Chapter 90 - A Steve Who Hasn't Burned a Tree is Incomplete

After Aha's laughter faded, Yanqing, who had been frozen in place, was able to move again. The very first thing he did was look at the black-and-white mask in Fu Zhu's hand, his expression filled with dread as he sought confirmation.

"Teacher Fu Zhu, was that just now… the Lord of Eternal Joy?"

"If you're referring to Aha of Elation, then yes."

Fu Zhu waved the black-and-white mask at Yanqing. "Look, He even left a mask for me. No idea what it means."

Yanqing stared at the black-and-white mask in Fu Zhu's hand with a peculiar expression and couldn't help but give Fu Zhu a rundown on matters concerning Elation.

"Throughout the cosmos, there is a group called the Masked Fools who worship the Lord of Eternal Joy. To become a Masked Fool, one must first snatch a mask from another group, the Mourning Actors, who have been blessed by the Lord of Eternal Joy."

"However, their masks are somewhat different from the one in your hand, Teacher Fu Zhu. And this is the first time I've ever seen the Lord of Eternal Joy give someone a mask directly. By this logic, does this mean you are now a Masked Fool, Teacher Fu Zhu?"

The moment he considered that Fu Zhu was now a Masked Fool, a follower of the Path of Elation, Yanqing began to have doubts about General Jing Yuan's plan to have him destroy the Arbor.

Anyone who knew anything about the Masked Fools knew that they always caused some kind of huge commotion. They might not harm people, but they were guaranteed to be attention-grabbing!

With this in mind, Yanqing couldn't help but try to persuade Fu Zhu. "Teacher Fu Zhu, how about I go speak with General Jing Yuan and have someone else destroy the Arbor?"

Slower efficiency is better than having Fu Zhu pull off something huge!

Hearing this, Fu Zhu was instantly displeased. He casually put the black-and-white mask on his face, placed his hands on his hips, and declared.

"Absolutely not! I, a certain Fu, always do what I say I'll do. If I said I'll blow the Arbor sky-high, I will absolutely not let someone chop it down!"

Yanqing wanted to persuade him further, but Fu Zhu cut him off with a raised hand.

"Yanqing, my boy, any more of this would be impolite. Besides, you know what kind of person I am. Am I the type to hurt others for no reason?"

Yanqing's brow furrowed, but he carefully thought back on Fu Zhu's previous actions. Everything he had done had been to help the Luofu.

"I guess… you are?"

Fu Zhu was very pleased with Yanqing's answer. "Then that settles it, doesn't it? Relax. I said I'll only blow up the Arbor, so I absolutely won't blow up anything else. Just watch me perform."

After saying this, Fu Zhu ignored Yanqing and turned around to test the effects of the power of Elation.

Fu Zhu held a slime block in his hand and, with a casual wave towards a spot in the empty air not far away, the slime block in his hand appeared exactly where he wanted it to be, as if it had teleported there, hanging motionlessly in mid-air.

This sight sent Fu Zhu into a state of ecstasy. The power of Elation was a builder's dream!

The blocks he placed with this special ability still retained their MC properties. This was simply too convenient!

He knew that in the past, whenever he wanted to place a block, he needed a solid block as a base. But now, he could use the air itself as a base! This saved him an incredible amount of effort!

At this thought, Fu Zhu couldn't help but laugh out loud. While laughing, he began to wave his hands wildly, placing blocks.

Yanqing stood behind him, completely dumbfounded, watching as Fu Zhu, with just a few flicks of his wrist, built two more TNT duplicators in less than half the time it took him to build the first one.

What shocked Yanqing even more was that ever since Teacher Fu Zhu had put on that black-and-white mask, it was as if he had become a different person, much more… "lively"?

Or perhaps, he had unleashed his true nature?

In a short while, Fu Zhu stopped after having built a total of four TNT duplicators. It wasn't for a lack of materials; the list he had given Yanqing provided enough materials to build ten of them. It was simply that he didn't need that many to blow up the Arbor.

He just planned to save the remaining materials for later. Who knew what else he might need to blow up in the future?

With the TNT duplicators built, it was time for the main event.

Fu Zhu put away his materials and turned to shout at Yanqing, who was still standing there in a daze, lost in thought.

"Yanqing, my boy."

"Here!"

Yanqing snapped to attention, stood up straight, and asked respectfully, "Is there something you need my assistance with, Teacher Fu Zhu?"

A faint smile touched Fu Zhu's lips. He walked over cheerfully, took Yanqing's hand, and pointed at the lever next to one of the TNT duplicators.

"Next up is the grand activation ceremony. Come, you can be the one to start this first one!"

"Me?"

Yanqing looked hesitantly at the lever and shook his head repeatedly. "You worked so hard to build this, Teacher Fu Zhu. The honor of this activation ceremony should be yours."

"What nonsense!"

Fu Zhu dragged him forward. Yanqing had no choice but to hastily control his flying sword to carry them to the lever.

Fu Zhu pressed Yanqing's hand onto the lever, and with a little force, the lever was instantly flipped down.

In the next second, Yanqing saw the "crude" machine begin to twitch in a very strange manner. No matter how it moved, it remained suspended in mid-air, showing no signs of falling.

The one-cubic-meter block of TNT at the machine's center was pushed back and forth by a piston. The moment the TNT was pushed, another block of white-flickering TNT "split off" from the original and fell straight down.

Immediately, a loud "BOOM" echoed from the top of the Arbor. A large crater was blasted into the treetop, but it wasn't an irregular crater like one from a normal explosion. Its edges were perfectly square.

Before Yanqing could recover from this strange sight, Fu Zhu had already activated the remaining three TNT duplicators. In an instant, duplicated TNT rained down like a torrential storm.

The sound of explosions was endless.

Watching the violent explosions below, Fu Zhu finally let out a long sigh.

"Satisfying."

Once he was satisfied, Fu Zhu didn't forget to remind the boy beside him.

"Yanqing, my boy, snap out of it. We can go down now. Let these machines run on their own."

Yanqing came back to his senses and nodded.

"Right. But please wait a moment, Teacher Fu Zhu. I need to record a video, so the General can at least understand the situation here."

Fu Zhu shrugged. He had already built the TNT duplicators. Judging by their explosive efficiency, by the time Jing Yuan reacted, the Arbor would already be mangled beyond recognition.

After getting Fu Zhu's consent, Yanqing took out his phone, recorded the scene before him, and then sent the video to Jing Yuan.

"Alright, Teacher Fu Zhu, let's go down."

As the two of them descended on the flying sword, the Cloud Knights who had been standing guard on the ground hurried over.

"Lord Yanqing, Teacher Fu Zhu, what's happening up there? The explosions haven't stopped since they started."

Yanqing quickly reassured the Cloud Knights, "Don't worry. It's the commotion caused by a device Teacher Fu Zhu made. From now on, none of you are to let anyone near the Arbor, to prevent any accidental injuries."

"Yes, sir!"

The Cloud Knights obeyed and dispersed to set up a perimeter. After giving his orders, Yanqing was about to call Fu Zhu to leave together, but when he turned his head, he saw Fu Zhu had already walked to the base of the Arbor and pointed at it.

A ball of fire erupted at the base of the Arbor.

Yanqing was horrified. He rushed over and grabbed Fu Zhu's arm.

"Teacher Fu Zhu, what are you doing?"

"Burning the tree!" Fu Zhu held up the flint and steel in his hand with a puzzled look. "Didn't you guys ask me to destroy the Arbor? I figured, explosions on top, fire on the bottom, wouldn't that be more efficient? What, do you feel sorry for the Arbor now? Don't you Xianzhou people hate it?"

Yanqing was stunned for a moment.

That's right! Teacher Fu Zhu is destroying the Arbor, the thing left behind by the Denizens of Abundance. Why is he trying to stop him?

After figuring this out, Yanqing scratched his head and apologized to Fu Zhu sheepishly.

"My apologies, Teacher Fu Zhu. It was subconscious… just subconscious."

Fu Zhu wasn't angry. He put away the flint and steel and nodded.

"Alright, let's let the fire burn for a while."

Meanwhile, in the Seat of Divine Foresight.

Jing Yuan sat at his desk, reviewing the progress reports from the various small teams while taking a sip from his teacup.

"Now that I've sent Lady Fu out, I can finally have a sip of tea in peace. Oh? Why did Yanqing send a video? Is he done already?"

Jing Yuan opened the video sent by Yanqing and, unable to stop himself, spat out the remaining tea in his mouth.

"Pfft!!!"

Jing Yuan didn't even have time to wipe his mouth. He put down his teacup, grabbed his phone with both hands, and stared intently at the screen.

In the video, four very crude-looking machines were twitching nonstop. With every twitch, a block of TNT was duplicated and fell below, causing a massive explosion.

Jing Yuan didn't even have time to ponder how the four machines Fu Zhu built could achieve infinite duplication before he slapped his forehead and muttered in懊惱.

"No wonder little friend Fu Zhu specifically asked if there were no limits on the methods before agreeing… so this is what he meant…"

Before Jing Yuan could think for too long, Yanqing sent another new video. Jing Yuan opened it with a pained expression.

In this video, a raging fire was burning from the base of the Arbor. The flames were spreading with terrifying speed, completely ignoring the residual power of [Abundance] within it.

Seeing this, Jing Yuan took a deep breath, then rubbed his throbbing temples and gave a bitter smile.

"I'm going to have a lot to write in this report…"