Chapter 3171: The Seed of Awakening

"Since you have already arrived in the Northland, you must have heard of Kalishi's New Artifact Project, right? It is the talk of the Northland. What is your take on this matter?"

Xia Duo asked a key question here, but this time Luodasi's answer surprised him once again: "I have never heard of any New Artifact Project. What do you mean by Kalishi wanting to forge an artifact in the Northland? How is that even possible?"

Luodasi's expression was somewhat nervous and also somewhat angry, but he was suppressing it with all his might, not wanting Xia Duo to notice. Yet, how could Xia Duo fail to notice such intense emotions?

After all, this was a Consciousness Cage, which inherently possessed perception enhancement specifically targeting consciousness. Not to mention that Xia Duo was running multiple instances simultaneously; there were always individual instances that could not conceal their emotions. By comparing them, Xia Duo understood what Luodasi was thinking.

"You are angry? Why? Doesn't forging an artifact require sacrificing a Psionic Master? Doesn't Kalishi forging an artifact mean that Kalishi will die? Why are you still angry?" Xia Duo decisively threw out the question.

Regarding this, Luodasi was silent for a moment before stating the facts: "The Psionic Material that can be used to forge an artifact is extremely rare. Perhaps you have already guessed it—yes, it is the Primary Mentor's Glabella Bone stolen by Kalishi. That is an extremely powerful piece of Psionic Material."

"Many times in the past when it was the Anti School's turn to hold the Executive position, the school had considered forging the Primary Mentor's Glabella Bone into an artifact. But because the material itself is too powerful, the probability of the artifact forging process spiraling out of control is not small. I never imagined Kalishi would still harbor such an idea!"

"What if I said that Kalishi is in contact with certain low-level existences in Zhamu Dasi, and is planning to use the Northland's Computing Power Pool to forge a New Artifact?"

Xia Duo's words were like a needle pricking Luodasi's heart, leaving him stunned for a full few seconds before he said very firmly—

"That is impossible. According to the rules of the two major schools taking turns as Executive, an artifact forged during an Executive term must be kept by the governing school. The Primary Mentor's Glabella Bone can be said to be the most powerful Psionic Material in the history of Zhamu Dasi. It is impossible for the school to hand over what is very likely the most powerful artifact in history to the Zeqi School."

"That is the convention for missions outside! Even if it is a Zeqi School mission, our school can still send people to join!" Luodasi retorted with some lack of confidence.

"Then is it possible—that the New Artifact Kalishi wants to forge is powerful enough, powerful enough to suppress all other artifacts in one fell swoop?"

In other instances, Xia Duo also heard Luodasi's explanation that it was impossible for the Zeqi School to collude with Kalishi to forge an artifact. But after a moment of thought, he discovered another possibility that existed within it—

In any case, Arcane Psionic Fusion as a New Artifact was no longer a secret in the Northland. Instead, it was Luodasi, who came from the south, who knew nothing about it. Xia Duo proposed a new possibility—

Then he seemed to think of something and hurriedly said: "The Zeqi School has no reason to do so, because it is currently their turn as Executive, and they have long since made all kinds of preparations to forge a New Artifact. There is absolutely no reason to share the New Artifact with your school."

"This, this is impossible! The school will not abandon us!" Luodasi muttered.

Even if the New Artifact were powerful, so what? The process of forging an artifact could not possibly be hidden from the Anti School. If there was no tacit understanding between the two sides, then the Anti School would inevitably not allow the New Artifact to be successfully forged.

"That is even more impossible. The power of an artifact far exceeds that of any Psionic Master, so to fully unleash the power of an artifact, one must have enough Psionic Masters. Our school's Psionic Masters are indeed not as numerous as the Zeqi School's, but the numbers have not opened up an absolute gap. The existing gap is not enough to let them completely crush us."

Xia Duo acknowledged Luodasi's judgment, but it was still the same point: Luodasi's judgment might not be a lie, but Luodasi might not know the whole truth, so his words could only be used as a reference.

"How is that possible? If that were really the case, then what are we? And what about Aokesi, who died in the mission earlier?"

"While competition and even conflict exist between the two major schools, both sides have a tacit understanding to keep the competition and conflict under control to a certain degree."

In any case, Luodasi himself had none, so could he only become a sacrificial lamb?

"You have seen it too. If it weren't for the collusion between the two major schools, why would people from the Zeqi School be mixed into your investigation team? You must know that the Primary Mentor's Glabella Bone you mentioned is kept by you!"

Luodasi was very confident in his judgment. He had come into contact with every artifact of Zhamu Dasi; he knew the characteristics of those artifacts too well. It was impossible for the Zeqi School to be sure of completely suppressing them, and they would not wait until now.

"What if the Anti School and the Zeqi School conspired to let Kalishi return to the Northland, and then used the convenience of the Computing Power Pool to forge a New Artifact? It is nothing more than agreeing that the New Artifact will be jointly kept by both sides. This is not without precedent."

But in fact, he had thought of this possibility. As long as the New Artifact was powerful enough, the Anti School could completely reach a cooperation with the Zeqi School. As for the slight sacrifices in between, they were just a necessary price.

"Once such a tacit understanding is broken, Zhamu Dasi will never have peace in the future. The Zeqi School cannot make such an unwise decision!"

"Then is it a unilateral collusion between the Zeqi School and Kalishi?" Xia Duo proposed another possibility.

But Luodasi pondered for a while and still gave a negative answer, "That is also not very likely. Although the Zeqi School has been a bit degenerate in recent years, it would not go so far as to conspire with Kalishi to steal the Remains of the First Mentor kept by the Anti School."

As for the so-called identification with the school's philosophy, who actually has the right to interpret that?

But as he spoke, Luodasi's voice grew lower and lower, until he finally fell into silence. Xia Duo did not want to see this scene, so he simply pointed it out:

While there is friendship and bonds within the school, it is not entirely a place of warmth. What kind of end do those who do not identify with the school's philosophy eventually meet? Luodasi has lived to this age; what has he not seen?

After thinking for a moment, Xia Duo asked again:

Forging an artifact is not easy. Zhamu Dasi has only forged twelve artifacts in several thousand years. But wanting to sabotage the artifact's manufacturing process is far easier than forging an artifact.

Even for an intact artifact, it is not impossible to destroy it, just like the artifact kept in Tuokesente that was destroyed by Xia Duo a few years ago.

"What you say makes some sense, but that is on the premise that the New Artifact is still the Psionic artifact you understood in the past. What if the New Artifact is no longer the Psionic artifact you understood in the past?"

"If they are worried that the New Artifact cannot be controlled unilaterally, or are thinking of sharing the risks of the project, is it possible for the Zeqi School to cooperate with the Anti School? And you are just the sacrificial lambs in this plan used to gain the trust of the Northland!"