I am the Arcane Archer, and all my skills are self-created.

Hua Zitong's words were like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, stirring up huge waves.

"The whispers of flowers and the sound of wind?" The Iron-Blooded Emperor was the first to jump up, his eyes wide like copper bells.

"Isn't he trapped in the realm of gods? How could he send you a message when you were infected? And what does that message mean?"

"Embracing eternal unity? Isn't that the slogan of the Unity Council?"

"You mean, Flower Whisper has betrayed us?" Po Jun frowned. "He's joined the Council of Unity?"

"Impossible!" Hua Zitong immediately retorted, but her confidence faltered. "My brother would never betray me..."

"Then how do you explain this?" Xinggui pushed up his glasses, and although he was scared, he couldn't help but analyze it.

"Receiving targeted information from a specific target during a period of psychological infection is itself a highly targeted attack or suggestion."

"The person who can convey information to you at this time and in this way must know you very well and have the ability to implant specific information into the pollution of the laws of the Shatterers. The number of people who meet this condition is very small."

"Moreover, the word 'unity' is too sensitive," Liuguang added softly.

On the platform, suspicious glances involuntarily drifted toward Hua Zitong.

It also drifted towards the absent whispers of flowers and wind.

Gu Yuan crossed his arms, his brows furrowed, and remained silent, but the seriousness in his eyes showed that he was also seriously considering this possibility.

"Gu Yuan, you said before that players trapped in the Tower of Despair would become mentally fragile and easily be seduced by beings like the Unifiers." Iron-Blooded Emperor stared at Gu Yuan.

"Hua Yufengyin has been imprisoned for so long, who can guarantee he hasn't been brainwashed? Hasn't been controlled?"

"We can't rule out that possibility," Gu Yuan finally spoke, his tone cautious.

"The methods by which the 'One Returner' erodes and controls consciousness are extremely sophisticated. It makes perfect sense for them to control us and then turn against us."

"Then what are we waiting for?" The Iron-Blooded Emperor waved his hand. "We need to investigate Caesar's side, as well as others who came from the Realm of Gods! There might be other traitors among them!"

"Iron Blood! Calm down!" Hua Zitong cried out anxiously, "This might just be a trap! The enemy is deliberately making us kill each other!"

"How do you prove it?" the Iron-Blooded Emperor retorted.

"You call it a trap, but where's the evidence? Right now, the only evidence is that your brother passed on a suspicious message to you! How can you guarantee he's still your brother and not a puppet of the Unity Council?"

"I..." Hua Zitong was speechless.

The atmosphere became tense again.

The team atmosphere, which had just eased a little due to Li Wu purifying the poison of the law and Hua Zitong's increased power, was instantly shrouded in a cloud of suspicion again.

Zhui Feng and Ye Feng stood on Hua Zitong's side, glaring angrily at the Iron-Blooded Emperor.

Shadow remained silent, but his hand was already on the broken dagger at his waist.

The three members of the Heavenly Punishment, Po Jun, Xing Gui, and Liu Guang, clearly leaned towards Tie Xue and Gu Yuan's skepticism, and subconsciously distanced themselves from Hua Zitong.

The cracks in trust are widening.

Li Wu remained silent, leaning against a stone pillar with his eyes closed, seemingly resting and recovering his depleted mental energy.

But he could hear everyone's conversation clearly.

He opened his eyes just as the argument was about to escalate.

"Shut up, all of you."

The sound wasn't loud, but the platform fell silent instantly.

All eyes were on him.

Li Wu straightened up, his gaze sweeping over everyone before finally landing on Hua Zitong's face, followed by Gu Yuan, the Iron-Blooded Emperor.

"There's no point in arguing, doubting, or fighting now," he said calmly. "Whether Huayu Fengyin has betrayed us, been controlled, or this is a trap deliberately set by the enemy, we can't verify it immediately."

"Arguing all over the place won't change any facts."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" the Iron-Blooded Emperor asked, his neck stiff. "Just let it go like that? Pretend nothing happened?"

"It's not that we should forget about it," Li Wu said, "it's that we should put it aside for now. Our primary goal remains unchanged: to increase our strength and deal with the Star Shatterers."

"Everything else is secondary."

He looked at Hua Zitong, "Hua Zitong, do you believe your brother?"

Hua Zitong paused for a moment, then nodded without hesitation: "I believe you."

"Okay," Li Wu said. "Then you should continue to believe. No matter what his current state is, if your brother is really being controlled or has betrayed you, your 'belief' may become the key to awakening him in the future."

"If this is a trap, your 'trust' will not affect our judgment."

Hua Zitong nodded vigorously, her eyes slightly red.

Li Wu then looked at Gu Yuan and the Iron-Blooded Emperor, "You can have your doubts. But it's only right that you remain vigilant."

"But skepticism must be kept within limits. It cannot turn into delusion and self-destruction. Until we have solid evidence, we remain a team."

"What constitutes conclusive evidence?" asked the Iron-Blooded Emperor.

"I'll look into it," Li Wu said.

Everyone was stunned.

"Investigate? How do we investigate?" Zhui Feng asked.

"My consciousness briefly took over some of the rules of the Origin Realm, leaving a 'backdoor' in its underlying sea of ​​data."

"Although the gap is almost repaired now, it's enough for me to project a small part of my consciousness in to explore information about certain targets."

"You're going to infiltrate the Origin Realm's mental network again?" Gu Yuan's expression changed. "That's too dangerous! That's now the territory of the 'Unification Council.' If your consciousness projection is discovered, it's very likely to be targeted by concentrated fire!"

"Even if you are a Law Weaver, in an environment where the opponent has the home-field advantage, if your mental projection is destroyed, your physical body will also suffer severe damage!"

"I know the risks," Li Wu said, "but this is the fastest and most direct method. Instead of guessing here, let's see for ourselves."

"I need to go directly to 'see' Huayu Fengyin's state of mind to confirm whether he is imprisoned, controlled, or has already betrayed us."

"What if we get found out?" Hua Zitong asked anxiously.

"I will use the 'Light of Purification' to envelop my consciousness projection, simulating it as a normal data stream as possible to reduce the probability of being discovered."

"Moreover, my objective is clear: reconnaissance, not combat, so I can proceed quickly."

Li Wu looked at Gu Yuan, "I need you to protect me."

"If my consciousness projection fluctuates violently, or fails to return for an extended period, immediately sever my connection to the laws of the Origin Realm and forcibly pull me back."

Gu Yuan remained silent for a few seconds before finally nodding.

"Sure. But you only have ten minutes at most. After ten minutes, the chances of being discovered will increase dramatically."

"That's enough," Li Wu said.

Without further delay, he walked to the center of the platform and sat down cross-legged.

"Everyone, step back fifty meters and remain absolutely silent. Any energy fluctuations during my investigation could attract unnecessary attention."

Everyone immediately did as instructed, quickly retreating to the edge of the platform, not daring to breathe.

Li Wu closed her eyes and adjusted her breathing.

He mobilized the little bit of spiritual power that had just recovered in his body, mixed it with his understanding of the underlying rules of the Origin Realm, and a faint trace of the "Light of Purification" law, and condensed it into an extremely hidden, thread-like projection of consciousness.

The projection silently slid into the unfathomable sea of ​​underlying data in the "Origin Realm" through the not-yet-fully-closed "back door".

This time, his target was not a vast network, but a specific "point".

He remembered the fragrance of flowers and the whisper of the wind.

The consciousness projection navigated through the massive data stream, avoiding the malicious black data streams that clearly bore the characteristics of the "Unification Council," and proceeded in the direction of memory.

He found it very quickly.

The "spot of consciousness" representing the language of flowers and the whisper of the wind is just a short distance ahead.

But the condition of the light spot was even worse than Li Wu had anticipated.

It is not floating freely, but is firmly locked in a complex "cage" made of black data.

The cage was covered with writhing, ominous runes that constantly absorbed the light from the flowery whispers of the wind, making it dim and weak.

What surprised Li Wu even more was that next to that black cage, there was a "point of consciousness".

This spot of light was also faint, but its shape was very special, like a cracked sword burning with a faint white flame.

It was guarding the cage, struggling to resist the ever-encroaching black data streams with its own faint white flame.

The aura emanating from that sword-shaped point of consciousness was extremely familiar to Li Wu.

Sword Saint Rose.

The long-lost founder of the Sword and Rose Guild, and one of the leaders of the five super guilds.

How did he end up here?

Is he still with the imprisoned Huayu Fengyin?