Chapter 823: Mr. Gong

As soon as this not-so-loud voice appeared, the crowd suddenly quieted down, their breathing even becoming a fraction lighter than usual.

One could see that a woman was already standing at the entrance of the inner hall, though no one knew when she had arrived. She had a pair of peach-blossom eyes like autumn water, and her skin was as white and delicate as milk. She wore a beige, narrow-sleeved garment, dressed neatly and efficiently without any elaborate decorations, yet she still possessed an elegant temperament that usually required long robes and wide sleeves to set off.

No matter how one looked at her, she resembled a beautiful Human, save for her hair, which was simply coiled atop her head in a deep, dark blue-black; looking closely, it was the color of a clear night sky, appearing both mysterious and tranquil.

This is the Shengnyu!

The Shengnyu stood at the doorway with her hands in her sleeves, her posture very natural and casual, and her attire was also that of everyday wear, yet it was easy for everyone to associate her with that word "Sheng."

The Heavenly Demons, who had just been noisy and clamorous, seemingly ready to demand an explanation from the Shengnyu, were suddenly struck dumb, lowering their heads and stammering, unable to speak. Even the Fire Child, whose aesthetic sense was completely unable to appreciate Humans, secretly thought: "Impressive! This is the Shengnyu. Although I cannot understand her appearance, just standing there gives her an extraordinary temperament. In terms of her ethereal quality alone, the masses of the Lingjie cannot compare; only when our God descends can one be compared to her."

However, he had questioned the ways of God for many years; although he now revered and trusted God again, he still could not help but think: Was she naturally this outstanding, which is why she was chosen to be the Shengnyu, or did she become the Shengnyu and receive God's protection, which is why she became so outstanding?

There was no meaning in figuring out this question, and it was even quite disrespectful, but as a Fire Spirit clansman accustomed to questioning, Hui still thought this way.

His thoughts wandered, and he inadvertently swept over the people present. Everyone who saw the Shengnyu could not help but reveal looks of admiration and reverence; the knight's gaze could even be described as fanatical. Conversely, the Human who had previously been bowing and scraping to curry favor with that irritable Heavenly Demon was now even more respectful, his posture lowered almost to the cracks in the floor, but that kind of respect was devoid of emotion; in essence, there was no difference in how he treated the Shengnyu versus other Lingjie citizens.

This guy, currying favor with all Lingjie citizens indiscriminately, not caring that much about the Shengnyu—perhaps he truly worshipped the Lingjie from the bottom of his heart, or perhaps...

It's all fake!

Hypocritical guy!

He felt hostility and disdain, thinking he had seen through this uninvited guest, but the Shengnyu clearly did not share his view. Instead, she swept her gaze over the crowd and said in a fairly kind tone: "I know you are anxious, but do not be in a hurry. I said I would see you, so I will definitely see you today. But you must not be rude to Gong Xiansheng."

She reached out to gesture toward the Human youth and said: "Gong Xiansheng is a very important partner of mine, and also an important part of our Lingjie's strategy for another world. Not to mention that he possesses very profound knowledge, just in terms of status and influence, I will be blunt: the stakes tied to him are above all of you. He is my most important guest today."

Although she backed the youth like this, the youth remained humble to the extreme; to describe it as bowing and scraping would be an understatement.

He kept saying: "Not at all, not at all. How could I, a mere uncivilized barbarian, dare to be mentioned in the same breath as you lords? The Shengnyu is too kind."

The more he maintained this low posture, the Heavenly Demons did not feel their opinion of him change; instead, they felt even more uncomfortable, a feeling of being both unconvinced and disdainful—in short, they were very annoyed by him. A few Heavenly Demons with aesthetics similar to Humans had originally thought him quite handsome and had three parts of favor based on his face, but now they didn't think he was handsome at all, only ridiculous.

The Shengnyu sighed inwardly. She had no way to make this Gong Xiansheng change his attitude or behavior, but she respected a clever mind. This person possessed vast knowledge and profound wisdom, which could not be denied no matter what. These guys who disdained him might not have as much wisdom as him even if they were all added together. She saw Gong Xiansheng currying favor with the other Heavenly Demons and felt some discomfort in her heart, but it was mainly pity. She thought: If only he were of Lingjie origin; his Human identity truly limited him.

At this moment, she felt a bit listless and said: "I have come to see you now. What is the matter? Speak one by one, the ones on the left first."

The Heavenly Demons looked at each other. Their purpose in coming here was actually much the same: they wanted to pull strings to get more spots on the ship for their own clans. To put it bluntly, they were here to offer bribes.

This kind of thing... how could it be said in public?

The Fire Child was also here for this, so he also pursed his lips and remained silent.

At this time, a Heavenly Demon spoke up: "Your Highness, our clan is currently developing a small facility to be used on the airship, but we are stuck on a difficult point, so we would like to ask the Shengnyu for guidance. We have already reported it to Tianyou Dajisi and only came after receiving his permission. Also, this is our clan's offering."

As he spoke, he took out a wooden box and offered it with both hands. The Shengnyu took it, opened it, and asked: "Is this the material that is causing the problem?"

The Heavenly Demon hurriedly said: "No, this is our offering..."

The Shengnyu put it back and said: "What is the rush for the offering? Tell me the problem first."

The Heavenly Demon hurriedly took out a roll of paper and said: "This is our blueprint, the part that is causing the problem is..."

The Shengnyu stood at the doorway, unfolded the blueprint, and looked at it. While looking, she pondered and said: "This is a small problem. My approach is as follows..."

She opened her mouth and reeled off a string of technical terms and the Path to a solution, making the Heavenly Demon a bit nervous: This is a secret, at least to some extent, right? How could she say it in front of so many people? Everyone is on the ship, and while it is said we are all in the same boat, there is also a competitive relationship. What if they spy out our clan's secrets?

However, he soon felt relieved. As the Shengnyu continued to speak, even he, who had a foundation, could not help but fail to keep up, and the others all revealed expressions as innocent as children.

Hmm...

Who am I, and where am I?

The Shengnyu also saw that he did not understand and said: "You come in. I will write down the approach for you. You go back and find someone who understands it to look at it; if you still don't understand, ask me again." After saying this, she turned and walked into the inner hall.

Thanks to him, the guests finally entered the Shengnyu's reception hall.

Upon entering the hall, everyone felt a little disappointed. They had originally thought the Shengnyu's office would be exquisite and extraordinary, but upon entering, they saw it was not only very ordinary but also very simple.

The room had nothing but a large table, two side tables, and a few sets of guest chairs. Even the furniture was of the simplest kind, with almost no ornaments or decorations, save for two huge bookcases placed on either side that reached the ceiling. In front of the bookcases stood two large boards, which were covered in scribbles and drawings. To them, the content was like a heavenly book; they could only see that there were many Talismans, and many of the symbols were written very casually—some written horizontally, some vertically, and others jutting out at angles, making one's eyes dazzle.

On the desk at the very front were various stationery items, small counting rods, and other tools, as well as several thick notebooks. One had a pen tucked in the middle, clearly only half-written.

The Shengnyu pointed to the guest seats and said: "Sit. Wait here for a moment." She first signaled for Gong Xiansheng to sit. Gong Xiansheng declined repeatedly, and only after everyone else had sat down did he take a seat at the very end.

The Shengnyu glanced at him but said nothing. She called the one who had the problem to the table and quickly wrote and drew in the notebook. The Heavenly Demon leaned over to watch, nodding repeatedly. By the end, although he didn't fully understand it, he knew the problem was solved and immediately praised: "As expected of the Shengnyu, you possess wisdom that transcends the mundane, like the... in the sky..."

The Shengnyu waved her hand and said: "As long as it's solved, it means you didn't come here for nothing."

Her attitude could not be called intimate, but it was very sincere. The Heavenly Demon thanked her repeatedly, somewhat unsure whether he should offer the gift he had prepared; he felt that giving a gift would disturb the Shengnyu's focus and profane her nobility. Fortunately, when he was exiting, the knight reached out to him, solving his dilemma.

The Shengnyu solved one matter and was very satisfied. She turned her head and said: "What other matters do you have?"

The group looked at each other. They only had the same matter. But this kind of thing was not easy to bring up, and for a moment, no one wanted to be the first to stick their neck out.

At this time, Gong Xiansheng, who was at the very back, stepped forward and whispered a few words in the Shengnyu's ear. Only then did the Shengnyu reveal a look of sudden realization.

One Heavenly Demon gave another a look, meaning that this barbarian actually dared to get so close to the Shengnyu; it was truly detestable.

The Fire Child also saw it and felt it was a bit strange: This person should be speaking for us, right? He made the Shengnyu understand our situation. Even if we don't thank him, why bother to squeeze him out? But seeing another Heavenly Demon nod in agreement, staring at Gong Xiansheng with increasingly unkind eyes, he realized that he was the strange one.

Perhaps it was because the Fire Spirit clan did not actively expand and basically did not set foot in the Human World, having only gone as far as the Taiyin Domain where the two worlds mixed, that they did not have deep-seated hostility toward Humans? To many Lingjie citizens, whatever a barbarian did was wrong.

The Shengnyu stopped speaking. Although she was enlightened, she could not help but shake her head and say: "Why would you all come to me for this? The time for the major distribution has passed. I do not have many spots in my hands, and I am willing to preserve more young people who have skills and understand production. If you are just trying to bribe me with offerings, then you have found the wrong person."

The Fire Child hesitated slightly. In fact, he also did not understand why they had to come to the Shengnyu. The Shengnyu's status was high, but her power was not great; she was a bit like the prophets in their clan, though of course, she was freer. If their clan was willing to pay the price, finding a Tianyou Dajisi who was close to them would actually be more convenient. However, God had specifically issued a decree for him to come, so they naturally followed God's will.

At this time, someone stood up and said: "What our clan wants to save are the technical personnel. They are all young people who have knowledge but no one to back them. Please, Shengnyu, preserve them."

The crowd was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized, and one after another said: "That's right, our people are also technical personnel! Everyone who hasn't boarded the ship is a technical person!"

Even the Fire Child reacted and followed suit.

The Shengnyu sighed and said: "Fine, if you all say so, then I must distinguish between you. Speak one by one: what skills do your people have? I will set a problem, and you take it back to do it. If you can complete it, it shows your clan has a foundation and accumulation, and is worthy of more spots. It's not that I cannot help."

The Heavenly Demons looked at each other, unsure for a moment whether they should agree.

The Fire Child was silent for a moment and said: "What if I can answer it on the spot?"