dizzy mosquito coils.
"You..."
The voice was soft and glutinous, weak and dying, as if squeezed out of cotton.
"...Why..."
She tried to raise her short little hand to point at [Phainon], but her arm fell weakly halfway up.
"...didn't you say so earlier..."
Stella [Tribbie] slumped entirely in Stelle's arms, presenting the form of a salted fish that had lost its dreams.
Her limbs were spread out limply, her little head tilted back, and her mouth was slightly open.
Just once.
I only used it once!!
Memory flashback:
Twenty seconds ago, Welt walked into the Gate of a Hundred Worlds, and in the next moment, he saw a group of Disciples of Sanctus Medicus.
During those twenty seconds, the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus were thrown in one after another by Welt like dumplings, the sounds of them landing echoing one after another.
Twenty seconds later, Stella [Tribbie] felt her vision go black, feeling her IQ, EQ, and basic motor skills evaporating at a visible speed.
If it weren't for [Trianne] and [Trinnon] maintaining the Gate of a Hundred Worlds together, [Tribbie] would have become her first character waiting for a respawn timer.
Now she and [Trianne] and [Trinnon] were lying here, their minds blank.
They even had to think for three seconds to remember their own names.
[Phainon]'s expression became even more awkward.
He scratched the back of his head, his arm lifting with some hesitation, as if making a difficult decision.
"Um..."
Then, under everyone's gaze, he stretched his hand to the side—a light gate suddenly cracked open in the air.
[Phainon] maintained the pose of opening the gate.
His eyes were closed, his smile awkward, and he had almost scratched his own head bald.
"Actually, I know how to do this move too."
Silence.
Jing Yuan's teacup paused in mid-air.
March 7th's chin began to drop—first a little, then a little, then a little more, like slow motion.
Stelle's pupils dilated slightly.
[Trianne] in [Bai Heng]'s hands kicked her leg, but no one noticed.
[Dan Feng] withdrew his gaze from the window, looked at [Phainon] with a complicated expression, then looked at the gate, and then looked at [Phainon] again.
Stella [Tribbie]'s eyes widened bit by bit.
Her unfocused gaze refocused—not because she had regained clarity, but because anger had forcibly dispelled her weakness.
"You—"
She raised her short little hand, pointing at [Phainon], her finger trembling like a leaf in the wind.
"—this move—why—didn't you use it earlier—?!"
Every word seemed to be squeezed out from between her teeth.
The soft, glutinous voice paired with the gritted-teeth tone created a scene that was both bizarre and funny—like an angry hamster.
[Phainon]'s expression stiffened further.
He opened his eyes, his gaze wandering, not daring to meet anyone's eyes.
He looked to the left—Stella was glaring at him.
He looked to the right—March 7th was glaring at him.
He looked at the ceiling—the ceiling was carved with flowers, which looked quite nice.
"Haven't used it for too long..."
The voice grew smaller and smaller, as quiet as a mosquito's buzz.
"Forgot."
"..."
"..."
"..."
The Seat of Divine Foresight fell into an eerie silence.
Quieter than before.
So quiet that one could hear the sound of March 7th's chin hitting the floor—clatter.
Stelle's eyebrows shot up to her hairline.
[Trinnon] in [Bai Heng]'s hands opened one eye, glanced at [Phainon], then silently closed it and continued to sleep.
Jing Yuan slowly set down his teacup.
The bottom of the cup touched the table, making a soft sound.
That soft sound seemed exceptionally clear in the silent Seat of Divine Foresight.
Stella [Tribbie] stared with wide eyes, mouth open, maintaining the pose of pointing at someone, like a small statue.
Then—she rolled her eyes back.
And passed out completely.