Chapter 62: The Rescue Plan

"If I were to tell you that in a single instant, I could completely wipe out all the high-ranking officials of the Akademiya in Sumeru City who are involved in this matter, would you be willing to leave with me?"

"."

"."

Nahida blinked her eyes, seemingly unable to keep up with Lin Feng's train of thought for a moment.

A short while later, she finally seemed to understand what Lin Feng meant.

Nahida's eyes widened slightly, and visible panic appeared on her small face as she anxiously cried out:

"You cannot do that!"

"Please, I beg of you, absolutely do not do this!"

"If too many vacancies are created all at once, the management of the entire Sumeru will plunge into chaos!"

"Besides, the Aranara have recently discovered many Fatui agents from Snezhnaya. If the sages are severely depleted, they will certainly not let such a great opportunity slip by!"

Hearing Lin Feng's "plan," Nahida spoke so anxiously that her pace quickened considerably.

"Ahem, I was merely considering such a possibility and would not implement it rashly."

Seeing Nahida's reaction, Lin Feng could only regretfully shelve his idea of storming the Akademiya for the time being, slightly delaying the death sentence of those scum sages.

After pondering for a moment, he instead asked:

"In other words, if I want to rescue you, I need to find a substitute sage ahead of time who is capable enough to take over the Akademiya's affairs in a short period?"

"And then, without alerting them to anything unusual, sweep away these sages and their faction in one fell swoop, is that it?"

Nahida "."

Why are you so obsessed with sweeping away the sages in one fell swoop?

"Well... although I would rather you not get involved, if you truly wish to rescue me, how to make the populace accept a 'non-existent' deity like myself is also a very troublesome matter."

After careful analysis, Nahida raised a very real and practical problem.

".To put it plainly, it means establishing prestige, right?"

Lin Feng inquired.

"One could say that. After all, over these past few centuries, the faith flowing to me has diminished year by year, and now it is nearly non-existent. This means the people who recognize me have almost completely vanished."

"If we simply chase away the sages, I still won't be able to gain the recognition of the people of Sumeru in a short time."

Nahida did not look dejected because of this, but merely stated the objective facts.

"However, you needn't burden your mind with the matter of establishing prestige for me—that is not a necessary part of the plan."

"If you can genuinely cause the sages to fall from power without causing fatal damage to Sumeru's administrative system..."

At this point, she glanced at Lin Feng with a trace of unease before continuing:

"—Then even if it takes decades, I can ultimately rely on myself to win the support of the people."

Sense Lin Feng's firm resolve to rescue her, Nahida did not hold him back further, but instead began to seriously analyze the feasibility of the plan.

Although because of Lin Feng's existence, she was not as depressed and withdrawn as in the original story, the objective difficulties would not change simply because of that.

Sensing Nahida's proactive attitude, Lin Feng nodded with a sense of gratification:

"I understand."

"If these are the only issues..."

He mused, speaking thoughtfully:

"—Then you can certainly look forward to it. Who knows, I might just give you a pleasant surprise."

???

Nahida's face was full of confusion, but seeing his confident appearance, she suddenly had an ominous premonition.

After understanding the basic information, Lin Feng did not linger.

He had already spent quite a while standing by the platform, and to avoid drawing anyone's attention, it was best to leave first.

However, before the orb of light dissipated, Lin Feng also noticed the issue with the seal's strength.

Since he had discovered the reason why Nahida could not be contacted recently, he naturally could not pretend not to see it.

Briefly analyzing the composition of the seal, Lin Feng located the part constructed by the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's authority.

Channeling more power from his true body, he integrated all of this glowing green divine power into the barrier of light, slightly interfering with the structure of the seal before him.

Seeing that only a few students remained nearby, Lin Feng also withdrew his consciousness, preparing to return to the inn.

Before dissipating, he left a message for Nahida:

".It's a pity that even I cannot quietly undo this seal."

"—But if it's just reducing its intensity, I can still manage that."

"I look forward to meeting you in reality next time, Nahida."

"."

"."

With Lin Feng's departure, the Sanctuary of Surasthana grew desolate once again.

Keenly perceiving the reduction in the barrier's strength around her, Nahida knew that once again, thanks to someone's help, she had gained a limited degree of freedom.

She lowered her exquisite little face, lightly bit her lip, and finally raised her head, slowly responding to the empty palace:

"—Mn, I look forward to that day as well."

Leaving the Sanctuary of Surasthana, Lin Feng's mood was generally quite pleasant.

Although it was a bit regrettable that he couldn't march straight into the Akademiya, seeing Nahida become proactive and willing to cooperate with his actions meant there was no need to feel disappointed about letting those scumbags jump around for a few more days.

For Lin Feng, as long as he was willing to burrow back into the Ley Lines and sleep for half a month or so,

Then, upon manifesting his divine true form and completely unleashing his power,

By virtue of the mighty authority of the fully realized Dendro Archon, rooting out and eliminating all the implicated sages within Sumeru City and most of the rainforest could be described as utterly effortless.

The biggest problem right now was still the upper-level vacancies after purging the Akademiya, both in terms of combat strength and administration.

Lin Feng had not forgotten Nasrin's sighting report regarding "The Dottore" back in the Gandha Hill area.

—If he finished a burst of explosive action and was dozing off in the Ley Lines when Dottore suddenly ran over to snatch the Gnosis... well, there wouldn't be any actual danger.

—However, the Akademiya and the Sanctuary of Surasthana would probably vaporize on the spot.

At the mere thought of being stared at silently by Nahida afterward, he shivered and decided that playing it safe wasn't a bad idea after all.

Returning to the present.

Lin Feng walked along the wide flagstone paths of Sumeru City, watching the coming and going of pedestrians, and suddenly remembered that it was already mid-September.

Looking up at the moon, he calculated the time left for him in his mind.

Finally, he concluded—at most one month, and he had to rescue Nahida from the Sanctuary of Surasthana.

—After all, the Sabzeruz Festival was to be held on October 27th, and Lin Feng didn't want Nahida to spend her birthday in a prison again this year.

If it was like this before he came to Sumeru City, and still like this after coming to Sumeru City, wouldn't his trip have been in vain?

Putting aside his inner thoughts, Lin Feng hurried back to the inn. After instructing Xiao Bai to help maintain security in the vicinity, he took out the verdant Vayuda Fruit.

To gather as many bargaining chips as possible during the process of rescuing Nahida, Lin Feng planned to strengthen his own power first.

Sensing the vast amount of Ley Line energy he had previously acquired from dispelling the avatar of the Marana, Lin Feng swallowed the Vayuda Fruit in two bites and lay down on his bed.

Feeling the drowsiness brought on by ingesting this "Seed of Hope," he had no time to slowly savor the taste of the fruit before hurriedly clicking on the system interface, locating the level section, selecting all the Ley Line energy within his body, and choosing to upgrade in his heart.

The familiar wave of exhaustion washed over him, and Lin Feng, who had not slept deeply for a long time, entered a world that belonged solely to "dreams" under the combined influence of the system and the Vayuda Fruit.

Special thanks to all the bosses for their monthly votes and recommendation votes, and thanks to Qingyu 160321 for the tip~