flstandardbreds Chapter 108: Snooping for news
Chapter 108: Snooping for news
Xuanqing led Xuanyue into the Instruction Hall with ease, while the guards at the gate merely glanced at them before looking away without any intention of stopping them.
(Your skill is too overpowered.) Xuan Yue looked at the guards without a single doubt or even a simple question. She really didn't know if they were overconfident or if Xuan Qing's skill was just too overpowered.
Xuan Qing: (Did you notice the device on their ears?)
Upon hearing Xuan Yue's explanation, it became clear that not only the guards but also the students were wearing the same device, without exception.
Xuanqing: (This thing has existed in Sumeru for a long time. Its advantage is that you can easily obtain any information. The disadvantage is also obvious: long-term dependence will cause the brain to lose its ability to think.)
As Xuan Qing spoke, he pushed open the gate of the Academy of Teachings, revealing a spacious interior. Many students were discussing their subjects and papers, while others hurried along, carrying textbooks, seemingly rushing to class.
Xuan Qing: (I just checked the information here. Let's split up. The library is just ahead. I'll go see if I can find any relevant information. You fly to some scholars' offices and see if you can find any other clues.)
Xuan Yue flapped its wings and prepared to depart: (Be careful.)
Xuanqing: (Hmm.)
Seeing Xuan Yue fly out through an inconspicuous little window above the Instruction Hall, Xuan Qing then pushed aside the gate that was blocking his way in the center.
The Order Academy has existed in Sumeru for a thousand years, and its stored materials are vast. Clearly, one library is insufficient to store all this information. Xuan Qing had just learned of the Order Academy's structure from the "Void," and the library alone had three floors, meticulously categorized according to the various academies.
These are Ritual Bhadra College, Kshavara College, Siddham College, Vaghmana College, Shravasti College, and Amrita College.
Their abbreviations are: Minglun School, Miaolun School, Sulun School, Yinlun School, Zhilun School, Shenglun School.
Of course, Xuan Qing knew this not because he wanted to attend classes like the other students. Rather, it was so that he could find out who truly knew about the internal situation of the Order Academy and was involved in the corruption, and who disdained to care.
While examining the information in the "Void" regarding the current sages of various academies, as well as the true ruler of the Order of the Church, the Great Sage Azar, Xuan Qing pushed open the door to the first floor of the library and, based on the information in the "Void," found the papers of the current sages of various academies.
He casually found a seat and pretended to be looking up information in a book, but in reality, he was using his divine power to watch the "time reversal" video.
Meanwhile, things got a bit interesting in Xuan Yue... because there were actually people arguing there.
Xuan Yue squatted by the window, watching the three people arguing inside. From their snippets of conversation, he sensed that the three were probably high-ranking members of the Order of the Instruction.
Azar (the Great Sage): "Nafis, this is a decisive decision that could rewrite the history of Mount Sumeru. I'll ask you one more time, are you really not going to agree?!"
Kavaja (the philosopher-sage): "Nafis, our current gods are utterly incapable of answering our questions. They know nothing of the mysteries of this world. The Great Tree King is all-knowing and all-powerful, while the current Grass Goddess is like a child, knowing nothing. She cannot give us what we desire!"
Nafis (Scholar of the Biophysical School): "Ha, your faces are truly disgusting. Azar, you, a great sage, actually harbor such wicked thoughts. No wonder we can never obtain any information about the Grass Goddess from the 'Void,' it turns out she is being..."
Azar (the Great Sage) frowned, his hair already gray, but his eyes still fixed sharply on Nafis: "Nafis, by telling you this, we have already shown our sincerity. Of course, you are not irreplaceable... Don't you have another prized student?"
Nafis (the sage of the Biophysical School) coldly scoffed, "Hmph, you want to take advantage of Tinari? I advise you to give up that idea as soon as possible. Tinari will not stoop to your level!"
Kavaja (the sage of the Epistemology school) stamped his feet in frustration: "Nafis, why can't you be more flexible? The gods of Sumeru are simply incapable of answering our current questions. The gods of Mondstadt gave their people 'freedom,' the gods of Liyue gave them 'contracts' and 'order,' the gods of Fontaine granted them 'justice,' but what about our gods? They possess the name of 'wisdom' yet cannot give us the 'wisdom' we desire!"
Nafis (the sage of the biocentric school) angrily pointed at Kavaja and Azhar: "You...you! How foolish! What can you gain by abandoning your own gods!"
Xuan Yue ( ′?w?) : (Eh!! Abandoning the gods!)
Azar (The Great Sage): "Heh, who said we're abandoning our gods? We're just changing our deity of faith. With the capabilities of our Council, surely we can create a 'god'?"
Xuan Yue's face was full of speechlessness and disdain upon hearing this ╮(￣⊿￣)╭: (Do you think demon gods are like cabbages on the street, that you can just replace them whenever you want? Why don't you call yourself "the law of nature"?)
Hazard's patience had run out: "Since you, Nafis, refuse to join this plan, then... you might as well go sit in the dungeon..."
As soon as Hazard finished speaking, a group of disciplinary officers rushed into the office as if they had received an order and subdued Nafis.
Nafis angrily shouted, "Hazar, you will be punished for abandoning your own god!"
"Retribution? Ha." A fierce, determined, and disdainful glint appeared in Hazard's eyes. "If my retribution can bring me the 'knowledge' or 'wisdom' I've always dreamed of, then let it come."
The matter was now settled; Nafis was taken away by the disciplinary officers, while Hazard and Cavaja were clearly dissatisfied and left dejectedly.
Xuan Yue: (We need to follow them; they definitely know the whereabouts of the Grass God.)
Xuan Yue quietly flew through the window, then followed them through the crack in the door, arriving unnoticed in the deepest room on the third floor of the Order of the Church.
Kavaja (the philosopher of the Epistemology): "What do we do next? I didn't expect Nafis to be so uncooperative. Will this affect our plans?"
Xuan Yue found a high windowsill and stood there, wanting to hear just how foolish these self-proclaimed scholars could be.
Azar (the Great Sage): "No, with so many students of the Biophysical School, there will always be quite a few who can participate in this experiment. However, we still need to find a reason to bring Tinari into the city. His skills and knowledge can be of great help to us."
“I can send someone to imitate Nafis’s handwriting and write a letter to Tinari. Oh, right, there’s another problem…” Cavaja (the Epistemological sage) remembered a troublesome matter: “Recently, Seno seems to have some suspicions about our actions. If he finds out… our plan will most likely be discovered. Given Seno’s prestige among the disciplinary officials, many people will have doubts then.”
Hazard (The Great Sage): "Haha, Cavaja, don't be so cowardly. Don't forget, the Void is omnipotent. We can input Seno's information, calculate his movement trajectory, and thus avoid him. That way, he can only question us but have no evidence."
Kavaja (the philosopher) nodded in agreement: "Yes, without evidence he can't convict us. By then it will be too late... I'll make the arrangements immediately."
“Wait,” Azhar (the Great Sage) called to Cavaja, then walked to his desk, opened a drawer, and took out something that looked like a jar but emitted a red glow. He handed it to Cavaja: “Find a way to put this in the black market, and then spread the word about the disappearance of the ‘divine jar knowledge.’ After all, those desert barbarians are quite troublesome.”
“I understand.” Kavaja (the philosopher of the philosophy of knowledge) took the thing called “canned knowledge” and left the great philosopher’s office.
Xuan Yue: (Tinari, Seno... It seems we won't get news about the Grass God for now, but we can tell Xuan Qing about it first.)
Xuan Yue followed closely and flew out the moment Kavaja closed the door.
"Huh? Where did this bird come from?" Cavaja noticed Xuan Yue, but he didn't pay it any mind: "It probably flew in because the window wasn't closed properly. Honestly."
Xuan Yue didn't linger long before preparing to go find Xuan Qing. But at that moment, Xuan Qing seemed to be entangled with someone.
"So, who are you? I don't recall having a stranger like you in the Academy." A head of neat silver short hair and a pair of emerald green eyes stared expressionlessly at Xuan Qing and said, "In the student records I'm in charge of and among the scholars who have graduated throughout the ages, I can confirm that I've never seen you before. Including foreigners from various countries who came to Sumeru to study."
Xuan Qing: (What a troublesome guy...)
At this moment, Xuan Qing's virtual terminal displayed the man's information: Elhesen, current scribe of the Order of the Church, responsible for recording and document-related information.