Yao Guang

Mysterious, bold, radical... her quest for change is stunning.
With the "eye" of The Hunt, she sees all fates. Though she knows fate is immutable, the Seer Strategist still walks into danger alone.
With the odds stacked against her, how can she possibly change her destiny?

One day, after the morning meeting at the Yuque's Divination Commission, the solemn silence was broken by snippets of idle gossip.

"First she skips morning practice, and now she runs off to the Yuque Cup tournament!"
"When I confronted her, she said only a true master of augury could be called a 'Master of Cards,' and I should play her if I didn't believe it."
"And you actually played against her? Did you win?"
"..."

Several robes fluttered in the wind, as if holding a bellyful of grievances.

"Remember last time? She gathered a few young diviners at midnight to sketch matrices, claiming she wanted to test foreign divination techniques and study their strengths. Nearly scared the elder on night patrol out of his wits."
"How could I forget? She publicly challenged her teacher in class with her own invented methods of divination, infuriating him so much he complained to the Master Diviner. If the Master Diviner hadn't been so merciful, she would've been in deep trouble, genius or not..."
"But still... for all her flaws, she did contribute to the formation of the 'Deca-Light Reflection Barrier.' Tell me, who else in the whole division can get the divination right with a single glance?"
"Hmph, do you know what her peers call her now? 'Boss Yao,' saying man's divination is no match for heaven's will, and heaven's will is no match for her. This is nothing like Yuque's simple and austere academic style!"

A simultaneous sigh washed away half their resentment, softening their tones at last.
"Speaking of which, where did that girl run off to now?"

A sudden song drifted in from above. A young girl straddled the rooftop wind vane, gazing up at the heavens. She flashed a bright smile:
"Heads up, seniors! Master did a divination reading for me today, something about 'thunder shakes a hundred miles, yet the ritual vessels remain.' You might want to keep your distance, or you'll get struck by lightning too!"

Right then, thunder instantly roared across the dome of the Yuque, deafening and fierce. Brilliant arcs of lightning unfurled, dazzling to the eye, yet horrifying to the heart.
"If we can't dodge it, might as well sit back and enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime spectacle!"

She knew this commotion was merely vibrations from stardust scraping against the hull as the Yuque passed through a nebula. She would be perfectly safe.

Yet a small doubt still flickered in her heart: did this divination... truly come to pass?
The divination reads: Thunder shakes a hundred miles, yet the ritual vessels remain.

In a secluded courtyard, she sat in the tranquility of the night with her junior soror who had returned home for a visit.
On the simple wooden table, besides two cups of fresh tea, lay a set of divination cards for a game, seemingly veiled in a layer of long-settled dust.

"Have you been to Master Jingtian's place?"
"Yes, I've paid my respects."
"When you left the Yuque, Master had already foreseen this day. So, you still won't consider my proposal? Look, Huaiyan has a granddaughter, Jing Yuan has a disciple. If I ever follow the same path our Master did, it'd be perfect for you to take my place~"

The teacup hung in midair as the pink-haired diviner's brows furrowed slightly.
"Senior soror, becoming a successor General is just a change in position. How did it manage to change your temperament too?"

"Do you remember? Master used to always say: 'Sometimes there is only ever one path in destiny. Everything is predetermined.'"
She focused on her cards in contemplation, as scenes from the past surfaced before her eyes.
Before sending the Cloudpeer Telescope to the Fanghu, Jingtian had assigned her to guard the Yuque, ensuring the success of the plan to eliminate the Abominations of Abundance with the Reignbow's Lux Arrow.
Within the Deca-Light Reflection Barrier, she had divined ceaselessly, yet never managed to grasp even a single thread of possibility that could rewrite the battle at the Fanghu.
When the Reignbow's Lux Arrow fell, that inconceivable Aeonic power destroyed everything in its path, yet also forged the hope of the present.

But she knew that navigating the Xianzhou through the increasingly turbulent cosmic currents would only grow more and more challenging.

Beneath the jest, the Master Diviner saw the General's true intent. Perhaps in all of the Xianzhou Alliance, she alone perceived it... but she revealed nothing, merely taking a gentle sip of tea.
"And what about you, senior soror? What will you leave behind for the Xianzhou Yuque?"

She did not answer immediately, but instead played the card in her hand.
"Well, did you see this move coming?"
"Master proved himself right, but that was his legacy. As for me... I want the Xianzhou, centuries from now, to look back on what I leave behind and say..."

She smiled, pondering, conviction settling in her expression.

"'Who'd have expected that destiny could have a path like this too.'"

— The divination reads: Though assembled in place, the will is not yet bright.

Volume Title: Yuque Administrative Edict Records Star Calendar Year ████ File No. Crag-██ (II)
Summary: Application for Ultra-miniaturization Technology of the Jade Abacus
Consultation Content: With phased progress in research on Fallow Earth traits, our academy believes focus should be placed on further miniaturization research of the jade abacus.
Artisanship Commission Opinion: Regarding the Sapientia Academe's funding request for the jade abacus miniaturization research: firstly, their research direction conflicts with the Artisanship Commission's. Secondly, bypassing Commission approval and reporting directly to the General violates proper procedures.
Reviewer: Yao Guang
Opinion: I've reviewed the Artisanship Commission's proposal. Whose brilliant idea was it to improve performance by making the jade abacus bigger? While jade abaci are directly tied to the lifeline of the Xianzhou, we can't be overly cautious and set in our ways. Look at IPC's efficiency. Can we really afford to wait?
...

Volume Title: Yuque Administrative Edict Records Star Calendar Year ████ File No. Goat-██ (III)
Summary: Yuque Navigation Routes
Consultation Content: The Divination Commission's divination indicates that following previous patrolling routes bring low risk and stable returns. Continued exploration along ancient routes invites numerous uncertainties. During this time of cosmic upheaval, such action may provoke calamities...
Reviewer: Yao Guang
Opinion: Proceed with exploration along ancient routes. The jade abacus technology wasn't developed in vain, and our improved extrapolation precision is sufficient to foresee disasters. From an interstellar trade perspective, this is enough to drive the Yuque's annual revenue to a new record high. Yet, looking at the current state of the universe, a cosmic transformation of unprecedented scale approaches, we cannot stay on the old paths. If possible, seek opportunities where the Trailblaze and Erudition converge.
...

Volume Title: Xianzhou Alliance Administrative Edict Records Star Calendar Year ████ File No. Rabbit-██ (VII)
Summary: Regarding the Disposition of Suspects in the Luofu "Ambrosial Arbor" Crisis
Petitioner: Yao Guang
Petition Content: ...The chaos Luocha and Jingliu stirred on the Luofu was likely not merely to deliver the Stellaron into the Xianzhou. According to divination through the Deca-Light Reflection Barrier, these two still harbor secrets that may sway the fate of the Xianzhou. I request they be sent to the Yuque for interrogation. If we can grasp this major variable, it might prove to be a crucial piece in achieving victory. While this is not without risk, I am willing to stake my position as the General on this...
Reviewer: Hua
Opinion: Approved.
...

At every crossroad of destiny, her mind would return to those pivotal choices that had shaped the Yuque's current prosperity, yet also charted its course toward an alternate fate.
Did her hands never tremble? She asked herself countless times. Every seemingly effortless and clever move that others saw was, on the other end, tied to the future of countless citizens of the Xianzhou.
All along, she had been walking on a tightrope that could give way at any moment, but she couldn't look back, nor could she stop...

Just like that near-death beginning.

— The divination reads: The noble strives diligently and unceasingly, vigilant as if peril lurks within the night.

"Radiant heaven, morph into arrows. Celestial thunder, cleanse the flesh and bone."
A voice of absolute authority, seemingly resonating through every bone in her body, echoed in the deepest recesses of consciousness. Even after enduring the Rainbow Ordainment, she still had to overcome this final trial before truly taking up the mantle and claiming the title of "General."

"First Arrow, Purge Calamities!"
Even in this realm of pure consciousness, her hair stood on end as an unprecedented sense of danger seared across her nerves like electricity. She focused intently on detecting its direction, muttering the verses:
The "celestial thunder" struck violently, and the Barrier trembles in fright, like a planet on the brink of destruction. She barely dodged this arrow. One hair's breadth closer, and she would have been obliterated.

"Second Arrow: Fell the Unbridled!"
The ordeal continued relentlessly, giving no room to breathe. She drew upon every bit of knowledge she had learned to extrapolate the trajectory. Once again, she managed to dodge the arrow with perfect precision.

"Third Arrow!"
"Fourth Arrow!"
...
"Seventh Arrow!"
Like a lonely boat in a surging river, like a butterfly in a sea of thorns, the only thing keeping her from falling was her eyes that could peer into the unknown.
But her spirit was gradually scattering, her steps becoming slower... As time passed, her spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

"Eighth Arrow: Quell the Defiant!"

"I can't dodge this..."
She heard her own despair. So close to the summit, yet falling at the final step... Death and failure cast their shadows over her, blinding her as the merciless lightning of the Reignbow loomed above.

Tilting her face to meet the descending celestial thunder, the memories of the distant past abruptly resurfaced, a divination from her Master, and that bygone day when thunder roared over fair skies.
"If we can't dodge it, might as well sit back and enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime spectacle!"
She heard her younger self say those words.
The eighth bolt of celestial thunder struck beside her, the impact rustling her hair, but she remained unmoved.

The ninth arrow never fell, and the imposing voice told her that she had passed the trial.

To this day, she still does not know whether that final bolt waits somewhere in the unwritten future, ready to drop without warning.
But as she departs for Planarcadia, she no longer cares.
— The divination reads: From the abyss to the sky, no blame shall follow.