Legend Management Bureau Chapter 294

[ … words ]

“That’s the situation,” Dong Qianqiu said slowly. “Because of this, Gonggong has been continuously spreading floods across the Nine Provinces.”

“That’s a rather good story too,” Du Yu murmured, feeling a twinge of sadness.

“And the great battle between Gonggong and Zhurong also started because of Houtu,” Dong Qianqiu continued. “Originally, when Zhurong saw Houtu suddenly turn into a demon, he blamed it all on the villainous Gonggong, believing that his murderous aura had corrupted her. Naturally, Gonggong refused to accept this accusation, and the two came to blows. However, in this version of the legend, although Houtu was utterly heartbroken, it wasn’t enough to push her to demonification, so the subsequent events never occurred. A few years later, when Houtu grew up, she came to understand Gonggong’s good intentions. The father and daughter cleared the air, and Gonggong ceased his floods, returning to the Yan Emperor’s camp.”

Hearing this, Du Yu slowly furrowed his brows. “Sister Qianqiu, if that’s the case… the story already has a perfect ending. Do we… really need to intervene?”

“I feel conflicted as well,” Dong Qianqiu admitted. “But at the end of the day, we are the ones managing the legends. No matter how tragic a legend might be, we can only rely on what originally happened as our foundation, pulling back any plotlines that deviate from it. Otherwise, our present world would be rendered completely unrecognizable by these changing legends. After all, the current world has already taken its shape because of these legends, which means the contents of any given legend cannot be altered.”

Du Yu understood this logic. The present world was like a towering skyscraper, and the numerous legends were the bricks that built it.

Now that the skyscraper was completed, trying to swap out the bricks was a dangerous game. Who could guarantee the entire building wouldn’t collapse once a brick was removed?

“Sister Qianqiu… thank you for all your hard work while I was away recently,” Du Yu said softly.

“Compared to all of you, my job is quite easy.” Dong Qianqiu glanced at the numerous pieces of Equipment in front of her. “I only have to stay here and operate the machines. You are the ones doing the hardest and most exhausting work.”

Operate the Equipment?

He thought of something, his entire body giving a slight jolt.

“Du Yu, what’s wrong?” Dong Qianqiu asked.

“I… I just thought of a problem.” Du Yu frowned. “Sister Qianqiu… do you think Saint… needs to operate these pieces of Equipment?”

Dong Qianqiu followed his train of thought for a moment before replying, “He probably does. With so many of them, they definitely can’t all use Chada’s ‘door’. They must have Descent Equipment as well.”

“Then something’s wrong!” Du Yu exclaimed. “Saint and the Seven Holy Heroes make eight people in total, and all of them are Operators. They don’t have Voice Transmission capabilities, nor do they have a Supporter. Who is operating the Equipment for them, and who is providing their Voice Transmission?!”

“Huh?” Dong Qianqiu was stunned for a moment before grasping his meaning. “You mean to say…”

“There’s a ‘ninth person’ on their side…” Du Yu said with a grim expression. “The Xiao Nian from the future once told me that almost everyone in their timeline died. But thinking about it this way, there has to be at least one more person left in the future Legend Management Bureau…”

Dong Qianqiu frowned, pondering for a long time before speaking. “But… does that matter? Even if Saint has a ninth person over there, it shouldn’t affect anything, right?”

“No!” Du Yu countered. “When you look at it this way… the problem is quite severe. We thought we had a complete grasp of all the intelligence regarding Saint, but it seems he has another teammate. He has hidden this teammate very deeply; they have never once shown their face.”

“Could you be overthinking this?” Dong Qianqiu suggested. “Is it possible that… Saint’s Voice Transmitter is simply very weak in strength, so whether they show themselves or not makes no difference?”

“I truly hope it’s as you say,” Du Yu replied. “But I can’t shake this ominous premonition…”

“Don’t overthink it,” Dong Qianqiu reassured him. “If the enemy’s Voice Transmitter was genuinely that formidable, why have they never used Voice Transmission on you? They could easily use Voice Transmission to disrupt your missions, yet they haven’t done so.”

“Is that so?” Du Yu nodded silently, forcing himself to take comfort in the idea that the enemy’s Voice Transmitter might truly be a weak individual, just as Dong Qianqiu said.

“I suggest you go get some rest, Du Yu,” Dong Qianqiu said. “There’s still some time before the descent preparations are complete.”

“I’ve already rested for half a month; I’m not tired at all right now,” Du Yu replied. “Sister Qianqiu, I also wanted to ask you, what are your thoughts on assassinating Saint?”

“What thoughts could I possibly have?” Dong Qianqiu sighed softly. “To me, you are you, and Saint is Saint. He is your enemy, and equally, he is my enemy. Even… even if I know you will turn into him one day, I still don’t see a problem with it.”

“Yeah…” Du Yu nodded quietly. “It’s actually quite laughable. I hate Saint so deeply right now, yet someday in the future, I will become him…”

Du Yu furrowed his brows slightly.

A new question slowly surfaced in his mind.

For him to become Saint, there were several crucial prerequisites.

The first prerequisite was that he would commit the same ‘mistake’ that Saint had made. This ‘mistake’ would trigger a catastrophe, potentially leading to the collapse of the entire world, and ultimately resulting in the deaths of everyone in the Immortal Realm.

The second prerequisite was that even if everyone else died, the Seven Holy Heroes would remain by his side. Only under those circumstances would he completely transform into Saint.

However, Du Yu had thought about this point before, and he always felt there was something fishy about it.

If powerhouses on the level of the Western Queen Mother were destined to die in the future, how did a mortal like Xiao Nian manage to survive?

Why were the Seven Holy Heroes the only ones who all survived?

Why did he himself survive in the future?

Du Yu turned the matter over and over in his head, arriving at a preliminary deduction—was it possible that only Great Pivots survived?

But upon further reflection, that felt wrong. Zhan Qisheng, Ying Ning, Qu Xi, and Zhi Nv were also Great Pivots, yet none of them were by Saint’s side either.

Put that way, there was only one possibility.

That was when the ‘catastrophe’ occurred, Du Yu and the Seven Holy Heroes simply happened to be absent. This twist of fate was what ultimately saved their lives.

But where could they have been?

The answer was undeniable. If all eight of them were mobilized together, they could only have gone into a legend.

“Sister Qianqiu… I think I figured something out…”

“Figured something out?” Dong Qianqiu was taken aback. “What did you figure out?”

Du Yu shot Dong Qianqiu a bright, clear smile.

The old saying was indeed correct: concern leads to confusion.

Du Yu had been rushing around at high intensity lately, leaving his mind a bit sluggish. But today, having suddenly settled down into quietude, he actually managed to piece together many things.

It was the legends!

When the ‘catastrophe’ struck, Saint and his group were merely absent. By the time they realized what was happening, the disaster had already unfolded.

But why did people like Zhan Qisheng, Ying Ning, and Zhi Nv fail to survive?

They clearly could have entered a legend to save their own lives, yet in the end, they did not survive. Where did the problem lie?

Du Yu furrowed his brows before breaking into a broad, enlightened smile. The answers to all the mysteries seemed to be rising to the surface.

At that thought, Du Yu looked up at Dong Qianqiu and said, “Sister Qianqiu, we need to modify the objective of this mission…”

…

When he walked out of the main hall, Du Yu discovered that the Seven Holy Heroes, Zhan Qisheng, Ying Ning, and Zhi Nv had already packed their bags and were fully prepared.

Du Yu quietly sat down with them, observing that they were currently discussing their countermeasures for after they entered the legend.

“Old Du, you’re here?” Zhan Qisheng greeted. “I have already arranged a general plan. Ying Ning, Zhi Nv, and I will enter Gonggong’s legend together and then lie in wait. We will hold our ground until Saint is on the verge of completing the legend before making our move. This will give us the highest possible success rate.”

“Mhm.” Du Yu nodded slightly. “That is good, but I have a request that I need to discuss with you all.”

“Go ahead.”

“Sister Qianqiu will be acting as your Voice Transmitter this time. You must obey her commands throughout the entire process. No matter how absurd her instructions might seem, you absolutely must follow them,” Du Yu said with a deadpan expression.

“What do you mean by that?” Zhi Nv asked in confusion. “That sounds incredibly strange.”

“I can’t explain right now. Just know that the details of the plan have changed slightly, though the general direction remains the same,” Du Yu replied.

Standing to the side, Jin Jianglang also spoke up. “Du Yu, our mission’s objective has also been clarified.”

“Oh?” Du Yu said. “You already have a plan?”

“We do,” Shiranui Jinjiro affirmed. “We can have the Great Goddess Nuwa gather the materials needed to mend the heavens ahead of time. I believe you have a saying in Huaxia about ‘preparing for a rainy day’—that’s exactly what this means. This way, the instant the sky collapses, it can be immediately repaired.”

“That doesn’t seem quite right…” Du Yu frowned. “If we do that, many people who were supposed to die will survive instead, which means their descendants would all become Great Pivots.”

“Er… what are you suggesting?”

“Just let everything proceed normally. Whenever the sky collapses is whenever we make our move,” Du Yu stated. “Besides, we might not even need to act at all. We just have to wait for Nuwa to mend the heavens herself, and then we return.” Du Yu stretched lazily as he slowly addressed the group.

“Eh?”

The group felt that Du Yu’s mindset had subtly shifted. Just moments ago, he had seemed rather anxious, but now he wasn’t in any hurry at all.

“In that case… what about your wager with Saint?” Zhi Nv asked. “Weren’t you going to ‘race’ him? If everything is just left to take its natural course, you will lose.”

“I won’t lose.” Du Yu tilted the corners of his mouth, revealing a profoundly meaningful smile. “I’m going to raise the stakes. I’m placing an even bigger bet against Saint.”