Chapter 196: 189 Seeing Youmeng Pillow Again

"Preserving the will... to trigger an Art Tool?"

Qi Yuheng looked at Tang Zhao and said, "This topic... is very interesting. Is it your previous research?"

Tang Zhao said honestly, "Actually, it is a question I have been pondering. After all, I am a beginner, so I cannot think about questions that are too deep. I only have some shallow thoughts on what I have heard and seen. It just so happens that I received guidance from a senior on the road, and it was only after being inspired by him that I had some Inspiration. As for now... it is still just Inspiration, and I urgently need more data to perfect it."

Qi Yuheng was stunned and said, "Just Inspiration? Without any foundation from previous research?"

Tang Zhao asked in return, "Was it not you, sir, who said you would help me complete a masterpiece in one night? I only chose this topic because I trust your sect."

Qi Yuheng was speechless for a moment, and in his heart, he understood: although Tang Zhao had agreed reluctantly, he was still somewhat unhappy about Longyuan forcing him into this. He simply chose such an immature topic to force himself to give him more resources, so he could complete this research that looked very intimidating.

Of course, it could not be ruled out that this person was truly empty-headed and had no decent research to refer to, so he could only use this kind of Inspiration to stall.

Thinking this through, he steeled his heart: compared to the major events that were giving him a headache, what did Tang Zhao's little request count for? After all, if he completed the forum well, it would count as a task accomplished for himself. Anyway, for this Rune Assembly, Longyuan had spent a fortune, and there was still plenty of budget left; if it was something that could be solved by spending money, then just spend the money.

He nodded and said, "I understand. I underestimated you when I said Brother Tang only needed to be steady; it seems you intend to startle everyone with a single feat. I shall wait and see."

Tang Zhao acted as if he did not notice the hidden sting in his words and smiled, "Thank you for your trouble. It is not that this student is unwilling to take a mature topic, but that I have only studied Rune Formula for three years. I haven't even mastered the basics of learning, so how could I touch upon frontier research? Since my accumulation is limited, no matter what, I am starting from scratch, so I might as well choose the most relevant topic. As for the two words 'self-strengthening', as I understand it, first is the spirit striving upward and never ceasing; second is the body cultivating and standing independently, constantly improving; third is liberating constraints and breaking chains. My topic covers the first and third points, focusing on breaking chains, which is genuinely beneficial to everyone. It should be relevant, right?"

Qi Yuheng stared at him, ignoring his one-two-three, and said first, "Three years..."

Tang Zhao was startled, and Qi Yuheng repeated, "You have only studied Rune Formula for three years?"

Tang Zhao explained, "I went up the mountain at twelve, and it has been over three years since then. Saying four years is also fine."

Qi Yuheng chuckled dryly, "Three or four years... truly young and promising."

Tang Zhao returned the flattery, saying, "Headmaster Yuheng is already a Longyuan Headmaster at such a young age; is that not also young and promising?"

Qi Yuheng said, "Indeed, some people also say I am young and promising. After all, the age at which I learned runes is not too long either."

Not even a tenth of yours.

He cast aside his distracting thoughts and took out an object, placing it on the table.

Tang Zhao was startled, realizing he recognized it; it was actually the Youmeng Pillow he had tried once in Jiu Yuan. He had experienced a Longyuan internal strife inside it.

"This is..."

Qi Yuheng smiled, "Has Brother Tang heard of the Nanke Dream? It means one day in the world is a thousand years in a dream. In the dream, thinking accelerates and time slows down; although it is only within a dream, one can have several days or even months to think and study."

Tang Zhao realized, yet felt slightly disappointed—he had thought Longyuan would give him some treasure that could manipulate time.

But thinking about it, he could not underestimate the field of "time" too much. He had seen so many swords, runes, and Art Tools, and he had seen arts related to space a few times, but the only time he had seen anything involving time was the Jar Storage. Apart from that, he had not seen any Sword Art, Sword Technique, or even Sword Law or Supernatural Power in a Sword Manual touch upon time.

Even for the Jar Storage, it actually had great limitations; time was still balanced. One could only take time from the front to store it for the opening later; there was no creating it out of thin air, it was just a porter of time. Even if Longyuan had such means to interfere with time, what price would they have to pay? For an emergency manuscript, was it worth it?

Making do with the Youmeng Pillow would suffice.

"Then what about the data? If I only think in my dreams, wouldn't that be like building a cart behind closed doors?"

Qi Yuheng said, "The data is also inside. The Youmeng Pillow has a Dream-Entering method. It can take you into a special dreamscape. This contains a dreamscape, which is my Longyuan Cangshuguan. The collection has more than ten thousand volumes, right? Besides the essence of Rune Formula, astronomy, geography, local customs, and historical anecdotes are all open to you. You also don't need to worry about the collection being too large and not finding the place for a while. Dreams are different from reality; consciousness can interfere with the dreamscape. I will grant you access permissions. Once you enter, you only need to silently think of the data you want, and the books will fly before your eyes for you to browse. In the dream, there are also endless paper, pens, counting rods, virtual materials, and other tools for your use. If you take a nap, there are also tea and snacks. Whatever you need, it is all there."

Simply put, everything is in the dream, right?

Tang Zhao said happily, "What a beautiful dream. But Brother Qi, how much time do I have? While I can accelerate in the dream, I can't really dream for a thousand years, right?"

The so-called Nanke Dream also jumps from scene to scene, with the intermediate processes fast-forwarded to piece together years of time; the time actually spent awake must be limited, and the mind cannot handle it if the acceleration is too fast.

Qi Yuheng said, "That depends on your Mental Power. I think... well, ten days or half a month is always possible." Actually, he had wanted to say a month, but he had just learned that Tang Zhao was only sixteen; at this age, his Mental Power training was also limited, and ten days or half a month was already quite good. If it went longer and his Spirit was exhausted, he would naturally exit the dreamscape, so there was no danger.

One must know that he himself could only stay for a month.

After handing the treasure to Tang Zhao and giving him some extra paper and pens in reality, Qi Yuheng took his leave.

Once he left, Tang Zhao became excited. To be able to tour the library of such a large faction as Longyuan and browse through the books, was that not a great joy?

After a little preparation, he couldn't wait to lay the pillow down and enter the dreamland. He didn't plan to wait until night to dream; if he stayed up all night in the dream, how could he go on stage with a dazed mind tomorrow morning? It would be better to sleep until night now. Wake up, eat something, and then have a proper sleep; wouldn't it be wonderful to be full of spirit for the lecture?

Not to mention Tang Zhao entering the dream beautifully, Qi Yuheng left the guest house area, his expression darkening slightly, and called over a Longyuan Disciple, saying, "Go and check Tang Zhao's Spirit Envoy."

After the little disciple left, he headed to the Seven Star Pavilion stationed by Longyuan under the mountain in the middle of Jianzhou Island, seeking the Headmaster of Yaoguang.

Before he even entered Yaoguang's room, he saw someone walking from the opposite side, young and extraordinary in dress, and somewhat familiar.

Qi Yuheng was startled, recognizing this person as a distinguished guest who had come with the Beichen Hall Master, whose status was so noble that even Longyuan had to back down three points, and he hurriedly bowed, saying, "Your Highness."

The Prince smiled and returned the salute, brushing past him. Qi Yuheng actually had a very good impression of him; with such a high status, he had no arrogance at all and was very Friendly in his conduct, so how could he not have a good impression?

Ignoring this Prince, Qi Yuheng entered the room and found Hu Yaoguang, saying, "Junior Brother, how is the investigation into the Jiu Yuan matter going?"

Hu Yaoguang looked exhausted, but his complexion was not as bad as it had been a few days ago, and he said, "Originally, there was no clue at all, but the Hall Master arrived and brought a witness who had been to Jiu Yuan, and suddenly there were some clues. We are digging deep now; I'm afraid it won't be in time for the Rune Assembly, but if we continue to investigate after the Rune Assembly, the truth will always come to light."

Qi Yuheng was slightly stirred and said, "There is already a witness? That's great. Before, we couldn't even find a single eyewitness, and I didn't know how that mountain peak collapsed. It just so happens that I also have a witness here; his name is Tang Zhao, he is a Talisman Sword Master of this session, and he should have been to Jiu Yuan."

Hu Yaoguang frowned and said, "Tang Zhao... is it? I investigated all the guests who passed through Longyuan. They all said that when they arrived at Longyuan, they only saw the mountains and rivers overturned and a piece of ruins. I also checked the records of all the Spirit Envoys and matched them one by one with the guests' testimonies, and no abnormalities were found. There was no one named Tang Zhao among them, either?"

Qi Yuheng said, "He definitely went to Longyuan. I gave him the Youmeng Pillow today; although he didn't say it outright, I knew as soon as I saw him that he had seen it. This Youmeng Pillow is a Dharma Artifact unique to my Longyuan, and outsiders cannot know about it. The only chance to recognize it is in Jiu Yuan! He must have been there before Jiu Yuan was intact."

Hu Yaoguang was stirred, and although there was no ironclad proof, he believed Qi Yuheng's judgment and said, "Good! To think there is someone who went to Jiu Yuan ahead of time! This is probably the only... the second one. He also concealed the fact that he had seen the Youmeng Pillow, which is even more suspicious. Perhaps he is hiding important clues. I will go and check right now! But why is there no record of his Spirit Envoy?"

Qi Yuheng sneered slightly and said, "That is why I had people check his Spirit Envoy. It must be the Spirit Envoy deceiving us. There are two possibilities: first, those Talisman Puppet Spirit Envoys are not provided by us after all, so it is possible they are hiding things from us. Second, that Spirit Envoy is of the Yuangui Clan..."

Hu Yaoguang smiled bitterly, "If it is Yuangui, that is troublesome. If it is a Talisman Puppet... that is also troublesome."

The Yuangui Clan had been dependent on Longyuan for many years; if there was a betrayal, it would naturally have wide repercussions. But if the Talisman Puppet had changed, it meant there was a problem with the Libationer, and the thief was right by their side; wouldn't that also be troublesome? For a moment, Headmaster Yaoguang could not distinguish which situation was worse.

He said urgently, "Since that is the case, first detain that Tang Zhao. Use some means to make him reveal the truth."

Since he was walking the Sword Province Road, he was definitely not from the Seven Great Factions. As a disciple of a small faction, if Longyuan detained him for a strict investigation and used some means, so what?

Qi Yuheng looked embarrassed and said, "Wait—he is the top of this session, and having achieved success despite coming from a small faction, he has now become half a hero, so it is not good to treat him harshly. Furthermore, I still have places where I need him. Wait until tomorrow—ask him after tomorrow." It was already this late, and after searching around, Tang Zhao was the only one willing to step up in a rush; it would not be easy to find another one if he were gone.

Although the Jiu Yuan matter was more important, the investigation of Jiu Yuan was the responsibility of Headmaster Kaiyang, but the venue was his own responsibility!

At this moment, he heard someone outside say, "You two, do not slander an innocent person out of thin air. Brother Tang's character and conduct are clean and white; he is definitely not a villain. I can vouch for him. You can ask me instead."

The door opened, and a young man entered proudly. Qi Yuheng and Hu Yaoguang stood up together and said, "Your Highness?"