Yaxiu's listening experience was entirely different from those of the other two operators. If Sonia and Diya's listening experience could be summed up as "What on earth are you talking about?", his was excessively, painfully clear.
"o(*≧▽≦)ツ Here I come~~~ Let's take our time. Tonight will definitely be a night to remember..."
"Wait, wait, wait! Don't say a word, any of you!"
"Someone's listening in. An angel from the Prophecy faction? Or a god? No, this sensation feels even purer, like the power of that existence atop the Ruby Mountain... I remember now, it's Destiny Q&A!"
"Wait, that doesn't make sense either. How could Destiny Q&A see me as I am now?"
"Don't move, don't move! Someone's listening to us, be serious... Sss!"
"Hm? Don't speak—write it in my palm... Oh, right! I did hold the Secret Incarnation for a period back then. These Concept Incarnations make the best anchors. No wonder the Ruby Mountain could link me to the past. What's more, the Secret Incarnation naturally carries the 'Concealment' effect, so the Ruby Mountain hasn't noticed that I've already detected its snooping!"
"The answer is ③. I can't say anything more, otherwise Destiny Q&A will delete this recording."
Perhaps out of instinct, or perhaps feeling it would tarnish his image, Yaxiu withheld the first and fifth lines. But even the rest of the self-narration alone was enough to blow the Sword Princess and the Witch away.
"'Don't say a word, any of you'?" Sonia's eyes went wide. "Judging from the options, were you with at least three people?"
Diya suddenly asked, "Watcher, did you ever reveal the matter of the Secret Incarnation in reality?"
"No, at least not right now."
"Yet in that recording, someone reminded you about the Secret Incarnation by writing in your palm. Doesn't that mean that person was either me or the Sword Princess?"
Yaxiu hurriedly explained, "It could also be a new operator in the future!"
"Doesn't that amount to the same thing? They're all members of our team." Sonia blinked. "So options ①, ②, and ③ refer to us? Is this question asking who is closest to you among your team members?"
"...That possibility can't be ruled out." Yaxiu spread his hands. "But it's also possible that I let slip about the Secret Incarnation in the future—"
"Are you out of your mind? The Secret Incarnation is a Concept Incarnation! It affects the survival of its associated sorcery factions! Telling anyone about it brings nothing but harm!" Sonia immediately retorted. "Only the few of us can know this secret. Even if new operators arrive, you can't tell them!"
"Fine, fine, fine." Yaxiu only wanted to end the topic as quickly as possible. "What we should focus on right now is that the future me could actually detect Destiny Q&A—"
"Watcher, what would you be doing with three team members?" Diya asked curiously.
"Playing games or chatting," Yaxiu said, without batting an eye or blushing. "What else could it be?"
The village girl gave the cult leader a suspicious glare. "You didn't hide anything from us, did you?"
"It's obviously the future me who hid things!" Yaxiu forcefully yanked the topic back. "He clearly knew he had become the listening material for Destiny Q&A, yet he didn't even seize the chance to feed me some intelligence!"
He definitely hid something!
However, Sonia glanced at the Witch and knew this was certainly not the right moment to press the matter. She said, "Didn't he say so himself? The moment he revealed any other information, Destiny Q&A definitely wouldn't use the recording."
"Still, the future you seemed very surprised to find yourself being listened to." Sonia fell into thought. "Could you already be strong enough to shield against all prophetic detection? But the Witch and I grow in lockstep with you. Why didn't the future versions of us have that kind of strength?"
"Could it be a difference in time?" Yaxiu suggested. "The future you listened to might only be a few years ahead, while the one I heard could be over a decade later."
"And when you realized you were being eavesdropped on, your first reaction was that it was an angel or a god." Sonia murmured, "Could you really have grown to the level of angels and gods in just ten-odd years? Plus, you mentioned the Ruby Mountain... You must be at least a Legendary Sorcerer by then!"
"What is the Ruby Mountain?" Yaxiu asked curiously.
"The fourth level of the Void Realm is called the Ruby Mountain, also known as the Mountain of Legends, Half-Step Heaven, and the God-Adjacent Forbidden Zone," Sonia explained. "The future you was intimately familiar with the power of the Ruby Mountain, even deducing that you were being recorded by Destiny Q&A... You became so strong."
"We became strong," Yaxiu emphasized. "We'll climb the Void Realm together and take in the magnificent scenery from the summit side by side."
The village girl quickly shook off the slight trace of inferiority in her heart and nodded. "It must be that the future me was simply too powerful, so Destiny Q&A couldn't listen to me and could only pick a time when I was still relatively weak!"
"Wait." Diya suddenly noticed something. "The future Watcher said the Secret Incarnation carries a Concealment effect, allowing him to detect the Void Realm's peering. That means..."
"Exactly!" Yaxiu nodded excitedly. "If Destiny Q&A keeps plucking fragments from the distant future, the future me will definitely help cheat!"
"Congratulations, you answered one question correctly. Would you like to continue?"
"Listening material for Question Two begins—"
"...Hm? It's started already?"
"Only after the last one did I recall that there was indeed a Destiny Q&A like this once. But it was far too long ago, and my situation back then was a bit chaotic... so I didn't remember right away."
"The Void Realm won't let you exploit it forever. Destiny Q&A has probably already noticed something amiss... The answer to this question is ①."
"Selves from different points in time are not the same person. Therefore, I won't reveal any future to you, lest I murder your present."
"The Secret Incarnation is very useful."
"Question: The Watcher... (static)?"
"① Garter straps ② Glasses ③ Combat outfit ④ ??? (static)"
Yaxiu briefly explained the gist of the second question. Sonia looked at him suspiciously. "You could only hear static for the question and the fourth option? If you don't want to say it, we won't mind. We don't care that much about your privacy."
Diya nodded along, asking in bewilderment, "Still, why would garter straps, glasses, and a combat outfit appear together as options? What kind of question would ask about that?"
Yaxiu shook his head and moved straight to the third question. But very soon, he took off the headset and said to his operators, "The third question was pure static. The only word I could make out clearly was 'Question.' Even the prompt and the options were a garbled mess. I picked one at random, and it was wrong."
Seeing that his expression seemed entirely genuine, the Sword Princess and the Witch believed him. In fact, if Yaxiu really had been able to exploit this loophole to answer every question correctly, they would have felt frightened instead.
Many sorcerers did not fear offending gods, but all held the Void Realm in deep awe. To make an analogy, a god was like a company chairman: though in charge of your livelihood, they would hardly care if you secretly embezzled a few company assets. The Void Realm, on the other hand, was like a bank. Would anyone dare seize a bank's vulnerability to cause havoc?
With Destiny Q&A concluded, the inquiry phase naturally followed.
Originally, Yaxiu and the others had prepared their questions long in advance—just like during their first Destiny Q&A, they intended to ask for information regarding the Seven-Colored Tail.
Although their Golden Wings had not yet unfurled, between the absorption speed of the Alchemical Throne and the cultivation boost provided by the sports car, they could likely complete a journey in less than a month that would take other sorcerers an entire year.
However, unfurling the Golden Wings was merely the basic requirement for advancing to Three-Winged. Countless sorcerers were stuck at the threshold of their faction realms for years or even decades, unable to break through to the Sanctuary realm. Even though the Sword Princess and the Witch were both geniuses, for them to elevate their primary factions to the Sanctuary rank within a few months or even a year would require them to gorge on Experience Orbs every night like crab-roe broad beans.
Yaxiu estimated that the only way to forcibly feed the Sword Princess all the way to the Sanctuary rank was to hunt the Fishcleaver Dragon species on the Time Continent to extinction.
Therefore, seeking the Seven-Colored Tail was an absolute win. Adding in their previous successful experience with the Golden Fish, they naturally wanted to savor the joy of smuggling themselves across once more.
Yet in the listening material for Yaxiu's second question, his 'future self' had dropped a blatant hint regarding how to use this Destiny Q&A.
"Your 'future self' stressed that the Secret Incarnation is crucial," Sonia said. "Meanwhile, our current utilization of the Secret Incarnation is practically zero. Concept Incarnations themselves are secret poisons; I wouldn't dare ask anyone about them, and nothing turns up in the archives... If we want to learn how to use the Secret Incarnation, we have to seize this opportunity."
Yaxiu nodded. "We have two chances to ask questions now. We can ask once about how to use the Secret Incarnation, and once for intelligence on the Seven-Colored Tail."
After a brief discussion, they decided that Diya, who had gotten one answer right, would ask about the Seven-Colored Tail, while Yaxiu, who had answered two correctly, would ask about the Secret Incarnation. Knowledge of the Seven-Colored Tail certainly fell into the realm of secret poison, so no matter who asked, the Void Realm's answer was bound to be hazy and vague. On the other hand, how to use the Secret Incarnation was not a secret poison; Yaxiu, having answered more questions correctly, was guaranteed to receive more useful intelligence.
Of course, they still had to be careful with how they phrased it. Otherwise, if the Void Realm answered with "The best use of the Secret Incarnation is to give it to a Heroic Spirit Commander," they would be left dumbfounded.
Yaxiu asked, "With the resources we currently have, how can we effectively develop the Secret Incarnation?"
The Void Realm replied in great detail:
"① Bind the Soul Summoning sorcery spirit with 'Water-Born Line,' then target the Soul Summoning sorcery spirit with 'Rage Sword' and 'Evil Light Slash.' The threatened Secret Incarnation will share its first authority.
② Slay a Spider Tower Commander to unlock the Spider Tower unit type, and the Secret Incarnation will share its second authority."
Chapter 439