460: Ready to go to heaven!

On the way back to the clan territory, out of curiosity, Zhang Mu asked Frederica a bit about that Elder who had remained silent the whole time.

Frederica didn't shy away from her relationship with the Third Elder and gave a brief account.

"No wonder he didn't speak for so long; turns out it was shame."

"Maybe," she smiled, and after a moment said, "Actually, there's no need for Teacher to feel guilty at all. If I were him, I would probably have made the same choice."

"No, you wouldn't."

Frederica's footsteps paused. Watching Zhang Mu's back as he walked a few meters away, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly, and then she chased after him.

The two traveled through the forest at a leisurely pace, only approaching the clan territory's barrier about two hours later.

She took out her identity token to open the entrance, but the translucent barrier suddenly rippled, and then the Third Elder walked out.

Seeing the two standing side by side, he dazed for a few seconds. Coming to his senses, he said the Elf King had important matters to discuss with Zhang Mu and hoped they would hurry there.

Zhang Mu agreed, and the three entered the clan territory, arriving together at the open space in the residential area.

When they arrived, the scene was somewhat chaotic.

Zhang Mu wondered what had happened, and the Third Elder spoke up to explain.

He had followed the King's order to find Zhang Mu. Thinking that Zhang Mu had mentioned earlier he needed to return to his room to prepare for lessons, he went to his residence.

After arriving, he knocked for a long time, but there was no response.

The Third Elder guessed the two might be taking a walk in the clan territory, so he checked several places suitable for relaxation, but still came up empty-handed.

Since they weren't in the clan territory, they must still be outside. He hurried to the Forest of Spirits to find them, only to see the two returning together just as he stepped out of the barrier.

This search process took about two hours. The clansmen were left waiting without knowing what they were waiting for, so naturally, they couldn't help but gossip.

Zhang Mu understood and felt a bit amused in his heart.

The subjects were so casual in front of their King. Should he criticize the Elves for their lax discipline, or praise them for their harmonious coexistence and lack of a rigid hierarchy?

He didn't know.

Zhang Mu shook his head and walked over to the Elf King: "What's the matter?"

Having waited for so long, the person finally arrived. The unease rising in the King's heart settled, and he explained the situation.

Zhang Mu slapped his forehead: "I forgot, you guys don't know what a pilot is. Sorry, sorry, my oversight."

After speaking, he scanned the Elves gazing at him and asked the Elf King, "Are they all High-tier Professionals?"

"Yes, all the High-tier Professionals of my clan are here."

"Alright, then, you guys..."

He intended to announce the selection criteria for pilots, but halfway through, Zhang Mu suddenly remembered that with a Professional's physique, passing the pilot's assessment with a perfect score would be easy.

He changed his tune: "Actually, I need twenty-eight Sky Knights. Those who want to volunteer, step forward."

The Elves looked at the King, who nodded. Subsequently, twenty-eight people walked out of the crowd one after another. Judging by the unquestioning looks of the others, these were likely the top twenty-eight Sky Knights in terms of strength.

"Hey, you." Zhang Mu looked at the Elders standing not far away. "Xiao Ba, you come too. I'll make you the captain."

The Eighth Elder's expression was sour. He opened his mouth to refuse, but under the Elf King's gaze, he eventually walked to the front of the twenty-eight people reluctantly.

"Good, everyone's here." Zhang Mu waved to signal the Elf King to step back. "Back up a bit."

Once the Elf King moved aside, he reached his right hand into his storage, pretending to take something out, but in reality, he summoned his inventory and took out an airplane.

"What kind of magical beast is this?" Looking at the strange, two-winged monster crouching on the open ground, the Elves whispered among themselves, guessing its origin.

Xiao Ba manipulated his Mental Energy to envelop the airplane, sensing it carefully.

Seeing this, the Sky Knights behind him didn't repeat the action and waited quietly.

However, the Eighth Elder wasn't the only one curious about the airplane. The other seventeen Elders also released their Mental Energy, shrouding the airplane.

As everyone knows, every Professional's Mental Energy has differences in frequency, just as everyone's voice is distinct.

Eighteen Elders using their Mental Energy to sense the airplane at the same time was equivalent to eighteen people shouting together in a small room.

The result would inevitably be a noisy mess where no one could hear what anyone else was saying, and they couldn't even hear their own voices.

That was exactly how the Elders felt right now.

The Fifth Elder's face tightened: "Withdraw your Mental Energy first, one at a time."

The First Elder squinted at him: "If anyone's withdrawing, it should be you first."

"I was the first to release my Mental Energy!"

"Heh, I could say I was first too."

The argument grew more heated. A few hot-tempered Elders were on the verge of coming to blows. Zhang Mu signaled the Elf King with his eyes to control the situation. Only after the King acted to disperse the Mental Energy did Zhang Mu walk over to the airplane.

Zhang Mu looked at the Elders, whose faces were pale from the impact on their spiritual seas after their Mental Energy was blasted back: "This is called an airplane."

"airplane?" The Elders didn't even care about stabilizing their spiritual seas and all crowded around.

"A magical beast never seen before. Where is it from?"

"Why isn't it moving? Has it entered a camouflaged state?"

"Why are its eyes transparent? There's even a seat inside—"

"Stop, stop, stop." Zhang Mu abruptly interrupted them, his hands behind his back. "Listen up. It's not a magical beast, nor is it a demonic creature. Theoretically, it's the same nature as your wands."

The First Elder turned into a curious child: "A magic item? From which dungeon—"

"Shut up!" Zhang Mu really disliked them interrupting. "Wait until I'm finished before you ask questions."

The Elders quieted down. Zhang Mu nodded with satisfaction and cleared his throat: "First of all, it's called an airplane. Its purpose is to fly into the sky.

Of course, there's some difficulty in piloting it, so I need to train a group of pilots."

"Does this have anything to do with healing the life tree?"

Someone interrupted again. Zhang Mu was furious, but when he turned around, he saw the speaker was the Elf King.

Gods Blessing, then it's fine.

"Of course it does."

Zhang Mu thought for a bit. If he didn't explain the whole story clearly, someone would probably interrupt again later.

Organizing his words in his mind, he said, "The reason the life tree is withering is that this land is gradually becoming barren. The solution is to replenish the nutrients in the soil and restore the entire ecological environment."

"What does ecological environment mean?"

"It's complicated. I'll explain it to you in detail when I have time."

"Oh." The Elf King's expression was ignorant, carrying a hint of bewilderment.

He was over a thousand years old and considered himself well-traveled and experienced. There were few things on the continent he wasn't familiar with. He hadn't expected that he wouldn't even understand a casual sentence from Zhang Mu.

Over here, Zhang Mu continued: "As for the things to replenish the nutrients, I have plenty of them.

But scattering it by myself is very slow, and I'm in a hurry to return to Lake. So, the airplanes will come in handy."

As he spoke, he walked over to the airplane, lifted the nose off the ground with his hand, and pointed to the showerhead-like nozzles on the belly with his other finger.

"Look, this is used for spraying fertilizer.

With twenty-five airplanes working simultaneously, the fertilizer sprayed within three days will be enough to cover the entire Forest of Spirits."

Behind him, the Elf King instinctively wanted to ask "what is fertilizer," but seeing him in the middle of a passionate explanation, he suppressed the urge, thinking about visiting his room tonight to ask for advice.

After hearing this, Xiao Ba couldn't help but ask: "Mr. Zhang Mu, do you mean the life tree can be healed within three days?

Also, why do we need air... airplanes? Why must we use this for scattering?

When it comes to flying, any High-tier Professional can do it."

Zhang Mu waved his hand: "As for the second question, you'll understand once the airplanes start working.

For the first question, three days isn't enough.

This land has been devastated too severely. I estimate it will take about a month—at least ten rounds—to replenish the nutrients the soil has lost.

However, according to my deduction, we'll see initial results after three rounds."

The First Elder got excited: "Then what are we waiting for?!

Mr. Zhang Mu, how about we Elders personally scatter that... what was it, fertilizer?"

Zhang Mu felt a bit helpless.

Path dependency is indeed terrifying. When people encounter trouble, they subconsciously follow their accustomed successful methods and reject unfamiliar ones, even if the latter proves more reliable.

"First of all, you won't be faster than the airplanes. And secondly, I've said it before—" Zhang Mu decided to emphasize one last time, "Follow my instructions. Otherwise, if any accidents occur, you will bear the consequences yourselves."

The life tree was the source of life for the Elves. If something went wrong, the Elf Clan would surely perish. No Elf dared to shoulder such a responsibility.

The Elders, the twenty-eight Sky Knights who had stepped forward, and the gathered crowd all fell silent.

The scene was exceptionally quiet. Zhang Mu scanned from left to right, and only after confirming he had intimidated the Elves did he continue: "Operating the airplane isn't hard, but it won't be that easy for you either. Tonight, I'll draw up a detailed teaching plan. Gather here tomorrow morning,

Any more questions?"

The First Elder asked: "Can I join?"

"Sorry, the slots are full."

His request was politely declined. The high-and-mighty First Elder was dazed for a moment, unaccustomed to this. Once he snapped out of it, he didn't care much.

Signing up for training was just because he felt the airplane was a novelty and wanted to understand its internal structure in detail, but it was only a "want," not a "craving."

"Alright, everyone, disperse."

The Elders walked toward the palace together, seemingly to discuss something. The twenty-eight Sky Knights followed them, clearly harboring many doubts about Zhang Mu's speech.

The rest of the Elves dispersed, walking toward their residences in groups of three or five, whispering to each other along the way.

Zhang Mu turned around and found that the Elf King had already left: "He ran off quite fast."

Frederica walked over and looked up slightly at the airplane: "Zhang Mu, it's not a magic item, right?

I don't sense even a tiny bit of mana fluctuation."

"No, it's a tool."

"A tool..." Frederica struggled to understand the term. She blinked and asked, "Like the iron swords and blades forged by humans?"

Her description was a bit vague, but Zhang Mu understood instantly. He smiled and said, "Smart."

"Eh? Does that mean ordinary humans can pilot it too?"

"Theoretically, yes. It's just that, as I said before, piloting skills for an airplane aren't that easy to master."

Zhang Mu started walking toward his temporary room: "If you're really interested, I'll give you a fighter jet later. Now that's what I call exciting."

"fighter jet?" Frederica tilted her head and thought for a while. Seeing him walking away, she quickly chased after him, asking 'what kind of jet is a fighter jet'.