When Selene and Qingque arrived at the Affairs Hall, there weren't many people inside, and most of them were seated in the middle and back rows, with few people in the front.
As for Fu Xuan, she was already standing on the podium, looking serious.
"Where do we sit?"
Selene poked Qingque and asked.
"The seats were assigned early this morning. Our spots are at the very end of the back row!"
Qingque said, pulling Selene towards their seats.
The Affairs Hall could probably seat about a hundred people, divided into five rows, with each row accommodating around twenty people. Each row also had a long table. Since Selene and the other Diviner rushed over as soon as they received the news, they were among the earlier Diviners to arrive.
Over the next ten minutes or so, many more Diviners arrived. However, even when Fu Xuan's appointed time of 10:30 AM arrived, there was still an empty seat in the first row.
"Hiss! Which unlucky soul hasn't arrived yet! She's probably going to face the Grand Diviner's wrath today!"
Qingque looked at the empty seat in the front row, speaking with a touch of pity.
After all, Qingque had personally experienced the consequences of being late to a meeting called by the Grand Diviner!
Since then, every time Fu Xuan held a meeting, Qingque would arrive quite early, having been traumatized by the experience...
"Ah? So that wasn't Fu Xuan's seat?"
Selene said, surprised by Qingque's words, as she had thought it was Fu Xuan's spot.
Qingque: ...Is this really a dumb cat?! Isn't the Grand Diviner standing on the podium?
Fu Xuan, on the podium, glanced at the empty seat, her brows furrowing slightly.
Just as Fu Xuan was about to begin the meeting, the door to the Affairs Hall was pushed open, and Bai Ling rushed in from outside!
Immediately, all the Diviners in the Affairs Hall turned their gaze to Bai Ling!
Bai Ling: ..."Ah, haha? The meeting hasn't started yet! So I guess I'm not late!"
Bai Ling gave an awkward laugh and sat down in her seat.
Seeing this, Selene poked Qingque again and whispered, "You have a competitor!"
"No, no, no! She's over time! I always cut it perfectly!"
Qingque patted her chest, saying proudly!
Selene: 6
...When the meeting was halfway through, both Qingque and Selene started to feel sleepy. Or rather, all the Diviners in their row started to feel sleepy.
After all, the Diviners sitting in the back row were all of lower rank and more marginalized.
For them, every meeting was just about making up the numbers, especially since they didn't really understand much of what Diviner Fu was saying!
It felt like asking a middle school student to attend a high school math class!
So, was this a meeting? This was Diviner Fu singing them a lullaby!
"Selene, I'm going to take a nap. Keep an eye out for me and wake me up if the Grand Diviner comes over!"
Qingque really couldn't hold on any longer, so she poked Selene beside her and said.
But Selene didn't respond to her. It wasn't until Qingque turned to look that she realized the other woman had already fallen asleep at some point.
Qingque: ...Qingque then looked at the other Diviners sitting in her row, most of whom were dozing with their eyes closed!
"So, I'm not the only one who finds the Grand Diviner's words so sleep-inducing!"
Qingque murmured, preparing to fold her hands on the table and take a short nap.
However, the moment her palm touched the tabletop! A surge of air erupted from Qingque's palm! Making intimate contact with the table!
This powerful blast of air, upon touching the table, let out a "bang"! A huge sound! As if something had exploded!
At the same time, the long table in their back row, under the attack of this airflow, developed cracks on its surface and then shattered into a pile of splinters!
Immediately, those Diviners who were sleeping on the long table, due to the destruction of the table, all ended up face-planting!
"Holy crap?! Which daring idiot is playing with firecrackers in the Affairs Hall?!"
At this moment, a Diviner in the front row stood up and shouted loudly towards where the sound came from!
However, when this Diviner looked at the back row, she instantly froze!
"Huh? Where did the Diviners in the fifth row go?"
...However, even until the end of the meeting, the culprit who played with firecrackers was not found!
As for how the long table in the fifth row shattered, none of the Diviners knew.
Mainly, even the "culprit" Qingque didn't quite understand. She had only placed her hand on the table! And the table exploded!
As for Selene, her head was buzzing until the meeting ended, as she was right next to Qingque, and the sound almost deafened her!
[System, don't you think you need to explain?]
On the way back to the Archives, Selene began to ask the system for the reason.
[Qigong Baked Sweet Potato, Host! The effect of this product is exactly as its name suggests. After eating it, you can unleash a Qigong attack! Immense power! Area damage!]
Selene: ...[No?! You're serious? I thought this Qigong was the not-so-serious kind!]
[This is the Host's prejudice!]
[No, no, no! System! I have no prejudice against you, I have prejudice against the Path of Aha!]
Aha: ?
...Archives.
"It's eleven o'clock. We still have an hour to slack off. Cards or chess?"
Qingque asked Selene.
Ever since leaving the Affairs Hall, Qingque seemed to have something on her mind, remaining silent the entire way.
However, when Qingque returned to the Archives and saw her di yuan jade tiles, a smile reappeared on her face.
"Let's play cards. I'll lose anyway."
Selene said somewhat helplessly.
Qingque: Hehe!
After a round of drawing and playing cards, Qingque was the first to declare a ready hand.
As for Selene, she fell into deep thought, looking at the cards in front of her, missing one here and one there...
"Little Liu Guang, I'm going to draw my winning tile again!"
Qingque held a tile in her hand, but she hadn't revealed it.
But just by feeling the patterns on the tile with her fingers, Qingque already knew what tile she was holding!
And upon hearing Qingque's words, Selene very consciously chose to remove her hands from the card table, leaning back in her seat, ready to start the next round!
"Hehe! I won!"
Qingque revealed the tile, and as expected, it was the one she needed.
She excitedly declared her win, and habitually raised her hand, slamming the tile she was holding onto the table!
This is a common habit among many card players, and Qingque was no exception!
But what Qingque didn't expect was that in the past, when she slapped the table like that, it would make a crisp sound!
This time, however, it turned into a "bang"! A loud noise!
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