Ch 166: The overall situation is paramount.

“Now that the Five Stars have combined, and Princess Naiya has been present for a long time, this is a situation unlike any our Quark Clan has seen in a long time.”

Jian Ni felt something was off: “What do you mean, a situation unlike any you’ve seen in a long time?”

“Oh, you didn’t know,” he said, looking annoyed at his own slip of the tongue, “I thought Teacher A Lu Ai Ta had already told you many stories about past Meng Knights and Princess Naiya.”

“But the History of Magic we learned this semester only talked about the history of various magics, not the history of the Quark Clan, though.” Wu La La was certain she had listened attentively to every class. Even if she missed classes because of Meng Knight activities, she diligently made up for them.

“There aren’t many teachers working at Meng Academy, and the History of Magic course was only introduced last year. Teacher A Lu Ai Ta teaches many classes.” Eric explained, “But not only Wu La La’s class, the Higher Division curriculum also hasn’t covered Quark history yet.”

“I see,” Situ Lang realized, looking apologetic, “I’m sorry. I should have understood these things before taking office, but the Council of Elders’ appointment was so sudden, I really…sigh!”

“But the Five Stars gathering and Princess Naiya’s appearance shouldn’t be good news for the Quark Clan, right?” Having few friends due to his childhood illness, reading was his only pastime. He didn’t know much, but Ou Pa did have some understanding of Quark Clan history. “Why does it seem like…this isn’t good news?”

“It is indeed good news for the Quark Clan, but fate doesn’t arbitrarily make things happen. Every time Princess Naiya appears and the Meng Knights gather, it heralds the arrival of a calamity.” Situ Lang’s face was grave.

Then he comforted them: “Don’t worry too much. No one can say for sure what kind of calamity it is, or how big it will be.”

However, their moods didn’t improve because of his comfort.

If the calamity is large, how large is it? Large enough to encompass Quake Star and even the entire universe?

If the calamity is small, how small is it? Will Wu La La…sacrifice herself?

Wu Ke Na Na couldn’t help but clutch Wu La La’s hand. Seeing her comforting smile, she wasn’t reassured in the slightest.

“Sigh, I shouldn’t have told you all this,” Situ Lang’s regret and self-blame became more apparent.

“I didn’t expect Teacher A Lu Ai Ta wouldn’t have told you any of this.”

“She has always been dedicated to researching Quark history, always arguing with various authoritative experts over things with no concrete evidence, I thought she would have mentioned some of the past to you.”

Mentioning A Lu Ai Ta, Situ Lang felt a bit of disdain towards her.

A Demonology genius, wasting such enviable talent on researching useless History of Magic.

But it’s all in the past, who can’t research whatever they want?

This disdain wasn’t obvious; he quickly masked it with another expression.

“Headmaster Situ, you don’t need to blame yourself. We Meng Knights and Princess Naiya are grateful you told us this. If Teacher A Lu Ai Ta didn’t say anything, she must have her reasons,” Eric remained calm. “From now on, we will work harder on our magic training to better face our enemies.”

Eric’s reaction was exactly as Situ Lang expected. Too much is as bad as too little; he wasn’t going to add fuel to the fire.

He wasn’t planning on starting with the most difficult Meng Knight Captain.

He had prepared what to say, and considered the necessary emotional shifts and the possible reactions from the other party, and how to use those reactions… confirming there were no loopholes, he stood up with a hint of weariness.

“Let’s end the meeting here. You can all go back now,” with a slight hesitation, after the Meng Knights had said their goodbyes and turned to leave, he called out to Lie Yan Jian Ni alone, “Jian Ni, you stay.”

Jian Ni: ?

Why was he being kept behind?

Because of this morning’s incident?

Or was it because he had yawned without realizing it?

In a state of bewilderment and anxiety, he waited for a long time, until he thought he might be punished for some unknown reason and have to write a self-criticism or sweep the campus, before Situ Lang finally spoke.

“Jian Ni, there’s something I’ve been thinking about, and I don’t know if I should tell you.”

Something he didn’t know whether he should say?

Oh~ he understood, he had seen many dramas like this.

“Then if you haven’t decided, it’s better not to tell me.”

That kind of answer wasn’t what Situ Lang expected. He paused for a moment, and as Jian Ni was about to leave the office, he called him back again.

“Ah, I think I should still tell you.”

Huh?

This Headmaster was too strange. He had said he didn’t want to know, yet he still insisted on telling him.

“After all, this matter concerns Maria, and as her relative, I think you have the right to know.”

“Mother Maria?!” His calm expression vanished. He looked at Headmaster Situ in panic, despite knowing it was impossible, he still hoped he had misheard or that Headmaster Situ was joking.

But Headmaster Situ nodded, confirming he hadn’t misheard. His serious expression showed it wasn’t a joke.

“The Dark Emperor somehow learned about Sister Maria’s relationship with you and sent Dark Soldiers to Earth to kidnap her a long time ago.”

“But after so long, didn’t the Council of Elders take any measures?” And why didn’t they tell him?

“Of course they did. After the Council of Elders learned about it, they immediately sent Old Soldiers. Unfortunately…sigh, they were still too late. Maria was taken away by the Dark Soldiers.”

“Elder Ken and Elder Ous also know about this.”

“Impossible!” Even though his brain couldn’t process the news of Mother Maria being kidnapped by the Dark Emperor, Jian Ni was certain that Elder Kendouji wouldn’t know about this and keep it from him. “If Elder Kendouji knew about this, he would definitely have saved Mother Maria!”

“Don’t worry,” It seemed that in Lie Yan Jian Ni’s heart, Kendouji’s status was higher than he had estimated. “I didn’t say Elder Ken stood by and watched.”

“But everyone knows that Flame Star is impulsive. The Dark Emperor kidnapping Maria was clearly a trap. If we told you directly, wouldn’t it be easy to fall into the Dark Emperor’s trap?”

“But that’s Mother Maria! Without Mother Maria, there wouldn’t be me today. Even if it means sacrificing myself, I must save her!”

Situ Lang patiently dissuaded him: “The Dark Emperor has occupied the Underground Waterway for hundreds of years. Who knows where he’s keeping her? You’ve been to the Underground Waterway before, you know how complicated the terrain is, how difficult it is to rescue someone.”

“Mother Maria has been locked up for so long. If even I don’t save her, am I just going to watch helplessly as I lose my most important relative?” Jian Ni’s eyes were red, his questioning voice almost pierced through Meng Academy. The Elder, his only source of information, patted his shoulder to comfort him.

Fortunately, he had anticipated this. The office was protected by a Barrier, so no matter how loudly Jian Ni spoke, nobody outside could hear him.

“I know you can’t stand idly by while Sister Maria is imprisoned in the Underground Waterway. That’s why the Council of Elders decided to keep this a secret!” He almost couldn’t hide the smile at the corner of his mouth, so he turned away.

“Elder Ken wanted to tell you about this, but he couldn’t disobey the entire Council of Elders. Elder Ken told me that when he finally decided to reveal everything, he was caught off guard by the Nether Moon Stone. He has been very regretful in Heavenly Prison, afraid that his concealment would prevent you from seeing Sister Maria one last time.”

The Council of Elders couldn’t possibly know about Maria.

But Lie Yan Jian Ni, of course, couldn’t know about the Council of Elders’ affairs.

He waited until Jian Ni’s excitement subsided before continuing:

“You also know how important the Meng Knights are to the Quark Clan. A weak and useless human is nothing compared to a Meng Knight with magical talent, as far as the Council of Elders is concerned.”

“My conscience also couldn’t bear it, so I leaked this to you. Don’t blame the Council of Elders; they were also thinking about the bigger picture… sigh, why did the Dark Emperor kidnap Maria?”

The young man clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. He took several deep breaths to try to calm himself, then bowed to Situ Lang: “Thank you for telling me this. If you have any more news about Mother Maria…”

“Don’t worry,” Situ Lang solemnly promised, “Since I’ve already made this mistake, let me continue to make it. No matter what punishment the Council of Elders gives me, I will tell you anything about Maria.”

“Just don’t do anything rash or desperate.”