Chapter 503: The Strategy No One Divined

Pei Guang was planning to go straight to Fu Xuan to cause some trouble, but Stelle, who'd been thoroughly influenced by Pei Guang at this point, had a different idea.

"Ah Guang! I've got a question."

Pei Guang: "Hm?"

Stelle: "For this Aetherium Wars event, is there a rule that says we have to challenge one region at a time? Based on what you've said, we currently only have a strong Aurumaton. So couldn't we try to go to the other regions and collect all the Aether Spirits in one go, and then use all kinds of fancy setups to completely crush Fu Xuan?"

Pei Guang froze for a second after hearing that. "Huh… I think… we actually can. My thinking got stuck in a box again. Stelle, March—you really are the best teammates. You're right, we can gather all the Aether Spirits first and then come back to challenge the champion candidates! Tsk tsk tsk… I got locked into rigid thinking again."

Stelle nodded enthusiastically. "Right?! I've been thinking the whole way—if we just go and challenge things step by step, wouldn't that be the same as playing the game normally? But we're players! Sure, that Jojo guy told us not to skip class, but he didn't say we couldn't gather stuff before fighting!"

Pei Guang nodded. "You're totally right. Let's go: we'll collect all the Aether Spirits and chips, then come back and have a nice chat with Fu Xuan. We could even solve all the puzzles first, leave the champion candidates untouched, and then take them all down in one go. That way, our strategies won't get exposed too early."

March 7th: "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go collect the Aether Spirits, then we'll come back and deal with Fu Xuan!"

The group set off, and meanwhile, in the space behind the Cloudford master artisan Gongshu, Fu Xuan was working remotely while also doing a divination for herself.

Earlier today, her fortune reading had shown a minor blessing, with signs indicating she'd encounter Pei Guang's group and have a pretty enjoyable game experience.

But right now, after casting a new reading, her Third Eye suddenly gave her a result of great misfortune.

"What's going on? Why did it suddenly turn into great misfortune?!"

Fu Xuan was dumbfounded. Normally, a single day's fortune shouldn't fluctuate that drastically. How had it gone from a minor blessing to a great misfortune?

"Damn it! I can't divine any useful hints at all? This has to be related to Ah Guang and the others… Please, let them show mercy…"

After a while of fruitless divination that only gave her vague warning signs, Fu Xuan gave up entirely. At least all the readings said no one would get hurt, no disasters or misfortunes for anyone else. It was probably just Pei Guang's doing. If that was the case, then she might as well close her eyes and accept her fate.

Not only Fu Xuan was caught off guard: Giovanni hadn't expected Pei Guang's group to suddenly change their playstyle either. Originally, he'd intended to act like a life coach, show up in each stage, and observe Pei Guang's choices. But now? Plans had clearly changed.

Still, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. After all, the greatest joys in life often come from the unplanned.

With seamless teleportation, Pei Guang, Stelle, and March 7th effortlessly gathered all the Aether Spirits and chips from both the Herta Space Station and the mining area in the Underworld. 

After obtaining just about everything available, Pei Guang looked at the chips and Aether Spirits in his inventory and had already started cooking up all sorts of combo ideas.

After also taking down the players in the remaining two regions who could be challenged, the group returned to Cloudford. Upon arriving, Pei Guang went to find the local champion candidate: Gongshu the master artisan.

When they found him, Gongshu had his arms crossed, back turned toward them, and was speaking with exaggerated pride.

"Who dares approach~? State~ your~ name~!"

Pei Guang: "It's us."

That one line made Gongshu shiver. The moment he turned around and saw Pei Guang, he was immediately reminded of that time with the Abundant Ebon Deer.

"Wait, what?! It's you guys?! You're going to be my opponents??? My lord~ I beg your pardon~ have mercy, my lord~!"

Originally, Master Gongshu was thrilled to be invited as a champion candidate. Over the past few days, he'd eliminated quite a few players thanks to his Aurumaton Gatekeeper team, which only boosted his confidence.

But now, faced with Pei Guang's group, he suddenly remembered the tragic fate of the Abundant Ebon Deer. In that moment, his PTSD kicked in. After all these years, this was the first time he'd seen someone more monstrous than an Abomination of Abundance.

Their methods were so swift and ruthless, even the cruelest Abominations of Abundance would probably kneel and kowtow twice out of respect!

Sure, Aetherium Wars was just a virtual competition, but having witnessed how Pei Guang and the others dealt with the Abundant Ebon Deer, Gongshu instinctively chickened out.

Seeing how fast Gongshu backed down, March 7th couldn't help but comment, "Who begs for mercy before the battle even starts?"

Stelle followed up, "Exactly. At least wait until we're winning before you start begging."

Gongshu asked quietly, "If I do beg later… can I at least lose with some dignity?"

Stelle shook her head, "Nope. But it'll make our victory feel even better."

Pei Guang looked over at Stelle. "Alright, alright, stop scaring the old guy. He is a champion candidate after all. If he forfeits before the match even starts, all our strategy planning will be for nothing."

March 7th nodded, turning to Gongshu, "Exactly! Master Gongshu, what are you afraid of? Aetherium Wars is all about your bond with your Aether Spirits and your strategy in battle. We're not that far apart in that area. Who knows, you might even crush us~"

After thinking about it, Gongshu realized she had a point. Sure, Pei Guang and company were scary when it came to beating up the Abundant Ebon Deer, but that didn't mean they were unbeatable at Aetherium Wars, right?

With that, Gongshu's confidence returned.

"Hmph! Even you want to challenge me? How exciting! I'll show you what I'm made of today!"