Chapter 2637: Illusional Spark
Xu Huo spent half an hour reading through all the information regarding the National Heirloom Treasure.
It wasn't because the information was particularly abundant; in reality, the Isle Nation's Message Collection Terminal wasn't much better than the Eternal Tower Nation's. However, there were many circulating versions of the National Heirloom Treasure's story, some of which could be traced back to their origins, which took more time.
The accounts could be described as varied and diverse.
Some believed that the "National Heirloom Treasure" was actually the wealth plundered by the previous Grand Archon. If it could be passed down to the current Grand Archon, the nation's strength might even reach a new level—a true treasure worthy of being called a national heirloom.
However, more people considered it a token of authority. The origin of this theory was related to the religious beliefs of the Supreme God. It was said that during a certain period, there was a group of exceptionally outstanding individuals among the religious members. They established rules and agreed that other religious members and future generations would follow them. These people's faith did not crumble over time; instead, it became deeply entrenched as their families grew. In other words, the "National Heirloom Treasure" was a token that could command these forces hidden within the nation.
This theory had a high degree of recognition. Some had conducted specialized analyses, suggesting that during the period when the Supreme God religion expanded nationwide, it should have accumulated a vast amount of wealth. This wealth would have been enough to keep the descendants of its core members wealthy for centuries. At the same time, these people were also an important force in the Isle Nation. The combination of strength and willingness made this theory quite convincing.
Of course, there were also objections. Because the previous few Grand Archons did not seem to have used this "National Heirloom Treasure," the nation remained in chaos until the previous Grand Archon. People could no longer tolerate it and simply used force to oust him.
This could also be taken as proof that the previous few Grand Archons had used the "National Heirloom Treasure." Because until the Grand Archon before the previous one, the Isle Nation was still relatively stable, not causing large-scale displacement of its citizens. Apart from the personal competence of those earlier Grand Archons, the efforts of these hidden forces should also be credited.
As for why the previous Grand Archon failed so spectacularly, "according to informed sources," his ascension procedures were not entirely legal, and the death of the Grand Archon before him was related to him. Additionally, after taking office, he amassed wealth extravagantly, wielded power arbitrarily, and completely disregarded the welfare of the people. Naturally, no one cared about his fate either.
A third theory with a relatively high number of supporters was that the "National Heirloom Treasure" was actually a specific person, or more precisely, a specific player.
According to an expert who had previously specialized in history on the Message Collection Terminal, the earliest mention of the "National Heirloom Treasure" could be traced back to a ruler from several hundred years ago who reversed the situation where the Supreme God religion had believers across the entire nation. That ruler was very capable and far-sighted. He believed that no one could remain wise forever; external factors, physical health, and personal preferences could all make a person foolish, which was detrimental to national development. Therefore, he established an additional position of "Supervisor," specifically tasked with overseeing the ruler. The first "Supervisor" was his close friend, whom he jokingly referred to as the "National Heirloom Treasure."
Although this position was forcibly abolished by a later ruler after a few generations, the reason the first Supervisor could hold this position was that he and his family were exceptionally skilled in martial arts. This family was naturally more flexible and agile than ordinary people, with faster reaction times. Additionally, their ancestors had been assassins, and there were family teachings passed down. Combined with special training methods, they were highly proficient in killing even before undergoing evolution.
Strong martial force could ensure that the "Supervisor" position held real power, which was very reasonable in the era of cold weapons.
Later, due to power struggles among the successors, the "Supervisor" status was abolished, and this family subsequently vanished from the scene.
However, over the course of several hundred years of history, there were several instances of foolish rulers being assassinated. Two of these cases, based on the wounds of the deceased and the methods of intrusion at the time, combined with modern scientific analysis, were considered by historians to be the work of that assassin family.
But this would significantly diminish the importance of the "National Heirloom Treasure." Its existence could not constrain the many player factions in the present day. Moreover, in Xu Huo's view, the "Illusional Spark" instance should not be about having players find this family and then establish a "Supervisor" position to restrain the Archon.
The clearance mission mentioned that the treasure was taken away by the previous Grand Archon. Based on the description, it shouldn't be a person either.
And the previous Grand Archon ultimately escaped the Isle Nation under the protection of his trusted followers.
In the game world, it was very easy for players to flee. The reason the previous Grand Archon wasn't caught was that he hid inside a prop and escaped. Afterwards, it was said he returned to Zone 039, gathered a group of people, and, with the covert support of the Eternal Tower Nation and the Moon Horn Duchy, attempted to reclaim power.
However, neither players nor ordinary people sided with him. Although the Isle Nation had been in civil war since he was driven out, when he reappeared, the various factions tacitly ceased hostilities and first dealt with the people around him.
After that, the previous Grand Archon truly disappeared. Some said he was wandering through various countries, some said he had used a Non-Player Ticket to go to another country, and some said he was actually dead... In any case, his whereabouts have been unknown since then. Many factions that used the "National Heirloom Treasure" as a pretext to oppose the current Grand Archon have been searching for him.
Of course, they weren't searching very diligently either.
Over the past twenty years, there have been several instances where player factions loudly proclaimed that they had found the "National Heirloom Treasure." The final confrontation stages were not made public, but they all ended with the current Grand Archon emerging victorious. The main members of those player factions were either killed or went missing, and they eventually vanished without a trace.
The most recent news regarding the previous Grand Archon's whereabouts appeared three months ago. Someone claimed to have discovered a person who looked very similar to him in an abandoned city. Later, this news was confirmed as false by the Isle Nation government. The person was brought back—a disfigured individual who didn't really resemble him, and the DNA didn't match either.
Earlier news was even less reliable. Fragmented information combined with inaccurate locations made verification impossible.
After reviewing this information, Xu Huo took the Painting Woman to visit that historian.
The historian's name was Shi Qing, and he now lived in an ordinary residential building in the Capital City.
When Xu Huo asked for directions, he learned that Shi Qing lived in a retirement building—the city had been bombed repeatedly, and many residential areas only had one or two buildings left that were still habitable. Such places hadn't been demolished and were eventually rented out to people with little money, mostly the elderly. Over time, these buildings were gradually abandoned by the younger generation.
When he actually arrived at the building, he found the environment to be extremely poor. A single thirty-plus-story building stood in the middle of two main roads. The roads, which had been gradually expanded without proper paving, were covered in dust. There were also many vehicles passing by. Living here, even basic travel safety couldn't be guaranteed.
"Young man, are you looking for someone?" An old lady, smiling broadly, looked at him through the security bars of her window. "Do you have relatives living here?"