IdleYoungMaster

Chapter 224: I Miss My Wife

For two years, Earth’s development went into full swing. Anti-Entropy and Schicksal both implemented their plans included within Project Immortal. The first batch of immortal cultivators graduated in their training camp and began to serve as instructors for the next batch. They covered the basics of immortal cultivation for the next batch. In turn, their understanding of immortal cultivation grows further.

It was this teaching model that truly kickstarted immortal cultivation on Earth.

As Schicksal’s Overseer, this was but one of Theresa’s duties. There was still the management of Schicksal itself as well as the preparation needed to merge Schicksal and Anti-Entropy into one huge world body.

If it wasn’t for Theresa’s cultivator physique, she wouldn’t have been able to withstand the two years of constant work. Her Schicksal’s Imperative Battlesuit would have come true.

Her busy life was interrupted by bad news.

Before their parting, Shi Tian left a lot of things. The fifth grade storage ring freezes time and has the space of an entire star system inside. It can also house lower-leveled storage rings as it is made of Dharma Laws.

Along with them were the ‘ornaments’ housing Shi Tian’s mind. These are the traces of his spiritual consciousness. Once any abnormal events occur, it will automatically awaken and block any Nascent Soul-level attack once. It can also teleport them to other planets—or to the Imaginary Space or the Sea—in a blink.

This was the life-saving treasure he left behind. That way, nothing bad happens even if he and Kiana were gone.

Unexpectedly, something bad happened to Shi Tian first. His trace of spiritual consciousness did not have time to explain. He disappeared in Theresa’s full view.

She received a dozen quantum links the next moment. Theresa prioritized Bronya’s call first.

“It’s bad. They are gone.”

“Gone..?”

“The Theater disappeared. Seele attached herself to it.”

“...”

In the next ten minutes, most of the people who could be mobilized got sent out. Aside from the Theater of Domination that disappeared, nothing else occurred.

Surprisingly, Su was the one who spoke up and revealed some things to Theresa.

“It is in his character to take the burden by himself. I can see Kiana changing him. But, if left with no choice, he would choose to deal with it by himself.”

He was also helpless. Spending a year with Shi Tian made Su understand his psychology. His self-sacrificial tendencies are very high. He would rather take on things himself than for others to get hurt.

Though he changed after spending time with Kiana, it hasn’t disappeared. When forced into a corner, that would be the choice Shi Tian will make.

“I will be out for a while. I might be able to help.”

With that, Su hung up the call.

Theresa inadvertently looked at the Moon.

“Oh no… How will I explain it to Kiana..?”

All of her worries converged into a sigh.

“Principal.”

“Oh. What brings you here?”

Despite Theresa hurriedly changing her composure, Wendy and Anna saw through her.

“The spirit I mentioned before…”

“We are taking care of it.”

After probing several times, the two girls left. Theresa did not reveal much, just the fact that Shi Tian is on an extremely important mission related to humanity’s safety.

Her gaze stayed on the two girls’ backs. She recalled the tidbits of information she heard from Bronya—Seele is also Shi Tian’s girlfriend.

As if that wasn’t enough, Kiana accepted it. Theresa could not fathom what went through the minds of the two.

But then, she could not help but recall her first meeting with him. Those golden eyes held unparalleled clarity. Nothing could stump him, much less make him doubt himself nor his choices. She would be lying if she denied its impact on her mind.

A tinge of worry emerged on her heart.

‘I hope everything turns out fine…’

*****

The past two years took a toll on Shi Tian. He resisted Nihility’s ever-growing influence. At first, it was just him being dragged inside the same space he spent countless years with. The mind-numbing darkness forced one to remove any thoughts—to be purposeless.

Fortunately, it was still within his manageable range. It also tempered his Tao Heart repeatedly. The barrier to the sixth level weakened greatly. The fifth level emphasizes on the perfect understanding of self. The sixth level, on the other hand, is to turn oneself divine. 

A proper mental state and opportunity are required to reach this level.

‘Another card for the decisive battle.’

Shi Tian sensed his steady improvements.

‘Cultivation’s slower without cheats…’

He manipulated imaginary energy and used it as a higher-level substitute for honkai energy. It was very effective when used for soul tempering, achieving the exponential increase just like when he used honkai for soul tempering.

It turned out that honkai energy was less effective for Nascent Soul Realm cultivators and above. Only Imaginary Energy or Quantum Energy suffices.

‘A thousand years of steady cultivation… I need to set out for more opportunities after this.’

Shi Tian’s saving grace was the absurd increase of his Dao of Enlightenment. It evolved from a supernatural power straight to a Divine Law. Both the martial arts from Blade Mantra and immortal cultivators contributed to its growth.

Once concentrated on himself, its effect of promoting enlightenment became exaggerated. He used it to comprehend a new technique to better utilize Permanence, Time, and Mirror.

Those three can be combined through the [Heaven Shrouding Karmic Projection Art]. It is a technique that summons the past and future projections of oneself to help in battle. It is also the most suitable technique for the holders of [Nine Dragons Primordial Universe Body] and the Dao of Mirrors.

With nine dragons to support oneself, they dominate all of heaven and earth. The technique mastery dictates how many projections and how strong they are.

Shi Tian’s [Great Accomplishment] allows him to summon six projections. They can also be merged into a stronger projection, though it consumes more energy to sustain.

‘Five Elements, Yin-Yang, Extremity, and Void… To reach the Dao of All Creation, I must perfectly combine them. I will have another card against Nihility by then…’

His main cultivation techniques are inclined to the Dao of All Creation, hence he did not need a technique to combine them. The only thing he was lacking was the right opportunity to comprehend their perfect combination. The one he used up to now was its half-baked version. 

Permanence, Time, and Mirror are different from them. He could only learn a technique to properly use them. It was completely unlike the Dao of All Creation that did not need any techniques. 

The Dao of All Creation is destined to be Shi Tian’s strongest card, with the Permanence, Time, and Mirror taking the second place.

‘I can sideline the [Heaven Shrouding Karmic Projection Art] for now.’

Shi Tian focused on his new agenda. It continued for months until a strong drowsiness assaulted him. He did not notice its anomaly. His Tao Heart sent warning signals, only for them to grow faint with each passing second.

‘I miss Kiana…’

Shi Tian slowly lost consciousness.

*****

A/N: Starting today, I will be increasing the numbers of chapters per patreon tier. The $10 tier will go from 40 to 50 advance chapters. The $5 tier will go from 10 to 15 advance chapters. This stemmed from me being over-motivated during our semestral break. I wrote twenty advanced chapters. I don't know how it happened, but it did. So yeah, enjoy these chapters~!

Chapter 223: Remnant Will; Impending Crisis

“It’s going to rain…”

A green-haired valkyrie set aside her curtains and saw the gloomy skies. It is currently seven-o-clock in the morning. The cold gusts of wind seeping through the window tempted her to sleep once more.

Unfortunately, a single barrier stopped her from doing so:

A job.

“The first period starts at nine. I’m saved…”

The Valkyrie tinkered with the special alarm clock and snoozed the rest of her alarms for the day. She got ready rather hastily. Fortunately, not many saw her rushed look at the teacher’s dormitory. Most of the teachers present had morning or afternoon classes. 

After taking a shower and dressing up, she found there was still another thirty minutes left before her class.

Before she knew it, she found herself in the familiar garden inside Saint Freya. She sat down on one of the empty benches. Her shoulders relaxed.

“Everything still feels like a dream.”

More than two years ago, Wendy was supposed to undergo the test of the Gem of Desire, though it was halted due to unknown circumstances. The next year, she witnessed one major event happen after another.

First was the abrupt resignation of Schicksal’s Overseer, Otto Apocalypse. Then came the Project STIGMA that drew her inside a special space. Like those who awakened their stigma, they experience unique scenarios before being forcibly sent back to Earth.

Anti-Entropy and Schicksal was then ‘forced’ to reveal the knowledge regarding the Honkai. 

Things almost went back to normal until another bombshell was dropped six months ago—the announcement of Project Immortal.

It is a series of diverse strategies that will empower humanity. It is centered around the so-called ‘Immortal Cultivation’. 

Several batches of Anti-Entropy fighters and Schicksal Valkyries were tested first. They were asked to touch an embedded silver cube with their palm. It was supposed to scan their bodies for “Spirit Roots”, but something different occurred to Wendy.

The moment she touched it, she saw a man. He was so breathtakingly handsome that time halted itself when she met his eyes.

To her surprise, he took the initiative to hold her hand. 

Then…

He disappeared.

She couldn’t recall what happened after that, staying in a daze for the rest of that day. She awakened a high-grade Wind Spirit Root and was sent to a training center along with the others with Spirit Roots. They learned the basics of Immortal Cultivation and chose their main cultivation techniques. They also chose a specialization within the dozens of immortal cultivation professions.

Things became simpler with the guidance of the camp’s instructors. Not to mention the Foundation Establishment kids, there are also the Purple Mansion Realm and even Golden Core Realm cultivators.

Their instructions, abundant resources, and cultivation cheats (i.e., Honkai) allowed them to have a concrete understanding of Immortal Cultivation within a year. They were then sent to instruct the next batches of immortal cultivation seedlings. Another year has passed since then.

Out of them all, two people showed exaggerated progress; Wendy is one of them.

She learned who that man was after her anomalous progress reached Theresa’s ears.

“He… He came up with immortal cultivation. He introduced it to us, and honestly, he came up with the whole Project Immortal.”

Wendy was surprised to see her short Principal being this motivated to go to work. She could still recall the times when she caught her slacking off by reading HOMU comics and watching their animations.

To that, Theresa said something:

“This is the best we can do.”

Wendy got to know that the sudden and spontaneous bursts of ‘improvements’ turned out to be from Shi Tian himself. Everyone connected to him is being fed back with Tao Gifts. That was what pushed them straight to the Golden Core Realm after merely a year. 

Nobody took it for granted, however. They became more motivated to fulfill their roles on Earth’s drastic changes.

‘Despite not appearing once, everyone regards him as a pillar…’

A savior.

Wendy felt nothing wrong about looking at Shi Tian like that. He was also one of the mainstays who defeated the Honkai. The present wouldn’t be here had it not been for him.

Inevitably, she developed a feeling of longing.

‘What should I say once I meet him?’

Wendy was in a daze when her vision changed. She found herself in a cosmic landscape. Darkness blanketed the sea of milky-white stars.

In front of her was the very man she thought of.

“You are…”

“A fragment of him. A trace of his spiritual consciousness, to speak.”

Shi Tian faced her and actively answered her questions. 

“It is not the real me. I left it amongst all of the Spirit Root awakening devices used all around the world.”

Turns out, it was only Shi Tian who can awaken everyone else’s Spirit Roots. He was weaker back then, hence it needed most of his efforts just to awaken a hundred. 

Being a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator meant that his mind is at a high level. A trace of his spiritual consciousness sufficed when it comes to awakening Spirit Roots.

He made thousands of those inside the Bubble World. The rest of the supplies needed to kickstart Earth’s journey as an immortal cultivation civilization was given to Kiana, which she then passed onto Bronya.

“This spiritual will is in a state of slumber most of the time. Unless…”

He was about to utter the next word when his eyes widened. The sight of an extraordinarily handsome immortal being dumbfounded still looked majestic in Wendy’s eyes.

“I failed.”

“..?!”

She didn’t know any of it, yet she could feel how ominous that statement was.

The cosmic landscape started collapsing. Shi Tian’s figure became blurry.

“Tell everyone to take care. I will be…”

Shatter-!

Before she knew it, Wendy was back to Saint Freya’s garden.

“Something bad happened.”
She decided to head straight to Theresa’s place. Her supernatural powers coupled with her Wind Spirit Root made her speed reach the absolute limit of the Golden Core Realm. 

It just so happened that she intersected with someone else. The surrounding temperature decreased rapidly as a blue light caught up to Wendy.

She looked back and recognized who it was.

“You too..?”

“...Yes.”

It was none other than Anna Schariac. She, along with Wendy, triggered Shi Tian’s trace of spiritual consciousness as they became eligible to become partners under the [Xiutian Art].

Like most of the others, they reached the pinnacle of the Golden Core Realm within a year of joining. They caught up on honing their Tao Hearts to the fifth level in order to successfully pass the Nascent Soul Realm tribulations.

The two did not talk much. They arrived on the Floating Isles. They found Theresa who was pacing back and forth with her small legs.

“Oh no… How will I explain it to Kiana..?”

Chapter 222: Racing Against an Aeon

‘Immortal Cultivators?’

‘Cocoon of Finality?’

‘Humanity won?’

‘???’

The Valkyrie and Sugar duo went through the most confusing stage of their life. 

Due to the changes in the canon, Durandal never went to the Imaginary Space. She did not meet Shigure Kira and the Sugars who promptly helped her place back the Bubble World to the Imaginary Tree. Since the two did not meet, they remained secluded. They became somewhat oblivious to the recent changes in the outside world.

‘If the origin of the Honkai was defeated…’

The long-standing ‘danger’ faced by the Sugars popped up in her mind.

The Cocoon of Finality is stronger than the Sky People that forced the Sugars to a desperate position. The two civilizations are merely leftovers of what the Honkai had destroyed. 

“Can we meet the Herrscher of Finality?”

“I am afraid you cannot. She is preoccupied with something on the Moon.”

“I understand…”

Shigure Kira diligently absorbed the information of the past decade. 

‘Herrscher of Finality… She is the Captain’s Daughter.’

A wave of nostalgia washed over her before she went straight to the crucial point.

“Can we know more about the Project Immortal?”

*****

“Late stage…”

Lightning crackled within Mei’s five thousand mile radius. The electromagnetic field was greatly affected. Fortunately, she finished this breakthrough in vacuum space. 

She opened her eyes and sensed her counterpart.

Five days ago, Shi Tian left a lot of supplies on Kiana. That included the body-restructuring spiritual plants. It allowed Mei’s Stigma Persona to have her own body.

Aside from that, those eligible for Golden Core breakthrough received the corresponding set of materials needed to avoid the Heart Mirror Tribulation.

Mei’s flight speed surpassed most of her peers. The combination of lightning, Herrscher Authority, and various supernatural powers allowed her to reach the Moon in less than a minute.

The Palace of Selene was restored to its pristine state. Aside from that, there are also several other structures on the Moon’s surface. It is overloaded with honkai energy, and as such, was turned into a peak seventh grade spirit vein.

Kiana is currently in the process of accepting the Cocoon’s “Embrace”. Four Golden Core cultivators are left here to deal with unseen changes.

“Oh… Friend Mei is back.”

Ji Xuanyuan gave her a greeting.

“Greetings.”

The two started to talk about numerous things. When Ji Xuanyuan learned that Mei is Shi Tian’s student, her formality was off the charts. It wasn’t until Mei convinced her to drop the formal tone did she do so. 

The two turned out to be good friends.

“How are things going with her?”

“She’s refusing to come out.” Ji Xuanyuan said dejectedly.

Mei shook her head. Her stigma persona devoted herself to cultivation the moment she gained a physical body. She swore not to come out of seclusion until she could single-handedly beat Mei.

Currently, she is staying at one of the residences on the Moon. Ji Xuanyuan kept an eye on her on behalf of Mei.

“It’s alright. Things will get better over time. Maybe she will stop being stubborn after winning a fight…”

Mei was consoled for a while before being left alone. 

Out of the four Golden Realm cultivators, Sirin is anti-social. Hei Xuanyuan is in seclusion in an attempt to ‘surpass’ Ji Xuanyuan. Only Ji Xuanyuan and Mei interacted on a daily basis.

“Her frustration is understandable…” She uttered under her breath. “We couldn’t help much.”

Mei was unable to reach the fourth level of her Tao Heart before the decisive battle began. She could only stay at the sidelines and help others in minor tasks. The rest are left to the mainstays—Sin Mal, Bronya, Fu Hua, Kiana, and Shi Tian. They had the power to affect the overall outcome of the battlefield.

This resulted in Mei’s frustration, and by extension, her stigma persona.

“She really is the opposite of me…”

One was peaceful; the other was prideful. How could the arrogant Queen withstand the fact that she was powerless to join the final fight?

This led to her being very motivated in catching up.

“Should I deliberately lose to her…”

*****

Darkness.

Endless darkness.

Endless meaningless darkness.

…

“Shit.”

I opened my eyes. The Theater of Domination remained normal. I used my spiritual consciousness and arrived at the same conclusion.

However, that dream earlier isn’t fake. Both my eyes and spiritual consciousness sensed it.

IX’s gaze draws near.

An Aeon’s power is so strong it influences the temporal dimension. Even if it is a mere possibility, it will find a way to manifest itself into the present time.

“Fu…”

It appeared so fast I did not have much time to say the temporary farewells with Kevin. I let Kiana bid him goodbye. Nobody could do a thing to Kevin's severely damaged self. Then again, I did not think much of it other than a temporary farewell.

Kevin died but we will still meet in the future. I am not letting the Previous Era off the hook; the resurrection plan is still in the making.

"Strength..."

I looked at my current cultivation. Nothing much changed aside from the complete consolidation of my realm. Such progress would have taken a decade. I did it in five days, all thanks to my cultivation hacks.

Most importantly, my spirit roots underwent a series of changes.

For seven years, I cultivated the [Toushen Manual]. I managed to create a Five Element Yin Spirit Root from scratch and raise it to the middle grade. It has remained stuck at that level since then.

With Origin and the [Heart Intention] level of Blade Mantra 2.0, my understanding and connection to the Imaginary Space is the highest it could be. These two changed me in imperceptible ways—to make me more compatible with manipulating higher dimensions. The same went to the Herrscher of the End’s ‘body’.

It resulted in the rapid growth of the middle grade Five Elements Yin Spirit Root. Now, it has reached the pinnacle of the middle grade.

One high grade Tao Body gave me 2.4 million years of lifespan atop anything else. What more would one more Tao Body bring, much less an Ultimate Grade Spirit Root?

This is the biggest breakthrough I found to fight against IX.

High grade Spirit Root is a ticket to the Void Refinement Realm. It possesses the necessary aspects to become a karma-less being. I can use all of my lifespan to draw its power prematurely, though I find it unnecessary with the Void Refinement Realm mental power inside the stigma space. 

Ultimate grade Spirit Root, however, is a ticket to the Dao Integration Realm. It holds the ‘key’ (i.e., fragment) of a complete Dao Path.

Once its power could be drawn, not even Aeons can match it. 

The biggest discovery as of now is the flawed state of this world—of the Imaginary Tree. Aeons stem from the Imaginary Tree. It isn’t hard to deduce that these Aeons have flaws, too.

In that case, a genuine Dao Integration Realm expert can crush most Aeons, just as Golden Core Realm cultivators can easily deal with Herrschers.

It is either me or IX. Everything depends on who’s faster. 

Whoever gets left behind loses.

Chapter 221: Sugars' Culture Shock

Although only a week had passed, a lot of changes happened on Earth. It did not help that Schicksal revealed Honkai’s nature prior to the beginning of the Project STIGMA. It caused a lot of confusion and chaos. Fortunately, Schicksal is Schicksal for a reason.

Coupled with Anti-Entropy’s assistance, they restored order in a matter of hours. 

Three days after the Project STIGMA was halted, a joint public announcement was aired throughout the world. It entailed Anti-Entropy’s Sovereign and Schicksal’s Overseer unveiling previously classified information related to the Honkai.

These were enough to ease the hearts of the people.

The settlement projects came next. It is a series of operations designed to rebuild and subsidize the affected populace. It is a huge undertaking that requires the mobilization of Earth’s global forces.

“...take advantage of the impending Project Immortal.”

“...”

Bronya stared at one of the world leader’s “soul”. His physical body lay lifeless on the ground. The power of a Golden Core Realm cultivator can forcibly draw the soul and perform magical acts like the destructive soul-searching and the more gentle soul-bewilderment.

Her background as a child soldier-slash-assassin made her perfect when it came to uprooting the evil. She volunteered on this task and spent five days ‘clearing’ these evil executives. They ranged from businessmen up to the Executors and Council Members of Anti-Entropy and Schicksal, respectively.

With a thought, the Executor’s soul dissipated into dust.

“He’s at the top.”

Bronya confirmed it by reading the souls of several other people close to the Executor.

To make this happen, Welt Yang and Theresa released the information about the Immortal Cultivation project. 

Whoever schemed to do evil-doings with it are destined to be imprisoned or killed. That was how crucial it was when it came to elevating Earth into an immortal cultivation civilization. Everyone tacitly agreed that Earth must become stronger before it gets exposed to the wider world.

Just then, a quantum link emerged on Bronya’s side. The earpiece she wore buzzed before it let out a voice.

“It’s bad! Seele went crazy and headed straight to the Theater!”

A low grunt escaped Sin Mal’s throat. Her frustrations could not escape Bronya.

“What happened?” She asked.

“That girl… She woke up and rambled about saving Shi Tian. I prevented her from messing things up at the Theater.”

“You lost?”

“...”

Sin Mal’s aura debt continued to pile up. Her recent power-up at the Project STIGMA pushed her cultivation to the pinnacle of the Golden Core Realm. Her Tao Heart reached the fifth level, too. Most importantly, she hasn’t finished digesting her gains yet. The power of “dreams” that enabled the creation of the Spiritual Adam was so immense it functioned as her cultivation booster. There was still the Nascent Soul Realm Tao Gift waiting for her, making her one of the few prospective Nascent Soul Realm cultivators as of now.

Unfortunately, she met Seele. The seven hundred years she spent wasn’t for nothing. Although they are equal in realm, she surpassed Sin Mal in terms of combat experience—a large margin, atop that.

Once the two duked it out, Seele defeated her in less than ten moves.

“I need your help.” Sin Mal said with embarrassment.

“Okay.”

Bronya hung up the line after replying. She used her fingertips to tear open a gateway to the imaginary space. Once she stepped inside, motes of starlight guided her towards the Theater.

The Imaginary Space is vast and boundless. It involves the higher-dimensions. The “coordinates” required to locate something is so complicated it could barely be done with Herrscher Authorities. Bronya’s Truth is one of them.

Soon, she reached the familiar edge of the Theater of Domination. It resembled a classical theater with a dozen levels of seats.

An invisible barrier prevented any external entry. It seemed transparent at first glance, but it is projecting a false image. Only those inside can see what’s truly happening.

“Hm..?”

Shiing-!

A large blue streak went across the Theater’s boundaries. Bronya saw a white-haired girl being thrown flying by it. It took a while for her to stop flying. Her entire body floated mid-air.

“Who are you..?”

Her words were forced to be swallowed as she met Seele’s gaze. Even her partner, Sugar Molasses, went silent because of its sheer intensity. The crazed and determined eyes they saw were nothing short of terrifying.

Just then, they noticed Bronya’s presence.

“...Sister Bronya.”

“He asked not to be disturbed, Seele.”

“...I know.”

Seele sighed.

“I know he wouldn’t do it like before… That he won’t face any troubles all by himself.” She paused for a while before continuing, “But I can’t just stand on the sidelines. I want to be there when he needs it.”

“Oh.”

Shigure Kira received Bronya’s pitying gaze. The latter understood that Seele was venting her anger to these newcomers who annoyed her.

“I’ll tell everyone else to stand down. Also, about Sin…”

“I will apologize to her later.”

“Understood.”

Bronya was about to leave when Shigure Kira called her out.

“Wait! Do you know Mister Yang?”

She turned back and looked at Shigure Kira.

“There’s something bad inside this imaginary space, as in really bad!”

She was spooked as she looked at the seemingly empty Theater of Domination. It was Shigure Kira’s first time seeing all of the Sugars being so frightened. When they asked her to scout for it, she happened to meet Seele.

Things happened and Shigure Kira was defeated in one move.

‘She has a familiar feeling… like the Herrscher that aided us back then.’

‘Mister Yang..?’ Shigure Kira replied mentally.

“He is my teacher.”

“Good… Can we talk with him?”

“There is no need. You are talking about this Imaginary Space. We already dealt with the corresponding precautions.”

“..?”

“Forget it. It’s better to talk over things somewhere else.”

Bronya’s figure disappeared and reappeared right beside her. Disregarding the shocked Shigure Kira, she nodded to Seele before storming out of the Imaginary Space. It took one minute for them to reach the Salt Lake Base.

The two appeared right inside Welt Yang’s office. The aroma of strong coffee wafted to their noses. A whiff of it sent Shigure Kira wide awake. The coffee made of spiritual plants proved to be too much for others to handle.

“Bronya? And this is…”

Thoughts flickered inside Welt Yang’s eyes as he recalled her.

“It’s Miss Kira. What brings you here?”

“She went straight to the Theater. Please explain everything to her, Teacher.”

“Alright…”

Bronya disappeared at the next second. This left the still-dumbfounded Shigure Kira alone in the office with Welt Yang. 

Chapter 220: Mirror

All of a sudden, two “new” memories appeared out of my mind. First was during my first dual cultivation session with Kiana. The second was the awakening of the [Nine Dragons Primordial Universe Body]. 

Both times, this phantom of mine said something.

Cling-!

The sound of a bell’s chime presented something. I had the urge to utilize my Dharma Avatar… and so I did. The aspect of Mirror acted out.

The secrets hidden beneath these garbled words played out.

First was the ethereal woman whom I identified as Kiana.

“The third tribulation’s descent…”

Then, my mutterings.

“All roads lead to this ending. Change it and reach…”

The Dao of Mirrors reflected the mysterious phantoms. I cannot make sense of the words without it, as if there was a higher-level power at fault.

While I am still processing these facts, my phantom spoke once more.

“This world is flawed. It is the greatest opportunity. Pierce through its falsehoods and transcend the tribulations.”

Right after saying these words, he disappeared.

Rumble-!

His disappearance heralded a huge change to the stigma space. Nihility’s traces became stronger. The Void Refinement Realm power could barely hang onto it. It is steadily losing out.

That bad foreboding feeling grew stronger.

Thank goodness Seele is knocked unconscious. I felt her trauma regarding Nihility. Being killed over and over by IX took a toll on her mind. That was why I distracted her with Kevin’s affairs. 

Everything up to the confrontation with Kevin is still within her predictions. She went through so many loops. She’s akin to someone who completed the game and knew every single attack pattern each monster has.

IX is the hidden final boss Seele could never defeat.

“Fu…”

It took some time to organize my thoughts.

The phantoms’ words confirmed something. My encounter with IX is an opportunity. 

I am familiar with the shenanigans of the higher realms. The Dao Integration Realm requires the ascension to an unowned Dao. It could be as simple as the Dao of Flames to the more complex Dao of Endless Void.

Above that is the Tribulation Transcendence Realm. It is the final hurdle in becoming a True Immortal. It consists of three tribulations. Each one of them can destroy or create worlds.

Once all three tribulations are surpassed and the cultivator lives, they will transcend the infinite realities and become a True Immortal.

The specialness of the golden orb went beyond measures. The phantom implied that the golden orb’s fucked-up novice gift turned out to be a genuine gift. It deliberately let me experience the disaster with IX for it to act as my “first” tribulation. 

The deadly tribulation of a Void Refinement Realm cultivator is incomparable with the Tribulation Transcendence Realm—like a coughing baby versus a nuclear bomb. 

By overcoming this tribulation, I would have one less tribulation to worry about in the Tribulation Transcendence Realm.

Not even the techniques mentioned anything about this kind of feat. It is simply the greatest cultivation cheat to exist.

The slight joy I felt from it diminished once I snapped back to reality. 

Tribulation or not, I need to resolve it… as a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.

The best choice I have is to gamble with my lifespan. I still have 2.4 million years of lifespan from the Dao of Permanence. 

Striking once at the Divine Transformation Realm costs 5,000 years. Temporarily elevating one’s realm to the Divine Transformation Realm costs 500,000 years. It lasts for ten minutes. 

If the body, mind, and soul are to be raised together, it will cost 1.5 million years.

That’s enough.

*****

Five days have passed since the confrontation on the Moon. 

Sin Mal was the main force in destroying Project STIGMA. The nature of the Spiritual Adam is extremely compatible with her. Once Fu Hua and Bronya arrived, she utilized the authority over Souls. The combination of the two plus Kevin’s defeat spelled the end of Project STIGMA. His death soon followed.

Most of the people dragged over were returned back to Earth. Only a fraction of humans who could not extricate themselves from their ideal world turned into the Spiritual Adam’s sustenance and disappeared.

Welt Yang sighed as he finished the nth command he sent out. The world turned chaotic with everything that happened until now. Resettling the humans, managing the deceased ones, planning the public announcement about the honkai…

“...It is not over yet.”

He glanced at the Moon high above the skies.

Right after the battle, everyone capable reconvened on the Moon. Kiana told a lot of new things to them. Several new Golden Core Realm cultivators emerged on that day.

The Herrscher-Golden Core Realm cultivators, in particular, grew stronger. Kiana did not take the Herrscher Cores back given their resistance to honkai energy.

Finally, honkai energy itself no longer erupted in irregular intervals. They are now freely being refined into spiritual qi. Her deliberate manipulation over it qualified it under the [Two Phase Art]’s requirements.

“Aeons.”

Shi Tian’s situation wasn’t hidden from them. He went to the Theater of Domination and secluded himself. He was the main force in delaying the said Aeon’s gaze. The problem stemmed from himself, after all.

For now, all they could do is to reorganize Earth and quickly reach the pinnacle of the Golden Core Realm. The rest lay on their arrangements. Turning Earth into a cultivation civilization takes a lot of time. 

Fortunately, the most important resource, spirit veins, are readily available on Earth.

“Time, time…”

*****

Seele could remember it.

The sole entity she could not defeat.

The one that made her feel what utter despair is.

Throughout seven hundred years, she died to IX every single time. Seele coped that it was an imperfect world—that the real world wouldn’t play out like that—but deep down, she feared it would happen.

It is the biggest flaw in her Tao Heart—the barrier that prevented her from reaching the fifth level.

Today, it seemed no different. Pure despair filled her chest. She silently gazed at the distant Black Sun that threatened to devour all. 

‘It’s not real.’

The Cocoon of Finality never did anything in her time loops. It pointed out that the time loops are flawed—a lot of things are missing.

Nonetheless…

‘What if it happens?’

Seele’s greatest fear emerged from this abysmal possibility.

She cherished her current life even more now that she reunited with everyone. She could either fear it or face it.

In the end, she came to a silent conclusion.

‘I will be there when he needs it.’

Chapter 219: Different Choices, Same Ending

The impressions with ultimate attacks are their one-time use. It could not be used again for the second time.

‘I hope he falls for it.’

Countless deductions appeared in Shi Tian’s mind. His [Encompassing Eyes] worked wonders to achieve short bursts of clairvoyance. He could, to a certain extent, predict Kevin’s next move. Although, it is sometimes inaccurate due to Kevin’s Finality.

‘This went a lot easier than I thought. He’s already in his final struggle.’

Originally, Kevin was supposed to be a formidable enemy. However, the lack of Judgement of Shamash gave him a weakness. He could not unleash Finality’s power steadily due to a lack of power source. Coupled with the evolved Blade Mantra’s ultimate attack, used with the enhanced Shamash, forced him to summon the STIGMA shield earlier than he planned.

He let go of Kiana and stared at Deliverance Kevin from the distance. A barrier protected him from their ultimate attack. It was the same STIGMA shield that seemed invulnerable in-game.

Shi Tian peered through space and time and saw the current situation within the Project STIGMA space. 

‘It’s done!’

“Bronya!”

“Da.”

She patted Seele’s shoulder before disappearing. The latter glared at Kevin with obvious frustration.

‘Don’t. We need to buy more time.’

‘I can let her out now.’

‘Go.’

Kevin, who saw everything transpire and attempted to recover behind the STIGMA barrier, was stunned to see a new arrival in this battlefield. Memories returned to him as his gaze turned cold.

Kevin noticed the Herrscher’s apparent obedience and was surprised.

“Seeing you now means I won.”

The Herrscher remarked as she stared at him.

“...You won.” He replied. “But it will be different now.”

“Indeed.”

The Herrscher of the End’s manifestation stemmed from Seele and Veliona. Their current strength only allows her one full-powered blow before their quantum entanglement gets forcefully ended.

She no longer spoke as she pointed her fingertips at him.

Bzzt-!

A ray of light went straight to Kevin. It went past the STIGMA barrier and struck him on the shoulder.

‘..!’

He could feel his control over the honkai diminishing. The barrier he put up was forcibly broken down.

He felt all of his relevant Herrscher Authorities, save for Time and Void, become inactive. It interrupted Kevin’s recovery, making it harder for him to regain his strength.

The Finality fragment he bore is a source of power, but it is also a hot potato that is swiftly killing him. He is not a Herrscher. He is forcefully taking control of it, which causes unimaginable damage to his body.

The cost of it was Seele’s and Veliona’s being knocked unconscious.

Shi Tian caught them in time and teleported them back to Earth. His raw capabilities as a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator allowed him to do so with ease.

Soon, he met Kevin’s gaze.

“There are a lot of ways it could have gone down.”

Shi Tian spoke as he gave him a knowing look. Kevin understood it. He could have been defeated right after the STIGMA barrier collapsed. Yet, Shi Tian took the time to talk with him.

He gazed further away and saw a huge battleship headed to their side. Kevin saw the Project STIGMA network they built get destroyed. Its remnants are housed by this battleship, the Moonlight Throne. 

With Bronya at its helm, it can gather the will of humanity from parallel worlds, thereby breaking his STIGMA barrier down. This level of preparedness thoroughly crushed Kevin.

It was a complete, utter defeat.

“Did you prepare for something else?”

Kevin suddenly asked this question.

“Yes. Nihility. One of the Aeons outside this world. Their gaze is about to land on Earth.”

Shi Tian spoke of the chilling matter calmly.

“The Cocoon of Finality held a tight grasp over the solar system. But, it can be overpowered by Nihility if they wanted it.”

Good news: IX represents Nihility. Their inaction is their way of life.

Bad news: Nihility doesn’t need any purpose to pull off random stunts every now and then.

“Can you deal with it?”

“Yes.”

 Shi Tian was pretty straightforward in this regard.

“As long as you trust us, we can.”

“...”

Kevin’s momentary silence turned into a sigh. His Deliverance Form was replaced by his normal look. A dazzling “light” floated on top of his hand. It held no fixed form as it turned into a variety of things.

Chickens, fish, clocks, cogs, flames, clouds…

The mere sight of it sent Shi Tian into a daze. An extremely familiar sensation struck him hard. Chills were sent down his spine as he came to a realization.

‘No wonder it’s called Finality!’

Far beyond Earth lay the gods known as “Aeons”. They preside over a certain path (i.e. concept) and govern all related phenomena to it. Their gaze is as vast as the Imaginary Tree’s range.

At first, the Cocoon of Finality was dismissed as something lower than Aeons. It was unrelated to the Aeon of Finality. That was the way things went when Shi Tian died.

However, the abnormality of this world began to cause doubts. It started with the temporal dimension’s abnormality. The Past and Future are covered in fog, yet deductions about the Present remain the same.

‘It was the Imaginary Tree. Its ability as a ‘server’ shrouded the real Past and Future of this world. The reason behind it… I have a feeling it lies here.’

He looked down and saw the growing connection between him and the Stigma Space he threw back in the Imaginary Space. The Cocoon of Finality’s fragment and Nihility’s traces resonated in an extremely bizarre way.

‘The final trailer I saw was the four paths to Finality.’

It was said that four Aeons will lead the world to Finality. They, willingly or not, act right under the influence of Finality.

The Aeon of Destruction, Nanook.

The Aeon of Nihility, IX.

The Aeon of Voracity.

The Aeon of Remembrance, Fuli.

Then, there was the seemingly unrelated Cocoon of Finality. Turns out, it was actually related to them!

At least, the resonance between Nihility and the Cocoon is there.

Shi Tian suppressed the growing unease in his heart. 

“Take over as the Herrscher of Finality first. I need to do something.”

His sudden declaration stunned Kiana. This was not within their plans.

“Finality… its direct presence caused some trouble on my side. I want to bring the bomb somewhere else just to be safe.”

She understood what he meant. He never bothered to hide his troubles regarding Nihility. It is a ticking time bomb that will bring trouble to Earth at any given time.

“Are you going there?”

“Yes.” Shi Tian replied. “I will leave the Theater as a gateway. If things get worse… I’ll cut it off.”

“Wait for me. I will finish this quickly!”

“Of course…”

For a while, he had to stabilize Kiana. The old tricks worked as usual. Kevin was fed with copious amounts of dog food as a result.

After having his lips bitten for the fifth time, Shi Tian bade farewell. He turned into a streak of light as he entered the imaginary space instantly.

Its infinite distance and unimaginable space made it hard to find something without a proper anchor.

Fortunately, Kiana is the Herrscher of the Void. It is not a problem to stabilize the Theater of Domination for a while.

Soon, he found the specific space and stepped onto it.

“No specific time…”

Every time Shi Tian used his divination and formed an approximation, he could not see when IX would gaze at him. Even when he burned his lifespan and elevated his aspect of Causality into a Divine Realm, nothing changed.

If he forced his way through, all that leads to it is true death.

Sighing, he exited the divination state. He was brought back to the large Theater.

Only, an extra visitor appeared in Shi Tian’s sight. His pupils narrowed as he looked at the man in disbelief.

‘I didn’t sense him!’

The vast spiritual consciousness of a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator was meaningless. He tried to do it again with Origin and Blade Mantra thrown into the mix, but they also failed.

The vague man in front of him is invisible to the world!

“.tfig suoicerp tsom sti ;uoy ot detnarg ytimilac denekaew eht dnecsnart tsum uoY”

His murmurs, albeit pure gibberish, did not disappear from his mind.

‘Wait…’

Chapter 218: Showdown Begins

When I saw the naughty look on Kiana’s eyes, I knew she was teasing me. This Tuna-slash-goblin likes this sense of supremacy whenever we are together.

“I am planning to take Seele and Veliona with us.”

I revealed my next plan to her.

“Um. Will they be able to handle it?”

“The Imaginary Space? Most likely.”

I saw the scene of Welt Yang using hundreds of fourth grade destructive Qi to pierce through the Bubble World. I sent Fu Hua to their place solely to take care of Project STIGMA’s Spiritual Adam next.

I want Kevin to see it—the full capabilities of humanity.

Not only will we defeat him, we will also stop Project STIGMA from coming to fruition. This is the resolution I had in mind now that I am stronger than I previously expected.

Our travel time was negligible. Kiana familiarized herself with her current Authority. Planetary-wide teleportation is a trivial matter now.

In a blink of an eye, we arrived at the broken Bubble World. Welt Yang and the others greeted us. They did not need Bronya’s and Seele’s help to break down the Bubble World.

“Will you confront him now?” Welt Yang asked.

“Yes. There’s no need to wait.”

He nodded as a reply.

“Good luck.”

With these words, I said nothing else. Hyperion was brought out in-game to fight a lot of the surrounding honkai beasts. They still have to be dealt with. Welt Yang and the others are sent back to Earth via teleportation to meet up with Theresa. 

Kiana brought everyone to the Moon. It was not the same white rocks. A series of floating platforms could be seen everywhere. They are interconnected with each other, though some of them remain damaged.

The arches above look similar to the honkai beasts’ shells. A solemn atmosphere emanated around.

Seele and Veliona started working on their quantum entanglement to bring someone out.

Kevin stood silently from the distance. He already activated his ICHOR, Metamorphing into his MANTIS Form. His cold gaze met mine. His lack of Shamash did not diminish his overall strength.

Swoosh-!

Zip-!

Using a makeshift sword, he swung twice on the void, opening an ink-colored dimensional tear. The higher dimensions formed a momentary pathway to the third dimension.

“You don’t need Diabolic’s Trial. Let’s end it now.”

Kevin entered the dimensional tear. A strong surge of power came from it.

Moments later, the Deliverer came out. He skipped the Diabolic Form and went straight to the Deliverance Form.

“Show it to me. The will to defy this choice!”

*****

Kevin held nothing back. The power of Finality empowered him greatly.

Buzz-!

Restrictions appeared on the three Herrschers. His first move temporarily immobilized their Herrscher Authorities!

Bam-!

He disappeared and reappeared right in front of Shi Tian. The orange blades of Kevin’s wings tore space apart and headed straight to him.

Rumble-!

Shi Tian’s figure crashed beyond the platform. He only stopped when the crack on his right arm healed.

‘His physical strength… No. That’s not it. The authority surrounding his body is exceedingly high!’

His eyes revealed Kevin’s strength.

{Kevin Kaslana}

{Body: Peak Golden Core}

{Authority: Early Void Refinement Realm (Temporary)}

{Mind: Peak Golden Core}

‘Though his body and mind lagged behind, his Authority protects them both. How tricky…’

Finality acted like a sharp knife in Kevin’s hand. Physical body and the likes does not matter in the face of it. Mental attacks would not work on him, showing how different he was compared to the Herrscher of the End.

Fortunately, everyone else broke free of Kevin’s restriction. Kiana rushed towards him. Her surrounding radius turned gray as she slowed down time one after another.

She met Kevin head-on. A pair of familiar guns appeared in her grasp.

Bang-!

Bang-!

The power of its bullets struck him hard. Kevin’s body flew back several meters.

“Take this!”

She completed Shamash’s transformation instantly and turned it into a greatsword. Under the influence of the Herrscher of Finality, it underwent a series of changes. Its entire blade body turned into a solid crimson phane. Its temperature was so high it caused magma-like cracks to appear on their footing.

The pillar of crimson light pierced through the dark sky. She brought it down to Kevin in one blow.

Zoom-!

Kevin’s large stature came crashing down. The authority comparable to Divine Laws brought him down momentarily. He was forced to redirect some of his power to deal with it.

This gave Bronya a chance.

Fifty replicas of Star of Eden appeared in a circular shape mid-air. They surrounded the kneeling Kevin. Vast gravitational force pressed down on him.

Buzz-!

BAM-!

Space itself warped. Kevin’s radius turned blurry as light started to be swallowed into nothingness. A pillar of darkness appeared within the Palace of Selene.

“It’s not over yet.”

Shi Tian’s voice alerted the others.

The next moment, lines of white crack emerged from the pillar.

Crack-!

Shatter-!

The formation of Star of Edens was broken.

Sou-!

Kevin’s large build blasted off at the speed of light. His target was the immobile Seele and Veliona.

‘He saw through it..!’

Shi Tian did not hesitate. His own Nascent Soul Realm capabilities caught up on Kevin who utilized the Finality authority. Crimson red flames surrounded his entire body as the Dharma Avatar behind his back turned into a crown. Phantoms of countless natural sceneries overrode the Palace of Selene as Shi Tian wore it on his head.

This enhanced state allowed him to use something else:

Imaginary Energy.

Holes appeared in their surroundings as the inherently chaotic imaginary energy surged in. It took the form of black-golden light.

Using his Divine Realm and Blade Mantra, a black-golden barrier trapped Kevin.

Bam-!

Crack-!

The crown atop Shi Tian’s head dissipated. The surrounding natural scenery followed its disappearance. 

His face paled slightly due to exhaustion.

‘If it wasn’t for Origin…’

Bam-!

Kevin struck the barrier barehandedly. It produced a noticeable crack. He did not pull his punches as he broke it in five blows. 

Shatter-!

Just then, Kiana’s Judgement of Shamash greeted his face. He blocked it with his right hand. Waves of impact caused the platform they stood on to collapse.

Rumble-!

Everyone did not lose their footing. They all possessed the ability to fly. What they did, however, is to maneuver between the falling rocks to gain advantage.

Click-!

Bam-!

Kevin was about to slow down time himself when Kiana counteracted him. A trace of exhaustion appeared on her pupils. Shi Tian appeared beside her.

One look between the two was all it took to know their next move.

Along with Kiana, he held the Judgement of Shamash. Its current empowered state came from her. The ultimate attack they will let out comes from Shi Tian. He hugged her from behind as they held Shamash’s handle together.

Bronya saw their rather-affectionate pose and held back some comments. Several Gundams appeared beside her: Turn A, Unicorn, and Quanta. They unleashed their ultimate states and momentarily held Kevin back.

Boom-!

A shower of black asteroids rained down. They melted down these mechs’ defenses, causing them to explode into varying lights.

These lights did not disperse, however, and turned into a tide that drowned him.

This momentary distraction was enough to finish the duo’s ultimate move.

An extremely huge phantom sword, enough to engulf the entire Moon, appeared above. It turned into an overwhelming surge of imaginary energy the next second. It connected with the Shamash in their grasp.

All Kevin saw next was the sword’s descent.

Zoom-!

RUMBLE-!

The entire Moon was reduced to a pile of space rubble.\

*****

A/N: The bonus chapter will come tomorrow.

Chapter 217: Crooked Thoughts

The three-dimensional plane has countless sub-layers. It is where the special Qi beneath the fifth level could be found. The fifth-level Qi and above can only be found in higher-dimensions.

Anti-Entropy thoroughly studied this regard during the past year. The combination of honkai technology and immortal cultivation produced some jaw-dropping artifacts. There is the automatic spirit stone condenser. Naturally, there is also the automatic Qi dispenser. 

It utilizes a special Pri-ARM made with the Gem of Desire. Its ability to manipulate fluids enabled them to capture these special Qi with ease. Over time, they improved this artifact to the fourth grade by converting Soulium into its immortal cultivation equivalent.

Since then, Anti-Entropy possessed hundreds of fourth grade Qi with varying effects.

Now that they were trapped inside this special Bubble World, they immediately brought out all the destructive ones.

“This feels more thrilling than setting off nuclear bombs.”

After a thorough inspection, Tesla’s golden eyes reverted to its prior color. She chose to specialize in Qi-Gazing which made her suitable to lead the main arrangements.

Einstein’s voice came from the other side of her comms.

“You have more penchant for explosions than I do. Wasn’t your re-designed mecha a part of it?”

“You won’t understand. Shi Tian is a visionary. All of his mech designs are very cool.”

Einstein was speechless. Tesla was convinced by Shi Tian’s ‘vision’ by bringing over all sorts of Gundam models in reality.

“The inspiration for this came from it. Turn A. Don’t you remember?”

“...That’s why it felt so familiar.”

Over three hundred destructive-type Qi are gathered together to form a special formation. Along with the Gem of Desire, they are all housed within Soulium nanomachines. Tesla and Einstein are responsible for tweaking them to perfection. Tesla focused on the nanomachines part while Einstein was left incorporating these Qi to them.

Finally, Welt Yang is responsible for manipulating this huge undertaking. The soulium they used all came from his usage of his remnant Herrscher Authority.

Tesla directed her words to Welt Yang.

“You know what to do. I want to see the Moonlight Butterfly in full view!”

“Got it.”

Welt Yang, who was on the receiving end, responded to her request.

‘It doesn’t sound bad.’ He thought. ‘Should I direct more funding for Arahato’s remake..?’’

It was he who supported Tesla whenever she geeked out. He is also Shi Tian’s supporter when it comes to truly knowing mech designs.

In short, the two of them love mechas with their heart.

It did not take long to finish setting things up. Midair, Welt Yang took full control of the soulium present. His slightly pale countenance slowly recovered under the use of pills. His forceful usage of the Herrscher Authority remnant exhausted him greatly.

Like the brightly lit stars in the sky, motes of colorful lights emerged. His connection with the soulium was top-notch. 

Welt Yang sensed the automatic changes undergoing inside them and no longer held back. Tesla and Einstein reconfigured them already.

All that’s left is to strike hard!

He fulfilled Tesla’s wish and spread these soulium akin to a pair of wings.

Hum-!

Buzz-!

All sorts of matter was destroyed save for its user. He did not waste any time as he converged all of the soulium into a single point, then to a line.

This Bubble World has an inexhaustible barrier. It is not as strong as the Bubble World personally created by the Sea of Quanta, but it is more than enough to keep Herrschers trapped for a long time.

The best choice is to converge all their power into a single point—akin to a needle—to destroy the barrier.

That was what Welt Yang did. The soulium nanomachines attacked the “barrier” in a single point.

Doctor MEI… or rather, her remnant will born out of the Bubble World looked at it happening in real-time. Her gaze turned to the dozen or so “S-Rank Valkyries” (i.e., Foundation Establishment cultivators) and sighed.

She could already see the outcome of Kevin’s fight. A hint of relief could be seen in her eyes.

“I… put too much burden on your shoulders.”

The last bit of humanity left from Doctor MEI, the same person who could willingly sacrifice thousands for the greater good, was the regret of being powerless to do anything but to place humanity’s burden in Kevin’s shoulders.

Rumble-!

The Bubble World soon collapsed along with the Previous Era’s regrets.

*****

There are only two requirements for the Herrscher of Finality to emerge:

First, the Authority of Origin.

Second, defeat Deliverance Kevin.

We already fulfilled one of the requirements.

Kiana’s attire changed into the familiar Finality battlesuit. It is the same attire that I tore during our chaotic dual cultivation sessions.

…

“Fu…”

I have to calm down. Dual cultivation addiction is a real thing. It is only five years. What would happen if we did it for hundreds of years?

Moderation is… not required. We progress in immortal cultivation with it. This also turned out to be the proper way to use the [Xiutian Art].

I have to strengthen my Tao Heart..!

Kiana opened her eyes. The star-like pattern on her irises glowed with more mysticism. Her already extraordinary temperament is further improved.

“This power feels familiar…” She muttered.

Her words prompted me to look at her more thoroughly.

Aside from her extremely gorgeous appearance, the power inside of her changed. It was no longer Void, but Finality. She possessed the authority of all Herrschers, including mine.

Unfortunately, it is only half of the complete Finality. The other half is held by Kevin—the fragment they stole with the Previous Era backdoor.

The [Encompassing Eyes] fed back some information and rearranged a few thousand knowledge points I once read.

{Authority: Void Refinement Realm (Incomplete)}

Finality…

It belongs to the Void Refinement Realm. 

I readied myself to this possibility. The Herrscher of the End possessed a Divine Transformation Realm Authority. 

Finality, who is stronger than the Previous Era’s End, surpasses that margin.

Nevertheless, it does not remove their weaknesses over weak body and mind. These two do not match the realm of their authorities, causing something as trivial as mental attacks to harm them greatly.

“I feel uber strong now!”

Kiana’s child-like remark made me laugh. It made her realize her small blunder, giving her face a tinge of blush.

“You’re not wrong. Maybe you can defeat me now.”

“Even in bed?” She asked eagerly.

“No. Do you want to try it again?”

“...How are you so strong?”

I felt speechless at her thought process.

Despite gaining Finality…

Her first thought is to use it during dual cultivation!

Chaptert 216: Before The Final Fight

After I spent time with Kiana, I did my final divination. Aside from my [Encompassing Eyes] that are absolutely busted, I added several other cultivation specializations over the years. The divination-exclusive ability, Hexagram Spirit, enhances one’s ability to peer through the temporal dimension.

After reaching the Nascent Soul Realm, I upgraded it first to the fifth level. It only took several days back in the Bubble World.

It proved to be a worthwhile investment.

Immortal cultivators proved to be more resilient and threatening than anyone thought. It was a fatal mistake to gather them together.

Welt…

He’s actually mobilizing the Herrscher Authority of Truth with his residual connection to it.

The scenes changed. The world in my sight remains pure black. White lines are present everywhere, seemingly leading to possible futures. Using deduction to view the events of the present is plausible with them.

In an instant, the situation of the entire ‘battlefield’ presented itself to my eyes. The Dao of Causality kept running. The Dharma Avatar behind me emitted a fog of white light. 

Soon, the deductions changed from the “past” to the possible futures.

Hum-!

The black surroundings turned into shattered glass. The manifestation of the temporal dimension emerged. 

I am currently on the “Present” plane. Both the “Past” and “Future” are covered in fog; therefore unaccessible. I can only resort to a less accurate divination using the Present’s information. Each shard showed a deduced possibility of the future. The larger it is, the more chances of it happening. Similarly, interfering with bigger shards will cause bigger backlashes.

I can mitigate a part of it with the [Encompassing Eyes] and Hexagram Spirit, though it will consume a huge chunk of my mental strength. I am still recovering from the two-time usage of [Nine Lives Burning Samsara Art]. The authority of Origin only mitigated my third usage of it. I am also saving its power up for other things.

I chose not to peer into the bigger shards. I did not need much details. Some of the smaller shards imply a lot of big events.

For instance, Kiana changing into the Herrscher of Finality battlesuit. We agreed she would use it after she became the Herrscher of Finality. This is one of the few loopholes divination masters can exploit.

Just then, a stark and dreary sensation assaulted me.

I looked forward and saw a huge glass shard. Nothing could be seen on it.

As expected…

Nihility is my biggest problem.

I cancelled my divination state. The mystical mirror-like world is replaced by reality.  Kiana’s worried look entered my sight.

“You saw something bad.”

“...”

Our five years of dual cultivation together isn’t in vain. She read through my thoughts in an instant.

Helplessly, I revealed:

“It’s an Aeon.”

“The gods from the outside world?” Her expression turned more bleak. “Did something bad happen to you?”

“I don’t know. I chose not to look at it.”

I had the intuition about the extreme backlash I will face upon looking at that glass shard. Being in the “Present” plane of the temporal dimension saved me. Had the “Future” not been foggy and I chose to divine from there, peeking at that shard would have severely injured me at least. It is the equivalent of receiving an Aeon’s direct gaze.

“Let’s not think of it now. We still have something to do.”

“...Um.”

The Core of Origin inside me emanated a blinding white light. My will turned into something more substantial, capable of affecting the real world. The vast power of a fifth level Tao Heart complemented its strengths. 

It did not take long for a wish to manifest tangibly. Thirteen different spots of light appeared in my vast spiritual consciousness. They corresponded to Herrscher Authorities. Four of them shone with exceptionally brilliant light—the awakened Herrschers.

The Herrscher of Finality began to take shape with my own hands.

*****

“I thought you stayed behind to buy time. I did not expect you to place much trust on them.”

On the Moon, the “corpse” of the Herrscher of the End remained. Nobody knows how she died, just that the huge statue on the far side of the Moon existed. Kevin visited this place every year since his discovery.

Standing beside him was none other than Su.

“Part of it is that. My disappearance made them ready. It is a cost-effective deal.”

Su possessed a hint of pride as he spoke. It was one of the rare moments where he showed this kind of emotion.

He crossed his arms behind his back. His eyes revealed a hint of melancholy at the view of the Herrscher of the End’s remains.

“What we couldn’t do, they can do now.” He paused as he continued, “See for it yourself. I know you can’t be convinced anymore.”

“Did you know about that darkness?”

“Of course.”

Su recalled the days when he assisted Shi Tian in suppressing Nihility’s influence inside him. That gave him the same impression as a high-dimensional entity—the Cocoon of Finality.

It is more vast than the Cocoon, however.

“The kid came to Earth in an accident. He was destined for a bigger world, yet fate brought us to him.”

“...You are confident he can handle it.”

“Why not?”

Su’s rhetorical question was met by Kevin’s silence. Just as how the latter could no longer be convinced verbally, Su has placed his entire bets on Shi Tian.

“Doctor MEI was right. There are other entities aside from the Cocoon of Finality inhabiting the Imaginary Tree.”

The mention of MEI’s name made Kevin freeze for a moment.

“That darkness you spoke of belongs to them. Their influence spreads far and wide, to various worlds so as to speak. A single thought is enough to determine the fate of humanity.”

“...I know. I could sense them.”

The Will of Honkai died due to the Previous Era’s backdoor. Kevin was able to receive the fragment of Finality due to it. His overwhelming power gave him perception unmatched by his prior self.

It was no longer within the realms of humanity, but of the gods.

That was how strong the Cocoon of Finality was.

He sensed not only the hidden entity nearby within the vast Sea of Quanta. He also caught a glimpse of a higher-dimensional entity with a slight connection to Su. They felt a lot like the “Aeons” they spoke of.

Su received Kevin’s prolonged gaze and realized something.

“So it isn’t my imagination.”

Though his cultivation realm stagnated at the early Purple Mansion Realm, his Tao Heart had reached the fourth level. This led to him discovering more things he did not know.

“Humanity… still has a long way to go.”

Chapter 215: Shi Tian's Narrow Escape

Bronya’s exclamation was met by silence.

Immediately, I silently channeled the Dao of Causality. My sight is filled with darkness. White lines lit up my surroundings, representing each branch of the future.

I looked through the thousands of futures. These futures are not definite, thus they can only be used as a reference.

I decided to not elaborate any further. Every time I said something, I made things worse.

I exhaled as I exited this special state. My sight returned to normal.

“We need to talk about our action plans.”

I skillfully shifted the topic away from it. Kiana’s apparent embarrassment eased along with the others’.

The Project STIGMA’s power forcefully transported everyone to varying places. The Moon, for instance, is where the children with stigma were sent. On the other hand, ordinary humans are sent to Imaginary Space. Their dreams will serve as a fuel for humanity’s Spiritual Adam. It will enhance the power of stigma of these children. It will also covertly turn them into a part of the honkai, thereby negating its proportionality law. The Honkai will no longer cause harm to humanity, achieving the goal of the Previous Era’s greatest minds.

There is only a little manpower left on Earth. Aside from Theresa, there was Fu Hua, Himeko, and Hyperion’s staff. Bronya was luckily left behind due to her stay at the Sea of Quanta. 

Overall, there are eight Golden Core Realm cultivators on Earth. They reached the pinnacle of the Golden Core Realm with the Tao Gifts.

Three of them are also awakened Herrschers. All of them stood around me.

“Our best bet in winning this all lies in the confrontation with Kevin. No matter what we do, unless he’s defeated, he will continue enacting Project STIGMA.”

I explained for a moment before giving out orders. 

Currently, Kevin is the priority. Nonetheless, not everyone can join that final confrontation. The next priority after that is the Imaginary Space where the conversion to the Spiritual Adam takes place. I have a feeling it will be beneficial to those with awakened stigma.

The Xuanyuan twins are bearers of Natural Stigma. If it weren’t for it, they wouldn’t have been able to hold on for a thousand years inside Chi You. Its powers are mystical.

I sent them out to that imaginary space along with Fu Hua.

“Find Sin first. She’s deeply entangled in that space.”

“That girl? I understand.”

Soon, the three women from Shenzhou left. They held the special peak fifth grade spiritual artifact I received. It is similar to a luopan compass. Imbued with the Dao of Causality, it is the pinnacle of what Nascent Soul cultivators can use. Adding my residual power, locating the chaotic Imaginary Space becomes easier.

It has some other functions that will be of great use to them, too.

Sin…

It is Hare’s misfortune to pull her inside that imaginary space. Sin has the Dao of Dreams and an abnormal Natural Stigma by her side. The power of the two is terrifying inside the world of humanity’s dreams.

Breaking the Spiritual Adam is an alternative winning condition for Kevin, though striking him is the best way to win.

“Bronya… Come with Seele and Veliona. Strike hard at the Bubble World trapping everyone else.”

“Copy.”

Seele looked between Bronya and I back and forth before running at my side. Her soft pink lips touched mine. Her eyes remained closed throughout the process. It did not last long as she pulled herself back. 

Only, the obsession in her eyes grew exceedingly stronger.

“You idiot! Now’s not the time for that!”

“Eh… Okay. See you later, Brother Tian.”

The three of them disappeared to the horizon.

Kiana, who is silent, suddenly leaned towards me. She aggressively bit on my lips before using her tongue to pry my mouth open. The remaining person here, Sirin, looked at us in a daze.

…

Don’t tell me…

She wants it too?

As if sensing my thoughts, Kiana clutched my chest. She separated herself from me and said:

“Don’t think of other girls while you are with me. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Nevertheless, she did not say anything to Sirin’s behavior. She chose to feast on my mouth instead. All kinds of flexible tongue tricks she knew are utilized. A burning sensation began to erupt inside my body.

The [Nine Dragons Primordial Universe Body] embodies the Dao of Permanence, showcasing the True Dragons’ virility. It further complemented the Dao of Life inside my body, increasing it to exaggerating heights.

I forcefully held these desires back. Had my Tao Heart not been strong enough, I would have faltered.

I separated from her this time; our breaths intertwined.

“You are a succubus.”

“That’s unfair. You are tempting me.”

“I am not doing anything.”

“You tempt me by existing.”

“...”

I remained speechless at her logic.

*****

Sin Mal is in her literal dream world. Her memories leading to her arrival here are blurry. Retaining her rationality proved to be a challenge.

Currently, she is at Cocolia’s office in the orphanage. Like a domineering CEO, she pushed the man of her dreams against the wall.

“...at’s wrong with you?”

“Isn’t it…”

Her consciousness remained blurred. She could barely make out of the “script” they were on in. Sin ‘threatened’ Shi Tian, to which the latter fell to her grasp.

Everything would have been fine. She would have enjoyed his affection… if it wasn’t for a slight flaw.

This is not the real Sin Mal.

At that moment, she woke up.

‘This isn’t what I want!’

It caused her entire dreamscape to collapse. It is replaced by a sea of endless white clouds.

“He wouldn’t be like that.”

Sin Mal’s true personality is the exact opposite of the domineering CEO.

She wanted to be dominated.

Shi Tian handled her with ease throughout their year together. It was these actions that spurred on the desires in her heart. The thought of him playing with her was enough to satisfy her. Her twisted mind enjoyed it thoroughly.

“Being attracted… no. I am sent here by something.”

Sin Mal recalled Earth’s greatest threat in their weekly briefing.

“...Project STIGMA. But why am I here?”

Little did she know, it was she who triggered the changes. Sin Mal was stationed at the Imaginary Space. She majored in the Dao of Dreams and possessed a Natural Stigma related to it. These things resonated with the Spiritual Adam formed from dreams. Its administrator, Hare, caught wind of it and decided to let this resonance take place.

As such, she wasn’t sent to the place where the stigma awakened are located.

“I need to find my way out.”

Just then, Sin Mal felt the resonance with these dreams and her once again. Just by existing, she could feel her supernatural power gain more strength. She is at the pinnacle of the Golden Core Realm like the others. Only two of her techniques are at [Great Accomplishment]; the rest are lagging behind.

But now, her understanding grew as she stayed in this place. Even her Tao Heart, which was at the fourth level, moved towards the fifth level.

“I will definitely surprise them! Hehe…”

Only Sin Mal’s proud laughter rang inside this space.

Chapter 214: Disaster-Causing Duck

I chose not to pursue the Project STIGMA’s matter within the Imaginary Space, but chose to retreat first. I returned back to the Elysian Realm. Seele crossed her arms as she stared at the masked man in the distance. The latter was badly beaten and battered. I could see traces of her resentment from his wounds alone.

Veliona gave me a stare. We stealthily established a mental connection.

‘Sorry.’

‘Hmph. It’s your fault.’

Her gaze isn’t harsh.

‘Seele is too volatile now. She’s too crazy for you.’

Seele is no longer the shy girl from before. The seven hundred years of living inside a closed repeating time loop differed from a normal seven hundred years of normal life.

Her frustrations led to a strong obsession.

‘I know. I will resolve it later.’

‘Alright…’

The conversation took a second. Seele’s body jolted as she looked at me with a tinge of embarrassment.

“He came here with ill intentions.” She hastily explained. “I knew he wouldn’t be convinced until he was beaten down so…”

Elysia, who was behind me, peeked at him.

“Kalpas? These are my guests~”

“...”

The broken half of his mask showed his bewilderment. In the end, he stood up and left silently.

“Do you want to stay here?” 

I asked Miss Pink Elf beside me.

“I want to sit on the front seat~”

“If you say so.”

I shrugged and asked the still embarrassed Seele to take her back into the Bubble World. This time, she possessed the memories of Elysia prior to her death. The entire Bubble World remained nestled within Seele.

My Dharma Avatar manifested behind me. Its hundreds of meters tall figure did not cause any disturbance to the Elysian Realm.

My supernatural powers have evolved to be a part of the Dharma Avatar—an aspect. The Dao of Clouds surged forth. The [Cloud Seeking Steps] ran swiftly, further complementing it. 

A fraction of a second passed before we arrived in front of the torn imaginary barrier. Several people kept watch over it.

“Principal.”

“Ahm? It’s you…”

Theresa gained several centimeters of height, but aside from it, she gained nothing else. She remained stuck at the pinnacle of the Purple Mansion Realm.

“Will they be fine?”

She referred to Kiana and the others who chose to confront Otto.

“Don’t underestimate her strength. She’s stronger than you now, pr… Overseer.”

“...”

Theresa looked speechless and melancholic at the mention of that title.

“You must have come across her. Sirin.”

“...Yes.”

I immediately saw through Theresa’s internal conflict when we arrived. I wanted to help her resolve this issue once and for all. In her eyes, Otto is her grandfather. No matter how much evil he had caused, his care for her will never be changed. 

“You can mourn for him. That’s the best outcome.”

“...”

After patting her petite shoulders, I headed to Bronya. Seele and Veliona followed me from behind. I saw the place where Kiana, Fu Hua, and Sirin entered the Imaginary Space from. 

Like the Sea of Quanta, the Imaginary Space is a chaotic place where two or more dimensional planes converge. Its mark on the three-dimensional plane is as bright as the sun above.

“Did the Overseer ask you about your growth?”

Bronya did not reply and looked at me strangely.

“How did you know?” She asked.

“It’s her lifelong goal to grow up. How could she remain unmoved after seeing you?”

Bronya’s physical changes are far too big to ignore. She and Theresa were once of the same height. 

Now, Bronya is a head taller than her with mature features, to boot.

“I told her to temper her Tao Heart. She seemed very eager when she asked. I am afraid it will take a while.”

“Not really. I am wealthy now.”

Five years of gacha is not without any warrants. The number of spiritual artifacts, pills, spiritual plants, and treasures I gained numbered in the thousands. I can easily provide everyone with spiritual artifacts and plants that will counter the Heart Demon Tribulation. Anything that can be solved by money is no longer a problem.

After talking to Bronya, it was Seele who took my place. The sight of their “reunion” made me feel guilty. It was I who pushed her to live for seven hundred years in that damned loop.

Fortunately, talking with Bronya eased its drawbacks. Her Tao Heart remained stable. It means that these ‘obsessions’ aren’t major. Resolving them would do.

We waited for a while until three figures emerged. Kiana instantly moved in front of me and locked me in a hug.

“Okay. My Tianium energy is restored!”

“You really wanted to show off.”

I couldn’t help but comment.

I looked around and received Fu Hua’s gaze. I greeted her with a nod as she did the same.

“Here. Your assignments.”

She passed on a jade slip. I read its contents and got dazed for a while.

It actually is…

No.

That shouldn’t be it.

Kiana’s findings showed the changed environment of the Imaginary Tree. She noted the appearance of a spirit vein higher than the eighth grade, the Dao Integration Realm. It is at this stage that one goes beyond the eleven dimensions, digging further into thousands of other spatial dimensions. Its complexity can be described as “infinite”.

The Imaginary Tree is only in eleven dimensions. The knowledge revealed in the game cannot be changed arbitrarily.

A sense of deja vu struck over me.

…

No way.

The honkai gave us immortal cultivation hacks. The enemies we faced, on the other hand, are fake cultivators of their respective stages. Herrschers possess Golden Core Realm authorities but are very weak in terms of frontal combat.

The Cocoon of Finality must have a limit. Meaning, our cultivation hacks might end anytime soon.

Now that the Imaginary Tree showed these changes…

Isn’t it just a higher version of honkai cultivation hacks?

I pressed my excitement down. Now is not the time for it.

“Finish recharging soon. We need to confront your ancestor later.”

“Hum.”

I stood still while receiving the others’ gazes. Our connection together is strong enough to manifest tangibly.

Bronya was about to say something when I felt its slight ominousness. It doesn’t bring much harm. I am also curious about it, so I let it be.

“Did you two have sex together?”

“““...”””

Oh, goodness.

I should have prevented this from happening.

Chapter 213: Herrscher of Origin

The Herrscher of Origin is someone born out of impossible odds occurring at an impossible time, turning it possible. It should have never existed, yet it did.

It is an anomaly capable of granting one’s wishes. 

In the Previous Era, Elysia used it to alter the Cocoon of Finality, allowing the Herrschers of the Current Era to retain their humanity and fight for humanity.

It did not change the fact that Elysia was gone. Everything that returns to the Imaginary Tree disappears forever.

Nonetheless, a trace of her—of the Authority of Origin—remained somewhere. It is the use of Vill-V’s compass. She passed onto Elysia’s last will with her own words, and at the same time, allowed Raiden Mei to become the Herrscher of Origin.

Circumstances lined up well at that time, though it is different now.

Fortunately, the existence of the Bubble World Elysia allowed “Elysia” to exist in the living world once more. Coupled with Vill-V’s compass and the influence of an immortal cultivator, we managed to pull through and attract the Authority of Origin to our side.

I looked inside my chest and found a dazzling core inside. Its light is tinged with gold, white, and pink.

My Tao Heart became extremely strong, too. From the beginning of the fifth level, it surged all the way to the edge of the sixth level. The opportunity of re-visiting my sincerest moment reminded me of why I fight.

The first three levels of Tao Heart nurture one’s mindset. The fourth level signifies the ability to adapt to the ideas around them while creating their unique beliefs. The fifth level gives emphasis over the “self”, making each Nascent Soul Realm cultivator possess an unbelievable mental state.

As expected, the honkai hacks are still absurd up to now.

I shook my head at these thoughts.

I decided to pick up on Elysia’s offensive.

“I didn’t want to assume back then. I only treated everyone as friends back then.”

“So you are very dense!”

“Yes.”

I did not deny it.

“I am the type to wait for them to make the first move.”

“I thought you would be… bolder.”

“There are a lot more to people than you see.”

“...You remind me of someone.”

“Eden?”

She nodded.

“Did you know her from the game?”

“Yes.”

Elysia saw through my ‘deepest’ memories in my past life. Not that I cared much to hide it.

“There are a lot of things I would like to talk to you about, but now’s not the time.”

“You have a keen pair of eyes.”

The two Elysias merged back into one. The process of guiding the Authority of Origin exhausted her. My burnt lifespan was nothing compared to her current situation.

Of course, I wouldn’t let her disappear like that.

The power of wishes manifested on my fingertips. Origin is a strange power that is not tied to my current Nascent Soul Realm. It is affected by thoughts instead. The purer and more sincere it is, the more potent wishes become. My Tao Heart helps a lot in this regard.

Hum-!

Another five thousand years of my lifespan got burnt. My Dharma Avatar turned into a crown once again, granting me a one-time power over the Divine Laws—the Divine Realm.

The sense of weakness that appears after burning lifespan did not appear this time. Origin shouldered it alongside my wish to keep Elysia by my side.

The Dao of Yin-Yang involves destruction and creation. The power to nurture all things appeared in my grasp. Her dilapidated state disappeared. Replacing it is her prime state, as if she did not exert much power for Origin.

The crown atop my head dissipated into motes of light.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

“This power is more convenient than I thought.” I commented.

“...If you say so.”

Elysia held back saying something this time.

Just then, I noticed a supernatural seed sprouting within my Nascent Soul. The process of it turning into a supernatural power, and then its integration into my Dharma Avatar occurred naturally.

The seventeenth aspect of my Dharma Avatar emerged: the Dao of Miracles.

It began to resonate with the Core of Origin inside my chest. This connection only served to strengthen its power of wishes.

My heart skipped a beat.

I looked at it, and then to the vague connection between me and the almost forgotten Stigma Space I left within the imaginary space. The mental power of a peak Void Refinement Realm cultivator and Nihility’s influence remained in an equilibrium, though the former grew weaker. A quick glance at the latter made me aware of an impending disaster—which came off as unsurprising.

After all, the major threat I readied ourselves for the past five years wasn’t Kevin nor Project STIGMA.

It is IX.

Nihility’s influence remained normal on the surface, but into the depths of the higher dimensions, it is calling for Nihility’s gaze.

Once it happens…

The Black Sun will descend onto Earth.

*****

The Imaginary Tree is an “unreachable” existence; the concept of infinite applies to it. Even when it is but an inch away from the Imaginary Space, nobody will be able to reach it.

On the off chance they do, they will be instantly obliterated by the overwhelming higher-dimensional powers present.

Only the Herrscher of the Void possessed a loophole to turn this impossible task into a possible one.

Kiana did as she was told. She struck Otto with Void Renormalization, capable of temporarily turning the “infinite” into “finite”. It is a conceptual attack that produced a loophole within the Imaginary Tree, allowing him to reach and alter one of its branches.

The battle between the four of them wasn’t fulfilling. Otto’s imaginary barrier inside the imaginary space was stronger than the one outside. He was empowered by the Will of Honkai, granting him unlimited reserves of honkai energy. The power of Binding he controlled through Domination nullified even the Golden Core Realm’s attacks. He is the equivalent of a fully-awakened Herrscher of Binding without the restraints of a physical body.

In the end, Kiana dealt him the final blow and banished him from this world forever.

Fu Hua looked at the seemingly close yet distant Imaginary Tree with a complex gaze.

‘Everyone is the result of their choices. It is what he wanted the most.’

She no longer said anything to Otto’s final actions. The world is not just black and white. He caused millions of deaths directly, but he also saved millions with his actions against the honkai.

Words could not be used to fully explain the man named Otto Apocalypse.

Sirin appeared to be in a daze as well. Only Kiana was seen experimenting on something.

Shiing-!

She utilized Void Renormalization once more and pierced through a gap to the Imaginary Tree. What was once unreachable is now within her grasp.

A powerful corrosive force instantly tried to destroy her. It stopped once she successfully cast [Two Phase Art].

Immediately, the surroundings were filled with the aura of thousands of different Daos.

She recalled her prior knowledge and roughly estimated the level of the Imaginary Tree.

‘Tribulation Transcendence Realm…’

*****

A/N: To keep track, his Dao are the following: Fire, Earth, Water, Wind, Metal, Sword, Cloud, Causality, Yin-Yang, Extremity, Ice, Enlightenment, Life, Void, Permanence, Time, Mirror, and Miracles.

Chapter 212: Past Image

“Hm…”

The alarm clock hasn’t rang yet when the rays of sunlight seeped through the blinders. I woke up to find out I hadn't properly closed it last night.

Looking at the phone beside my bed, I found out it was 7 AM in the morning. The university I am in does not offer much freedom in this regard. Once you pick a course, there’s already a set of other courses to take. We are lucky to be able to choose when to take the optional courses, however.

It just so happened that there’s one at 8 AM today.

I stayed on the bed for a while and rubbed my eyebrows. The all-nighter from before utterly exhausted my will to attend any classes today.

Apart from the optional course, I have a major course at 2 PM. 

So…

…

…

…

I woke up with a strong headache five hours later. The sleep I sought for did not come to me.

I lazily stood up from my bed and did my usual routine. Taking a shower, brushing my teeth, picking up my lunch…

All sorts of thoughts flew inside my mind.

Being in the university sucks a lot. They overload you with things your high school teachers wouldn’t have taught yet. There is a lot of catching up depending on which school you studied at.

I am lucky enough to study in a good school, that’s all.

Even then, there is also the social aspect. Being an outcast only made my life more miserable during the first year. I wasn’t the type to socialize nor to initiate conversations. The best I could do is to put up some false front.

I missed out on a lot of things. Friendship, review materials, review sessions, and of course, having good group members in a group project.

I broke out of this cage during my second year. I found out that some students here are easy to talk to—even girls. 

It’s just that… 

Being the only guy in a group of girls feels very awkward. I do not stay with them for very long. The rest of my time was spent playing games, if not cramming for the projects whose deadlines are tomorrow.

Of course, I wasn’t that undisciplined. It was our professors who stack upon one project after another, as if they were the only professors we have that entire sem… when there are twelve of them.

I shook my head at these annoying thoughts.

I looked at the clock and saw an hour and a half remaining. I can use this to revise for a term exam tomorrow or…

Do my dailies.

I sat on a free bench and pulled out my phone. Like a true gacha slave, there are five games within a single folder. Fortunately, my foldable phone has enough specs to split-screen two games at once.

First, Wuthering Waves and Honkai Star Rail.

The latter can be done at autopilot at this point. The former’s mechanics do not require extensive gameplay, either. I finished them both in less than five minutes.

Then, Genshin Impact.

It struck hard during the pandemic. Even though I lost the spark I once had for this game, I cannot bring myself to let it go. One of its perks was its slightly improved dailies… though it is a cope at this point.

I played Zenless Zone Zero alongside it. Compared to Genshin Impact, its dailies are easier to do. I used three of my fingers nimbly to control the characters below while navigating as Furina with my other fingers.

After that, there was one last game.

Honkai Impact 3rd.

I stared at my phone in a daze. The usual greenery around me brought a weird sense of relaxation. It felt like I had something stuck in my chest, but now, it is gone.

It marked my beginning to the gacha descent. Its advertisement of the Fifth Major Eruption (Manila Eruption) was all over Youtube back then. I felt curious about the game and downloaded it.

Then…

There’s nothing left to say.

The story was boring at the early stages. I used to skip through most of it, only reading some parts to get a gist of it.

Things changed during the Will of the Herrscher. Things turned more serious… and dark. Instead of the comedic and somewhat lightheaded start, they killed a major character… Major Himeko.

Since then, I was locked into the story. I followed on through their journey to the Sea of Quanta, Bronya’s Cyberangel, Lament of the Fallen, MEi’s chopstick heels (to which I found to be impossible to wear), Shattered Samsara, and finally, Everlasting Flames. 

A series of despairing events, though they were swept away by a hope-filled theme. The years of fighting alongside the casts made me feel more attached to this game than before.

Heck, I even threw my free-to-play status just to max my Valkyries out. Every fully-built valkyrie stands on a sea of money… my money.

I regret nothing.

The story itself started to get very convoluted in the later parts. Every technobabble they spat out made me lose my mind. 

For example, Mei’s “compass” prior to her Herrscher of Origin status. It was supposed to be a compass at first, and then it’s a message, until finally, it was actually a legitimate beacon for the Authority of Origin to come down to her.

Unfortunately…

All good things have an end.

Part 1 ended. Kiana, the protagonist, slept on the Moon. She took away all of the world’s honkai, including Herrscher Cores. I could still remain attached to it when APHO (A Post Honkai Odyssey) and Part 1.5 (Vita) came, but slowly lost interest when Part 2 came.

Like Genshin Impact, I lost my heart playing my first ever gacha game. Although, I never forgot the impact it brought. The power to remain hopeful in seemingly bleak situations, even if it leads to a bad ending, is a profound life lesson.

The fears I once had—of dying in my sleep because of this shitty congenital heart disease—disappeared.

What would you do if you came to that world?

A question suddenly rang in my mind. My heart started beating quickly.

It is a fictional world, but if I do come to it one day…

I want to meet Kiana.

To the brilliant person that transcended the barriers of reality and fiction to bring a huge impact to my life, I want to thank her.

What else?

I want to belong to it. To intervene at some crucial times. Major Himeko’s death can sod off somewhere else. That’s one of the examples. 

In truth…

I want to be remembered.

I want to give back the profound impact they gave to me. I want to know more about these people—to talk with them. I have a feeling they will turn out to be great, no doubt about it.

All of my thoughts turned into a deep sigh.

I unknowingly dozed off from reality. Maybe it is what I needed after a tiring week.

Just as I stood up, I saw someone.

My jaw almost dropped.

A perfect, one-to-one Elysia cosplayer, stood three meters away from me. She wore the most beautiful Herrscher of Human Ego battlesuit I saw.

I met her brilliant blue eyes.

Something inside me clicked.

I…

…

My memories returned to me all at once. I brought the two Elysias to the Imaginary Space, hoping I could take on Origin's Authority.

Then...

This 'illusion' popped up. It turned out to be the trial I needed to face, though I was surprised it turned out to be like this.

The nostalgic memory I had in my university dissipated, replaced by an endless expanse of pale pink clouds. The vulnerability and emotions I felt are very real, however.

“Isn’t this an invasion of privacy, Miss Pink Elf?”

“Maybe~”

Her eyes contained a hint of playfulness within them.

“No wonder you can swoon cute girls. You are a clueless hot guy in your past life!”

“...”

Chapter 211: Meeting At The Tree

Kiana, the two Xuanyuans, Bronya, and Sirin headed to Klostern. Along the way, they saw the strangely-frozen Earth below. Finality’s authority granted control over time. Most of the humans on Earth had already been sent to Imaginary Space. Their physical body had long turned into something else. The longer they spend inside the Imaginary Space, the more thorough the transformation becomes—until they merge into a Spiritual Adam that empowers those who wield the powers of stigma.

By then, humans will no longer be affected by the honkai and its Proportionality Law, thus quelling all disasters caused by the honkai.

Kiana was preoccupied by another matter.

‘...She’s struggling to hold it back.’

She looked towards Sirin. The latter hid it ‘quite’ well, but not from Kiana. Her brewing murderous intent was strong enough to drive someone crazy.

Sirin can forgive Siegfried. She can forgive Welt Yang too. She just so happened to be on the opposite side of humanity during the second eruption. There was nothing wrong with their intent to kill her. There was also Theresa who repeatedly wanted to ‘save’ her. Fu Hua’s attempted murder was also up there. 

Even more so was Cecilia. She was the one that planted the seeds of her dream about an ‘ordinary life’.

However, there is one man she wouldn’t forgive.

Otto Apocalypse.

No matter what happens, even if it is the end of the world, she will kill Otto.

Kiana did not force her to forget about it. Someone as kind as her finds Otto detestable, what more of Sirin whose entire life was ruined due to his actions?

Kiana opened up the mental connection between the two. It is the common trait for those with similar souls that has cultivated an auxiliary technique.

‘We will be there soon. Do you want to…’

‘Yes.’

The usually silent Sirin decisively spoke out. 

‘I want to see him die.’

‘...’

Kiana said no more.

Sending Otto into the Imaginary Tree will accomplish their mission, and at the same time, cause his complete death. Otto himself wants it to happen. All that’s left for Kiana is to push him towards it.

Soon, the five of them arrived at their destination. Across them was the imaginary barrier made by Otto.

Kiana tried using the [Two Phase Art] but to no avail. It is not within the scope of an independent energy system—someone is controlling it.

Bronya summoned a dozen Selene devices at once. They took the form of floating pyramid-shaped beam weapons. The burden of her Herrscher Core, now awakened as Truth, could be handled by her Golden Core Realm physique with ease.

The dozen floating Selene interacted with the imaginary barrier. The temperature around them started to rise. The energy within the said barrier is forcibly being converted into heat.

It did not take long for a hole to melt at the barrier.

The moment it happened, she interacted with the spiritual consciousness belonging to Fu Hua.

She instantly appeared in front of them. Her gaze turned towards Bronya and then to Kiana. It turned complicated when she met the gaze of the two Xuanyuans, and was surprised when she saw the silent Sirin.

Her thoughts ran fast as it turned into a light sigh.

“Did you know about his plans?” She turned and asked Kiana. “He demanded your presence and nothing else.”

“Hum. Tian told it to me when he gave the divine key to him back then.”

“So that’s how it is.”

Everything clicked in her mind. Otto was surprised that Kiana wasn’t there when he lured Theresa and the others. He did catch Welt Yang and Fu Hua, which partially fulfilled his ‘agreement’ with the World Serpent. That was what he used in exchange for the Second Divine Key’s beacon.

Fu Hua, despite being a Golden Core cultivator with the Herrscher Core of Souls, is very incompatible with the imaginary barrier Otto created.

Ultimately, it was caused by Fu Hua’s mishap when looking for Domination’s Herrscher Cores. One of them was missing and could not be found throughout Earth. It was Otto who hid it in the imaginary space along with the Theater of Domination.

His “contract” with the Will of the Honkai took place after that. It granted him a bonafide connection with the Cocoon of Finality as well as the unlimited honkai energy reserves. Otto used up Domination to harness the authority of Binding, which led to him harnessing control over imaginary energy itself.

Fu Hua could not do anything to the False God Otto as long as ‘he’ remained hidden. This resulted in a deadlock where the two could not do anything to each other. That was until Bronya came and easily disabled his imaginary barrier.

“I will meet him.”

“Are you sure? He is dangerous.”

“Tian left me some assignments to do.”

“I will come with you.”

Fu Hua did not hesitate to come forward.

“Okay.”

Like that, the assignments are completed. Fu Hua, Sirin, and Kiana will head to where Otto is located. Everyone else is responsible for overseeing further changes on Earth.

Kiana channeled her will into her Herrscher Core. 

Five minutes ago, it underwent a subtle change. 

The Golden Core Realm forcibly opened up the essence of the Herrscher Core itself, causing it to awaken. It is a result of immortal cultivation interacting with the honkai.

Her authority was no longer restricted to the Void. She became the Herrscher of Time. All eleven dimensions, including the temporal dimension, can be interacted to a huge extent.

With her will, a ‘door’ appeared in front of them. On the other side was a sea of bright orange light. Kiana created a pathway to the imaginary space at will.

She did not waste much time and set the door’s destination to Otto’s location, the Theater of Domination.

Gone was the walking Tuna in-game, replaced by a Tuna who abused her teleportation hacks to their fullest extent. The major complaints of her lacking a mount does not matter if she can teleport to their destination in one go.

“I was ready to force you here. I did not expect you to come at your initiative.”

His gaze swept Fu Hua. 

“What brings you here, old friend?”

His gaze did not stop and paused at Sirin. The latter’s murderous intent was thick enough to not notice.

“I never expected we would meet again.”

Sirin did not speak. Even if she could, all she will let out are murderous words.

“Shall we continue your theatrics or head to the main part quickly?”

Kiana’s question sent Otto’s mind into a halt. One of his expectations turned out to be true.

He let out a light laugh.

“He knew about it from the beginning? Nothing less from someone I could not read properly.”

Otto did not directly meet Shi Tian, but the latter’s abnormal tactics—akin to a huge information gap—bewildered him. Shi Tian was able to read and know Otto’s intent, but the latter could not do the same to him.

Otto already had this suspicion when the trade for the Second Divine Key occurred. Once he received the beacon from Kevin and studied it further, he reached the conclusion of needing the Second Herrscher’s authority to reach the Imaginary Tree. Only then can he alter its branches and revive Kallen.

Such strict conditions, yet Shi Tian planned three steps ahead of him. 

“Let’s skip the theatrics this time.” 

Otto’s smile turned into a serious expression.

“Come at me with your strongest, Kiana.”

*****

A/N: Bonus chapter will come a few hours later.

Chapter 210: Two Elysias are Always Better Than One Elysia

A Golden Core Realm cultivator is the equivalent of a planetary nuke. I sent five of them to Otto. There’s no problem with them beating him up first before Kiana utilizes her Void Renormalization power.

For now, the matter at hand is more important.

It took another second to appear at the Elysian Realm’s entrance.

“...”

“Hello.”

I greeted the stunned Gray Serpent avatar. 

“You… aren’t supposed to be here.”

Unlike the cold and mechanical Gray Serpent I faced, his voice is more expressive.

“Yet I am here. Meeting you today is fate.”

“...”

He simply gave way to us three. When he saw my questioning looks, he replied:

“It’s meaningless to prevent you from breaking in. I am made of old cogs.”

“...”

It is my turn to be speechless.

I know him. He is the Gray Serpent who is the closest to Raven. He is the most humane of them all, going as far as to sacrifice himself to contain the Herrscher of Corruption. He also cared for the children brought by Raven.

Before entering the simulation world, I left behind some words.

“Project STIGMA won’t succeed.”

“...”

After sending the message to the Gray Serpent network, we stepped inside. 

Buzz-!

The world changed in a blink. The disorienting sensation attempted to overwhelm my senses, but to no avail. The same went for Seele and Veliona. We resisted the ‘force’ that attempted to transport us elsewhere, leaving us in this world filled with 0’s and 1’s.

I saw traces of copying the Sea of Quanta’s chaotic nature, but to a smaller scale. It only houses the six-dimensional plane, too. 

Nonetheless…

We bugged the system.

I took matters into my own hands. A swipe of my fingertip revealed a slit leading to the other side.

Seele looked around with familiarity. She soon noticed my looks.

“I visited this place a couple of times. Most of them are eccentric, mostly the Miss Pink Elf.”

“...”

I knew what she wanted to talk about.

Thinking of the Elysia I knew, it wasn’t far off. What she wanted the most is to be an ordinary girl. It is why she likes ordinary girls as she sees her ideal self on them.

Honkai Impact 3rd has a lot of nuances only the players themselves would understand. To the eyes of others, they come off as eccentric and, like Seele’s description, a sexual offender.

“Hm..?”

Speak of the devil.

The place we landed in is Elysia’s “Realm”. Each Flamechaser has a separate space inside the Elysian Realm.

The Miss Pink Elf looked at us in confusion.

“There isn't much time left for explanations. Seele.” I called out to her.

“Um.”

The Bubble World inside of her turned active. Waves of energy belonging to the Sea of Quanta came from her. The energy is huge enough to cause instability inside the Elysian Realm.

Although, it did not last for long.

A perfectly identical Elysia manifested in front of us. She did not say anything as she stared at the simulated Elysia. The latter did not say anything as well.

After some time, the simulated Elysia broke her silence.

“I did not expect to entrust it to you. I was looking for a beautiful girl to pass it on to.”

“That is a specific requirement.” I replied.

“You will work fine. As long as you dress up as a g…”

“No.”

I expressed my firm refusal, though I knew she was just joking.

“I am not joking.”

“...”

“Just kidding~”

I finally understood why Mobius had troubles handling Elysia’s teasing attempts.

“This would have been easier if we met at the right conditions.”

Her sigh turned into these words of regret.

“Who said I can’t bring you and the compass to Project STIGMA’s space?”

“Ah~?”

Despite being confused, her head tilt remained very cute.

“Hold my hand.”

“How bold~”

“Yes, yes.” I added, “Even you, too.”

The Bubble World Elysia was startled.

“You are not satisfied with one Elysia. You wanted to have two?”

“Two is better than one.”

“...”

It is my shamelessness that trumped Elysia this time.

With a swipe of my hand, the Origin Beacon hidden inside the Elysian Realm manifested atop my palm in the form of a glowing white orb.

Buzz-!

In front of my eyes, the two Elysias gained a ‘physical substance’. Her power fell short by a huge mark. This is where I come in.

Bright red flames surrounded my body. The [Nine Lives Burning Samsara Art] worked wonders, transforming my “lifespan” into a tangible power.

The hundred-meters tall Dharma Avatar appeared behind me. It exists in a semi-transparent state. The burning flames gradually converged into its chest.

Due to my Nascent Soul Realm breakthrough, the required lifespan to bridge the gap to the Divine Transformation Realm decreased. Five thousand years is all it took to empower my Dharma Avatar.

Swoosh-!

The avatar itself collapsed into crumbs of white light before converging into a circular shape. It took form into a halo of sorts.

The crown represented the [Divine Realm].

“Wait here for a while.”

“...”

Seele’s gaze coalesced into strong possessiveness. Her jealousy seeped through her eyes.

“That girl loves you a lot.”

“And she’s not the only one.”

“Oh~? This is starting to sound more interesting.”

The joint attack of two Elysias threatened my side once again.

Not wanting to face them anymore, I utilized the Divine Laws within my [Divine Realm] to form a stable bridge towards Project STIGMA’s imaginary space. 

The space slit in front of us turned into a huge crack. The other side revealed a vast expanse of bright orange light.

The last bit of my power was used to strengthen the two Elysias’ connection towards somewhere. Their physical forms became more solid.

Right after I was finished, a sense of loss welled up inside of me. My entire being felt weakened.

““Are you alright?””

The two Elysias asked at the same time.

“Yes. It will take some time to recover… but we should head there now.”

Just like that, we treaded back to the Imaginary Space.

*****

“This power.”

Far away on the Moon, Kevin oversaw Earth’s changes.The Will of Honkai no longer existed; the fragment of Finality gained by the Previous Era’s backdoor ended up in his hands.

As he had expected, the Finality Fragment is a powerful yet destructive authority. The rejection he bore alone aimed to destroy every fiber of his being. He only managed to take hold of it after using all of his remaining strength.

A part of Finality’s Fragment flowed towards Hare, the core of Project STIGMA. This further helped Kevin cope with its burden.

“I am not mistaken.”

He recalled his prior discoveries within Shi Tian. A part of his power belonged to other worlds. That darkness, aiming to dissolve all things into meaninglessness, can end humanity in an instant.

However, there was something that held it back—the mental power of a peak Void Refinement Realm cultivator.

Despite not being a complete Void Refinement Realm power, that alone is enough to suppress Nihility’s power. It demonstrated the full-might and potential of immortal cultivators. It is also the main reason why Kevin became more lenient with humanity.

He saw a new future through immortal cultivation.

Project STIGMA serves as its final hurdle. If they can get past it—and Kevin—he is more than willing to accept their means of defeating the honkai.

Everything that Shi Tian did within the Elysian Realm did not elude his eyes. The Divine Transformation Authority is inferior with Finality itself, but it is stronger than anything else.

Finality’s Fragment made Kevin realize that there are still a lot of things they missed out in the Previous Era. His judgement no longer remained as resolute as before.

For the first time in a long time, he started to have expectations.

Whatever outcome may remain in the end…

“I will see to it.”

Chapter 209: Where it All Began

The Sea of Quanta is a special place. Each dimension is separated by a “plane”, hence the first, second, third, fourth, and so on. The more directions it has, the more planes it possesses.

The Sea of Quanta projects all eleven dimensions within the three-dimensional plane. Meaning, the weird structures we come across are actually products of other dimensions, just that it appears three-dimensional within our eyes.

The Nascent Soul Realm’s perspective revealed this truth to me. The Sea of Quanta is filled with these projections akin to the Cocoon of Finality’s Herrscher Core Projections. These came from varying sources, with all of them remaining elusive in our eyes.

Other than that, there are phenomena where a strange fusion of two or more dimensional planes emerge. It was similar to stitching the third and fifth dimension together, creating a tangled, chaotic mess. The center of it is destructive. Its aftershocks emanate its weakened effects within its radius. 

These phenomena are the reason why any sense of direction does not work inside the Sea of Quanta.

Fortunately, this no longer works on me. I am a Nascent Soul cultivator whose life level touched upon the higher dimensions. I am powerful enough…

…

I should really stop distracting myself now.

Looking at the two silent and affectionate women by my side, I could only bite the bullet. Nobody said a word which contributed to this atmosphere. I cannot judge if it is a good thing or not. I chose not to touch upon it.

Kiana and Seele began a ‘competition’ of sorts. They fiddled with my fingers and threw away some affectionate acts now and then. It’s basically handholding and kissing. Only, the biggest challenge came from the fact that I need to balance them both.

Simply put, a harmonious harem first lay on me. Equal treatment is necessary, or else things become unsavoury. 

Seele, in particular, kept testing my limits. Her exaggerated eagerness and quickened breaths almost felt overwhelming. As a result, the Tuna was riled up too. She was unlike the inexperienced Seele. Having known me well for five years, she knew what would rile me up. It is a challenge to my self-control at this point—to my Tao Heart.

I could feel the other four behind us watch this intently. 

My saving grace was my [Cloud Seeking Steps]. Its [Great Accomplishment] mastery, coupled with my Nascent Soul Realm cultivation, allowed me to step onto ‘clouds’ (i.e., universe) freely. Its maximum speed reached the base speed of peak Nascent Soul Realm cultivators, a hundred times the speed of light.

Even without any direction, I used it to brute-force our way out. It took five minutes to find the inactive Eye of the Deep as well as Bronya.

I wasn’t surprised by her physical body’s exaggerated growth. The Golden Core Realm is the second-to-the-last stage where the physical body follows its most optimized version. If she is still a little duck at this point, Bronya has a problem.

“As I thought, this is the best outcome.”

“““...”””

I was left speechless. Even when she gave me her nod of approval, no words escaped my mouth.

“Did it already start?” I asked.

“Yes. Everyone else is unreachable.”

With a simple spiritual consciousness connection, she transmitted the complete details of what happened when we were gone.

Otto and Kevin…

It’s not surprising. I left Otto out to visit the Imaginary Tree. I have a vague feeling it would be helpful back then. The hexagrams I cast now only confirm it. As for Kevin, his true intention is to test everyone. A change of mind occurred with him.

Though the strange phenomena over the fourth dimension remains unknown, my hexagrams can still be partially trusted.

“Got it. There are a few places we need to visit first. Bronya and Kiana need to come to Klostern and set everyone free. You can engage with Otto inside the Imaginary Tree if needed. Seele comes with me.”

Kiana only sent a subtle grievous look as she nodded. I am lucky to have someone as understanding as her.

With the planning stage over, I took the lead when we left the Sea of Quanta. 

Originally, the Eye of the Deep was needed for this endeavor. Things change with a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Hum-!

Pssshk-!

My fingertip tore through dimensions like a fabric. Earth lies on the three-dimensional plane. It is not hard to create a passageway leading to it. It is but one of my basic powers.

The moment we stepped out, a foreign power attempted to send us elsewhere. The connection with my long-dormant Herrscher Core awakened once more. 

I did not mind this phenomenon. A Dharma Avatar appeared behind me. It is a hundred meters tall golden-orange projection of myself. It bore the translucent armor phantom of my Tao Body. The Dharma Laws of Yin-Yang, Void, and Extremity embodied a primal destructive force unseen by the world!

Shatter-!

My Dharma avatar dissipated into the wind. The power forcing us inside a certain Bubble World disappeared.

Seeing everyone’s confused looks, I explained what happened.

“It’s good you waited for us.”

“Yes.”

Bronya gave out her typical seal of approval—a nod. The two women by my side released my arms. I felt slightly more relaxed.

“Once you arrive there, don’t hesitate to strike at it with great force. The barrier containing the Principal and others has a limit.”

“The Selene.” Bronya muttered.

“Yes.” 

Having explained it to her before, Bronya knew how to handle the rest.

Like that, everyone else aside from Seele and Veliona departed for Klostern. A swift sweep of my spiritual consciousness revealed the desolate Earth. The buildings, power plants, factories, planes…

Everything is devoid of people. More strangely enough was Earth’s frozen state. The abandoned plane is frozen mid-air. The same went to the more sensitive nuclear plants. Time stopped for them all.

“Should I call her out now?”

I met Seele’s dark blue eyes.

“Later. We’ll need to arrive somewhere first.”

My Dharma Avatar appeared once again. It mobilized the Dharma Law of Clouds, thus bringing forth an enhanced version of the [Cloud Seeking Steps]. I enveloped the other two with it.

A second later, we arrived in a dark and wide hallway.

“This is a Bubble World.”

Seele discovered its peculiarities at first glance… or rather, knew about it already.

“It’s a pseudo Bubble World. This shelter has a barrier made of the Sea of Quanta’s energy. Everything else is the real thing.” She explained further.

“The shelter of the Previous Era.” Veliona added.

“That’s it.”

I was left on the receiving end this time.

The Herrscher of the End swept through Earth with honkai energy. The only reason why some Previous Era ruins survived was due to these pseudo Bubble Worlds. The Sea of Quanta’s power saved them from being destroyed by honkai energy. Since honkai energy is a derivative of imaginary energy, it is perfectly opposed by the Sea of Quanta’s energy.

This Previous Era shelter is none other than World Serpent’s base.

Now, it is completely devoid of life. Everyone headed to do their bound duties… aside from several avatars of Gray Serpent.

“Let’s go meet them.”

The place where memories were inserted by the Flamechasers before their deaths…

The Elysian Realm.

Chapter 208: Best Wingduck

Eleven months and fifteen days passed since Kevin announced his deadline. The honkai energy concentration of Earth reached the peak of the Previous Era.

A lot of things have happened since then.

First was Schicksal. The silent defeat of the Herrscher of Domination allowed for Otto Apocalypse’s continued ruling over Schicksal. They did not make any drastic moves over their supposed ‘enemy’, Anti-Entropy. This decision caused several high-ranking board members to berate the current Overseer, though it fell into deaf ears.

Otto showed how he managed to remain at that position for five hundred years. These voices went away like drifting wind.

In the end, their focus went towards the research of the Second Divine Key. Anti-Entropy faced no troubles from them.

Next was the World Serpent. They focused more on intercepting research data from Anti-Entropy. Their study with spiritual qi never leaked out, however. Anti-Entropy started to utilize “supercomputers” again. Gray Serpent thought it would be their chance, only to fail.

That “supercomputer” was no ordinary supercomputer. It is built upon mountains of second and third grade spiritual metals, finely crafted with high-precision machines made of the same spiritual materials. If it wasn’t for [Two Phase Art]’s [Small Accomplishment], they wouldn’t have been able to pull it off.

The supercomputer they made could not be penetrated by any external mental powers beneath the fourth level. With it, their research sped up at an extremely fast rate.

World Serpent was left to “see” it all progress without any way of meddling. Their conflicts with Anti-Entropy never escalated into a major one.

Finally, there was Anti-Entropy.

They halted their prior advancement plans. They focused on studying [Blade Mantra]’s effects as well as the possible integration of Honkai Pri-ARMS, Battlesuits, and Spiritual Materials. Later on, they received [Blade Mantra 2.0] through Bronya's arduous interpretation.

These gave rise to [Martial Arts]. Varying equipment is created for each level of [Blade Mantra 2.0]. Their latest results allowed them to create equipment corresponding to the fourth level, [Taixuan]. These martial artifacts can harness both spiritual qi and honkai energy. The former has an insane property when it comes to stabilizing honkai energy’s effects on the weapon’s body and its wielder, in turn allowing for more usage of it.

Out of them, all of the Purple Mansion Realm learned [Taixuan]. It merely requires a second level Tao Heart, something that can be easily achieved nowadays. 

Several kids within the orphanage also reached the Foundation Establishment Realm via honkai tempering. Both soul protecting barriers and [Blade Mantra 2.0] are used to accomplish the said feat. Those with second level Tao Heart also reached [Taixuan], bolstering Anti-Entropy’s combat power as the number one in the world.

Of course, they did not reveal it all. The three active Purple Mansion Realm as well as the peak Foundation Establishment Welt Yang are enough to serve as nuclear deterrents.

As for the three Golden Core Realm masters, their powers can be left unsaid. They are literal nukes that can threaten the entirety of Earth had they wanted it—a power far surpassing even the six-cored Sirin.

Anti-Entropy hid their cards very well during this period. They knew all too well that Kevin’s power is enough to take all of them. The Cocoon of Finality, even as a fragment, warrants that. Knowing this does not help them avoid this matter.

It became even more evident once the two human-aligned Herrschers, Bronya and Fu Hua, discovered the peculiarity of their Herrscher Cores. Shi Tian’s words solidified that belief.

Although the possessors of honkai (i.e., Herrschers) are lacking in destructive power over the three-dimensional space, the “level” of its existence is extremely high. It is why their Herrscher Authorities can affect the eleven dimensions, yet they could not destroy Earth with ease.

They remained their prior vigilance until a day before the decisive event came.

“What is he plotting this time? This is definitely a trap!”

Tesla could not help but grumble out loud. Welt Yang remained silent inside his office.

“He specifically named Principal Theresa as his successor. He wants her to go.”

“The Second Divine Key. Shi Tian gave it to Otto. He must have found something from it… something that he wants.”

He affirmed Einstein’s comment.

“I will ask her first. We couldn’t make any mistakes at this time.”

Having regained his youthful side did not reduce Welt Yang’s temperament. The aura of Anti-Entropy’s Sovereign seemed more fitting to a “young man” like him.

Soon, a phone call was made. It was an inter-dimensional call spanning to the Sea of Quanta. It is made possible by the fusion of spiritual qi and the Sea of Quanta’s energy.

“Mister Yang?”

A soft and delicate voice came from the other side.

“Have you seen it on the news?” He asked.

“Yes. The Principal was named as Schicksal’s new Overseer.” Bronya affirmed it. “It is a trap, but not a deadly one. Tian left some instructions about this.”

She mentioned the ins and outs of this matter. They knew that Otto wanted to do something with the Imaginary Tree, though the Anti-Entropy trio never knew that it was to revive one of Schicksal’s Saints, Kallen Kaslana.

“He could not be contacted now. Mister Su knows more about this matter.”

“I understand. Thank you.”

Once the call was hung up, Welt Yang tried to contact Su next.

Unexpectedly…

“...Something happened to him.”

Welt Yang tried to contact Su multiple times, but to no avail. He no longer delayed things as he convened everyone for a meeting. It was then decided that Fu Hua will come with Theresa. The rest of the personnel are stationed in other places, especially the two remaining Golden Core Realm cultivators.

They are to watch any changes at the Sea of Quanta and the Imaginary Space. The rest of the combatants are responsible for monitoring Earth.

The next day, two explosive events came.

First, the meeting with Otto Apocalypse turned out to be a trap. Everyone inside Klostern was trapped inside an inexhaustible imaginary barrier. It temporarily contained Fu Hua.

Second, Project STIGMA came. Every single person on Earth, save for the Herrschers and Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators, are all sent into the imaginary space. The ones who specifically got left out were thrown into a special Bubble World where Herrscher Cores could not function well. 

As the one left behind on the Sea of Quanta, Bronya knew something big happened in the outside world. All of her contacts with others got cut off.

A day has passed since the huge event. She debated herself on whether to exit the Sea of Quanta or wait for everyone else’s arrival. 

“Nascent Soul breakthrough… It is about the recorded time.”

Her entire body changed drastically as she reached the Golden Core Realm. The clothes she wore back then no longer fitted her. Her pale silver eyes conveyed her internal emotions more expressively.

She crossed her arms underneath her towering chest.

“I am still not used to it…”

Somehow, Bronya missed the old days when she did not have to worry about its weight. She can imagine how much of a hassle it would be had she not been an immortal cultivator. The stiff shoulders are a downside for her, though it is hard to say for others.

Her entire body made her look like a mature woman. Her long silver hair flowed down to her waist. The Silverwing Battlesuit came to this world prematurely as Bronya wore it with elegance.

Just then, she spotted a “ray” of light heading towards her direction. It turned into seven people. Each of them emitted the distinct aura of a Golden Core Realm cultivator.

The moment she met Shi Tian’s eyes, she saw something else: an extremely huge dragon.

It took a second to recover.

Seeing everyone else’s silence, and then the two girls’ hugging both of his arms, Bronya gave a nod of approval.

“As I thought, this is the best outcome.”

“...”

“...”

“‘“...”””

The situation turned awkward once more.

Chapter 207: Bubble World's Resolution

The Imaginary Tree consists of eleven dimensions. Somehow, its nature follows the superstring theory. Every dimension has an additional direction. It consists of ten spatial dimensions and the very special temporal dimension.

Immortal cultivation has a lot to say in this regard. They confirmed the existence of the superstring theory, even surpassing it. There are infinite amounts of spatial dimensions, with each one growing more complex than the former. The eleven dimensions serve as their foundation while the twelfth dimension onwards are the additional dimensions.

Throughout everything, only one temporal dimension exists. Some call it the River of Time, though it is also called the fourth dimension within the immortal techniques.

This ‘temporal dimension’ is very unique. Its full secrets cannot be explored even at the Dao Integration Realm. It is the ‘key’ to resurrecting someone who died.

“...Huh.”

The first thing I did after my Nascent Soul breakthrough is to test my newfound power. I can exert control up to the eleventh dimension, but it is very weak. The twelfth onwards could not be sensed by my current spiritual consciousness. The only time I did so was during my breakthrough.

In a sense, I stepped onto the lowest level of the Cocoon of Finality. I could not compare to it, who could exquisitely control up to the eleventh dimension at will. The proof of it lay on my chest—to the Herrscher Core inside of me.

Its true ‘essence’ is at the Void Refinement Realm. I could not be mistaken about this.

My focus, however, is on this world’s temporal dimension.

“It’s incomplete…no.”

The fourth dimension exists as the sole temporal dimension. The techniques divided its complexity into three categories: Past, Present, and Future. Each category is further divided into first to third level, with the third level signifying absolute control over that aspect of temporal dimension.

Though I haven’t comprehended anything about these three yet, I can ‘sense’ them. 

This world…

I can’t sense its past and future properly.

Rather, it is more apt to say that it is blocked by a thick fog. It’s akin to the first three floors and the last three floors of a nine-storey building being covered in thick mist. I can sense the fourth to the sixth floors easily, but not them.

Even so, my divination worked normally. All of them are accurate so far. After all, they are deductions stemming from the "Present".

I did not expect to come across this bizarre change after my breakthrough. I did not know how long had passed, just that I came back to my senses.

“Kevin and the Honkai.”

I traversed millions of kilometers at ten times the speed of light. My [Nine Dragons Primordial Universe Body] granted such a speed bonus at base form. 

Hum-!

Once my [Cloud Seeking Steps] were added into the mix, it became fifty times the speed of light. It took less than a second to return back to Earth.

I appeared right behind Kiana and locked her waist in my arms.

“Sneaking up… I haven’t tried being a Ninja yet…”

She gave no reaction whatsoever, even going so far as to enjoy my surprise.

My Nascent Soul Realm faltered at this horny Tuna.

I gave a light knock atop her head.

“Why don’t you think about sleeping and lazing around anymore?”

“It’s not as fun as spending time with you.” She replied.

I admit defeat.

I let go of her waist and pinched her cheeks from behind. They are very supple.

“We’re going back to Earth.”

During my breakthrough, several messages came in. They came from Bronya.

Kevin kickstarted the Project STIGMA.

My breakthrough took a total of three months. It is roughly the same as the year Kevin promised, with the remaining week compromised by the surging honkai energy worldwide.

In short, the final boss battle had already begun outside.

“Lwet’s gwive thwart owld man a guud bweating!”

Kiana’s words came off like this with her cheeks pinched. 

It’s cute.

“Yeah.”

I agreed with her this time.

*****

Seele no longer cared about the time loops much… except for the times she can dig out Shi Tian’s information. 

At this moment, she was biting on her thumb with her other arm crossed on her waist. She appeared to be in a daze as she laughed out of nowhere. 

On the other side, Veliona saw this and felt very helpless.

‘I thought we would be the same… but she is the opposite of me!’

Veliona’s original thoughts weren't influenced much by Seele’s obsessive feelings. She remained somewhat reserved, not showing her feelings whenever she’s with Shi Tian.

Seele acted the opposite. She is very bold with her feelings. Every time she borrows Veliona’s body to spend time with Shi Tian, all she does are hugs and kisses. Frustration began to well up on Veliona, though she managed to control it for five years due to one reason: Sirin.

‘She’s just like me. At least I have someone else…’

It was akin to receiving a failing grade in term exams. One would feel bad if they failed, but if the majority of the class failed as well, it doesn’t feel as bad anymore.

‘How can you do it..?’

Veliona cursed herself as she couldn’t even maintain her usual composure whenever she recalled Seele’s experience with Shi Tian (using her body). The warm, addicting feeling she feels could not be forgotten by Veliona.

“Stay connected with me. We are going out.”

Her words awakened Seele from her delusions.

“Okay.”

The two went silent for a while.

Hum-!

Rumble-!

Shatter-!

A few seconds later, a series of ‘explosions’ occurred within the Bubble World’s barrier. Moments later, Seele’s body that sat cross-legged for five years trembled. Her shut eyes opened. She escaped the time loop she was subjected to.

Seele was about to go into a daze when a ray of purple light landed beside her. It was none other than Shi Tian with his format Taoist robes.

Rumble-!

The ground they stood on began to shake.

“Seele.”

“...Ah. Yes, let’s do it.”

Fortunately, Seele recalled their mission. The Bubble World started to collapse from its edge. It will take a while before it reaches Earth.

The amplified affinity with the Sea of Quanta strengthened Seele’s and Veliona’s ability to do quantum entanglement.

Zoom-!

Their surroundings started to shrink. It did not take long before the entire Bubble World turned into a palm-size miniature.

Everyone who is a ‘real’ person got sent back into the Sea of Quanta. The Xuanyuan duo looked around in curiosity while Kiana immediately returned to Shi Tian’s side, hugging his right arm.

The Herrscher of the End was left behind inside the Bubble World along with the peak fifth grade formation.

Amidst the sea of endless dark blue, the Bubble World sank onto Seele’s chest. Veliona drew her right hand away from Seele’s back.

“It’s done.” Seele muttered. “Right. How can I forget about this?”

She looked down and found the same clothes she wore as five years ago. It is very tight given her current growth, especially on her bust and hips.

With a thought, it turned into the Herrscher of Rebirth battlesuit.

Shi Tian knew it was the simulated version of himself who spilled the beans.

Seele noticed his gaze and smiled. That alone is enough to make nearly anyone breathless; Shi Tian is not one of them.

He hasn’t forgotten about Kiana.

“Sister Kiana…”

Her soft voice rang out. The two women met each other’s gaze.

“Seele. It’s been a long time.”

After a lot of thoughts, Kiana smiled back at her. Seele knew it signified Kiana’s acceptance. The two only needed a look to communicate.

She did not waste any time and took Shi Tian’s remaining arm.

The atmosphere remained slightly tense, with the two Xuanyuans watching with abated breaths.

‘No way…’

‘What do you mean no way? The emperors after us are like him. This is possible.’

‘...He’s better than them.’ Ji Xuanyuan commented. ‘Shi Tian takes their feelings into full account.’

‘Yeah.’

The two other women left out, Veliona and Sirin, do not know what to feel at this moment. They remained silent, their thoughts overflowing.

Just like that, the six people headed back to Earth.

Chapter 206: Nascent Soul Realm

‘Nascent Soul Realm.’

Shi Tian is already familiar with it. He fought dozens of Early Nascent Soul level Demon beasts. His [Innate Sword Soul] triggered the golden orb’s mechanism, matching him with Nascent Soul Demon Beasts. 

Needless to say, he finished the battle instantly, or else he would have zero chances of winning.

Swoosh-!

For the first time, Shi Tian’s Golden Core flew out of his body. He examined the perfect Golden Core closely. Every inch of its body contained Dao Laws.

‘Perfection…’

He removed his mind out of it as he decided for his mind and body to break through first. The Golden Core returned inside his body.

Just like the Golden Core Realm breakthrough, he urged his physical body with spiritual qi. Originally, he needed to repeat the process during the Golden Core Breakthrough—to destroy his body and rebuild it.

The Golden Core Realm completion signifies that the body can progress further. It is a different scenario from destroying one’s physical body for nothing.

However, things are different with his [Nine Dragons Primordial Universe Body]. All he needs to do is to activate its latent potential, thus raising his physical body into the next major realm.

And so he did.

The translucent phantom of the [Primordial Purple Qi Sky-Grazing Nine Dragons] appeared atop his body. This ‘armor’ swallowed the surrounding spiritual qi like a black hole. In turn, it fed back to Shi Tian’s physical body.

Dark purple veins emerged from his skin. It throbbed as it received more power from the phantom. It continued until a week later.

{Body: Peak Golden Core > Early Nascent Soul}

Hum-!

Shi Tian’s entire body changed. The jade bones and golden blood he previously bore remained unchanged, though its real nature has drastic changes. 

With his physical body alone…

Crack-!

Space crumpled on his fist. He looked at the familiar dark cube resting on his palm.

‘Nascent Soul Realm body. Affecting concepts through physical touch…’

Without using any techniques, Shi Tian traversed space at the speed of light.

‘No wonder I had to be decisive…’

Thinking of the early Nascent Soul Demon beasts he fought, he could not help but be grateful of his instantaneous attack. Not once did he hesitate to launch his full blow. Only then did he prevent the outcome of being killed instantly.

‘If it’s already this exaggerated, what about the mind?’

He sat cross-legged mid-air.

This time, his mental realm underwent the typical procedure. His physical body’s breakthrough triggered his mind’s breakthrough.

At one time, it was thorough stillness. 

At the other, it was the vividness of the world.

The world contained nothingness, yet it also contained everything else. Eleven dimensions containing infinite information presented themselves in his eyes, though unfortunately, he can only affect

The presence of the Tree and the Sea overseeing this world. The sight dissipated right as it appeared.

{Mind: Peak Golden Core > Early Nascent Soul}

Shi Tian felt his mind permeate every corner of this Bubble World. From the space and its composition down to every single life on Earth, he can ‘see’ them all.

His spiritual consciousness converged onto him.

‘The Golden Core’s final breakthrough… it’s nigh.’

He no longer held it back. He ‘spat’ out his Golden Core once again. Under the scrutiny of his spiritual consciousness, he comprehended its entirety in full.

‘The concept of perfection… The Golden Core Realm is truly mystical.’

There are two steps for its breakthrough.

The first one is to shatter the Golden Core.

Hum-!

The usually gentle spiritual qi began to revolve around Shi Tian’s Golden Core wildly. The perfected Golden Core shone with bright lights. Due to the sheer number of his supernatural powers, however, it remained resilient.

‘Golden Core… it is truly on another level.’

Supernatural Seeds, now Supernatural Powers, are crucial for higher realms. It does not pose many issues at the Purple Mansion Realm merely because it is ‘weaker’. Supernatural Powers are different. It strengthens the cultivator’s control over Dao Laws. It is engraved deep within the Golden Core, providing nourishment to the soul.

After that are Dharma Avatars, Divine Realms, and finally, the Dao.

‘Body, mind, soul, and the Dao. Three aspects, one goal.’

Shi Tian’s mental state reached its peak. He did not mind his repeated failures to shatter his Golden Core. He tried over and over again.

His aura showed signs of going weaker. It is forcibly suppressed by his Nascent Soul-level body and mind, however. His aura remained within the acceptable range.

The fifteen Supernatural Powers made his Golden Core very sturdy. It could not be easily worn down by spiritual qi. Without entering the next breakthrough phase, all it results to are self-inflicted injuries.

Fortunately, his rich repertoire of cultivation techniques never failed him.

The wildly swirling spiritual qi never lost momentum, gaining them instead. The stronger its momentum became, the faster Shi Tian’s aura grew weaker.

Finally…

Crack-!

As the first crack appeared, the second and third one did as well. More cracks appeared on his perfected Golden Core.

Shatter-!

The Golden Core broke down. Its entire crack-mottled body shattered into fine golden particles. They painted the entire scene akin to stars in the milky way.

In the center of it lies a soul. It is made of pure white light, with no notable features. 

The second breakthrough phase has begun: the formation of Nascent Soul.

The broken Golden Core did not dissipate. It remained at the soul’s side. It is not a set of confines, but vital pieces of nourishment.

The soul has been nurtured by the Golden Core until its perfection. Using the Golden Core for the soul’s ascension is the key to the Nascent Soul Realm.

Fifteen different lights revolved around the soul. Akin to the absorption of the Demon Cores to rewrite one’s bloodline conceptually, the Nascent Soul breakthrough rewrites the conceptual boundaries of the soul. It is to no longer remain within the metaphysical realm; it is to lay on the physical realm.

Shi Tian’s changes could not be contained by the vast void. It spread throughout the entire Bubble World. The conceptual ascension of one’s soul touched upon the higher dimensions itself!

Spiritual qi rumbled as he remained oblivious to the changes. The fluctuations grew stronger as his soul absorbed the essence of his Golden Core.

Two long months passed unknowingly.

Shi Tian’s soul was no longer a blank white light. His features are carved on it. Numerous lights danced around its fingertips. 

Soon, the last bit of his Golden Core was absorbed by it.

Hum-!

BAM-!

A bright golden light exploded akin to a supernova. It painted the surrounding ink-black space vibrantly. 

His soul had completely transformed into a Nascent Soul. It bore all of Shi Tian’s features, but was child-like. 

{Qi: Peak Golden Core > Early Nascent Soul}

The moment it went inside his physical body, Shi Tian’s shut eyes opened. His golden pupils and orange irises contained a dozen different Dharma Laws. His supernatural powers turned into a Dharma Avatar upon his breakthrough. It embodied seventeen different Dharma Laws.

Even in an inert state, they are clearly reflected in his eyes.

“The Honkai…”

Chapter 205: Golden Core Realm Perfection

I am particular when it comes to choosing a Tao Body.

Having no Tao Body became my chance. Once you have already acquired one, 95% of the auxiliary techniques for getting one become useless. The remaining 5% are tied to the ultimate grade Spirit Roots such as my [Toushen Manual].

The [Nine Dragons Primordial Universe Body] was the one I chose at the end. Infinite power coursed through my veins. I held myself back from letting out a roar.

This Tao Body held numerous benefits, but the strongest one of them all is the ability to summon the phantom of the [Primordial Purple Qi Sky-Grazing Nine Dragons]. It temporarily elevates all aspects to the highest level of their major realm, up to the Void Refinement Realm. It can also negate the negative impacts of forbidden techniques to a large extent.

“Fu…”

I suppressed the burning feeling inside of me. My rod started to get worked up just by the stimulation Kiana gave. The white nurse outfit she wore has an extremely high skirt. Her uniform clung tightly to her mature body, highlighting the curves I was familiar with for five years.

I calmed down as I put on a set of clothes.

“It’s not the time for that.” I said. “How many days did it take?”

Kiana pouted as she retracted her thirsty look.

“Thirty-eight days.”

I nodded.

It is the eleventh month in the outside world. Theoretically, there are only a hundred and fifty days left. Due to the lack of further intervention, the honkai grew at a steady rate without any spikes. Kevin kept his word about his one-year deadline.

So long as he initiated Project STIGMA, we will break this Bubble World’s barrier and return to the real world.

I planned to return early to prevent any sudden changes. 

Things changed with this unforeseen opportunity. Mobius surprised me a lot by helping in studying the Herrscher of the End's imaginary-type characteristics. She contributed a lot when it came to cutting down the number of Demon Cores needed for this Tao Body.

“I’ll break through.”

“Do you need the formation’s help?” She asked.

“No. Use it to protect Earth. Its scale is large enough to cover it.”

Up until now, us Golden Core Realm cultivators hadn’t exerted our fullest strengths properly. The fight with the Herrscher of the End was not a proper one. If we want it, we can destroy a planet with ease. Our spiritual consciousness can cover the entire surface of Earth at any time we want.

The Nascent Soul Realm tribulation has a stronger power in that regard. It is still the same four tribulations, but worse.

Fortunately, my Tao Heart, sword cultivation, reached the fifth level, [Innate Sword Soul]. Handling the most difficult tribulation becomes simpler.

“After that…”

I knew what Kiana wanted to ask. I gently knocked atop her head with my finger.

“Can it wait until we deal with Kevin?”

“I want it now.” 

She said as she used her breasts to sandwich my right arm.

“...”

It looks like I really need to teach her a lesson.

She did not wait for a moment. She tiptoed and kissed my lips. We did not rush to play around with our tongues, savoring the light kiss slowly.

“You taste even better.” She suddenly commented.

“..?”

“Wait, let me try it again.”

The second round of kissing involved Kiana’s intrusion inside my mouth. She expertly swirled around her tongue on mine. Her slow yet sensual movements made it evident she really is tasting me.

It took five minutes for it to end.

“I am not wrong. You taste better.”

Each of her words served as temptations. It lit up the flames I worked hard to put out. I could no longer hold back and pushed my previous plans back.

Two days.

I will end this in two days.

With that in mind, I hugged Kiana’s waist as I teleported her inside our palace.

*****

“What was that..?”

Kiana asked groggily as she woke up. Her body clung tightly to mine like an octopus.

“You are cheating.” She said.

“What cheating? You asked for it.”

“...”

She could not retort back. She was the one who asked for it. Her tantalizing and tight-fitting nurse outfit broke my defenses. She did not wear any underwear, atop everything else. Her high skirt is an easy-access for my rod to stick in.

After that…

I unintentionally tore off her uniform. 

My renewed sex drive is mostly caused by the [Nine Dragons Primordial Universe Body]. Dragons are inherently virile—the Dao of Permanence shows that. Their overwhelming life enables them to give birth to hundreds of thousands of children… not that I wanted to do the same.

Case in point, my yang qi became very potent. My physical performance knocked Kiana out in two days. She had to recover for an entire day to wake up.

The bed we are in got soaking wet to the point I had to use the cleansing spell dozens of times.

“I want to have one too.”

She dug her face on my chest.

Giving her one…

It’s the equivalent of giving wings to a tiger. By then, Kiana will be able to match my pace.

“Are you scared?”

Kiana knew my inner thoughts well and teased me. Her eyes narrowly opened before looking at me.

Just like a cat…

“We need to get up soon.”

“Hum.”

Her seriousness finally returned. We got dressed up, ate some spiritual dishes, and headed out to outer space.

The boundary of this Bubble World extended only within Earth’s bounds—around ten million kilometers of radius from it.

I wore my peak fourth grade garb. I sewed it based on the design of my hanfu from the earlier days.

“Watch from a distance. I will demonstrate it to you.”

“Take care.”

“Yeah.”

After getting Kiana’s permission, I flew to the border of this Bubble World. I sensed my internal state. My physical body felt powerful. The power within me is enough to go through several planets at once. My mind is at its peak state. My spiritual consciousness operated smoothly, gathering information within my surroundings. Spiritual qi from the peak sixth grade spirit vein from Earth flowed over my location. The extremely potent spiritual qi filled with all sorts of Divine Laws refreshed my entire being.

Finally, my Golden Core shone with different kinds of brilliant lights. My soul, housed inside it, reached its pinnacle. The barrier to the next realm is akin to a paper window that can be torn apart at will.

Five years of “arduous” cultivation completed the Golden Core Realm.

Today…

I will reach the Nascent Soul Realm.

Chapter 204: Nine Dragons Primordial Universe Body

Spirit Roots, Tao Body, Comprehension. It is the talent trinity of immortal cultivation. Having them is the equivalent of a ticket to becoming a high-level immortal cultivator. Those possessing a high grade spirit root are guaranteed to reach the Void Refinement Realm without any bottlenecks. Those with a high grade Tao Body can do the same. 

Once someone has these two together, their cultivation speed will surge up like a rocket.

Tao Body can be acquired either innately (i.e., through birth) or externally (i.e., techniques). The golden orb’s techniques ensure there won’t be any flaws with the acquired physique, though it requires numerous resources.

It took Shi Tian three years to complete the study about the integration of Imaginary Energy and Spiritual Qi. 

Now, he is reaping the fruits of his hard work.

‘...Shit.’

Despite his insane pain tolerance far beyond the imagination of humans, Shi Tian could not help but curse.

His spiritual consciousness staggered for a moment. He observed the changes inside his physical body.

‘A Tao Body affects the body, mind, and soul. It..!’

He struggled to form coherent thoughts.

At this moment, his Golden Core Body turned into a pure golden mist. No traces of his immaculate jade bones were left. In the center of the mist lay a bright Golden Core.

Shi Tian could no longer curse. His attention is directed at the minute changes happening within him. 

The red light that orbited him started to merge with the golden mist. In that process, runes of extremely small sizes—far beyond Planck’s length—emerged within the golden mist.

The way of acquiring a Tao Body relies on rewriting the body’s conceptual information itself. True Spirit Bloodlines has a unique connection with the Dao upon birth. Only by doing this way can this unique connection be passed onto someone else, thereby forming a high grade Tao Body.

The fusion took one month. At this point, the golden mist housed countless dotted Tao patterns. It went beyond the concept of ‘numbers’. It went far beyond the mysteries of any [Divine Laws], reaching another level altogether.

The Void Refinement Realm starts to understand the Dao itself. It is the source of all Dao Rhymes, Dao Laws, Dharma Laws, and Divine Laws. Once the “self” and the Dao unites as one, there comes the emergence of a Dao Integration Realm cultivator.

The golden mist possessed the Dao itself!

Slowly, the golden mist began to reorganize. It took the form of a physical body. Shi Tian’s immaculate jade bones took form, followed by blood red flesh. Golden blood started to flow on his veins.

A translucent golden light emerged from atop his skin. They took the form of golden scales. A long translucent tail emerged on his back. 

A pair of antler-like horns appeared right above Shi Tian’s head. His eyes remained closed.

Once the translucent light completed its transformation, it seeped onto his body. His physical body started to change. It started to turn into the most perfect version ingrained within Shi Tian’s soul. His height grew taller as his facial proportions turned perfect. The slight ‘errors’ left from all his prior breakthroughs disappeared. His handsomeness was practically off the charts.

His long black hair turned dark purple. When he opened his golden eyes, his irises revealed a tinge of scarlet-like orange.

Pop-!

Pop-!

…

Crackle-!

Space itself was crumpled as he tightened his right fist. Spiritual qi coursed through his entire body flawlessly. The same went to his Golden Core. Whatever spiritual qi consumption he encountered, he could recover instantly so long as spiritual qi exists.

“Nine Dragons Primordial Universe Body…”

Nine supernatural seeds emerged the moment Shi Tian completed his Tao Body. These supernatural seeds grew at a fast speed, blooming into supernatural powers instantly. They then grew extremely fast once more until they reached the limit of the Golden Core Realm.

He did not mind these nine supernatural powers. It is listed on the Tao Body acquisition technique he possessed. There are two options for them. One is to let them be, thus having nine supernatural powers at once. The other is to merge the nine of them into three ‘complex’ ones.

Shi Tian chose the latter. 

He blessed himself with the supernatural power of [Enlightenment] as he began this process.

‘...three gives birth to everything. The Primordial consists of the most basic yin, yang, extremity, and void. Numerous predecessors created worlds with this basis..’

The first supernatural power emerged, the Dao of Void. It is the same power Kiana possessed.

‘The four merge into one, creation and destruction is at hand…’

Shi Tian suppressed the impulse to try its power out. He focused on fusing the second supernatural power, the Dao of Permanence. 

All things in nature have a set lifespan. Only those who transcended the limits can attain infinite lifespan. Dragons have a longer lifespan than their peers, living as long as fifty times the traditional cultivator of their realm. The other effect of the Dao of Permanence lay in its nature. 

Once it is used along with other supernatural powers, it will remain for as long as its user wants. A flame can burn forever until its caster decides otherwise. It can only be offset by an overwhelming force.

Finally, it guarantees that the cultivator will regain their consciousness upon true reincarnation. They can rapidly progress until they reach their highest level. It is one of the few ‘Daos’ that is considered very practical below the Dao Integration Realm.

These three aspects may seem broken now, but it holds no bearing in the Dao Integration Realm. A Dao Integration Realm expert has an infinite lifespan. Their powers remain until the utmost destruction of the world. They can also reincarnate while possessing their Dao, effectively removing any obstacles during reincarnation.

Nonetheless, how many people can reach that realm?

The allure of fifty times the original lifespan is enough to make 99.4% of the cultivators drool.

Effectively, Shi Tian gained 2.4 million years of lifespan to gamble… to live on.

‘The Dragons surely loved to use forbidden techniques…’

He shook these idle thoughts as he fused the third and final supernatural power.

Just then, the Dao of Clouds lit up on his Golden Core’s surface. Shi Tian found himself in a different environment. It is nothing but pure darkness. A thick fog covered his sight. He tried to use his spiritual consciousness to go past it, but to no avail.

Ripple-!

As soon as he stepped forward, a line of white light trickled from his feet. It split into one branch after another.

‘...The Dao of Time.’ He thought. ‘As expected.’

Akin to a mirror, Shi Tian saw countless figures of himself stepping into the line of white light. It reminded him of the sight from when he reached [Great Accomplishment] on the Cloud Seeking Steps.

To his surprise, the white lines converged at a single point. There, he saw the back of himself. 

He heard him mutter:

“...Hcaer dna ti egnahc. Gnidne siht ot dael sdaor lla”

Crack-!

Shatter-!

Before Shi Tian knew it, he found himself back inside the cocoon. His eyes turned blank momentary before it regained clarity.

‘...I forgot something again.’

He checked any changes on himself.

To his surprise, he found one.

‘Four new supernatural powers?’

The [Nine Dragons Primordial Universe Body] granted three.

‘The extra one… the Dao of Mirrors?’

The blood-red cocoon covering his body dissipated to the wind. 

On the ground, Kiana was wearing a nurse’s uniform. Her white and plump thighs revealed themselves as she crossed her legs on the chair.

Shi Tian felt the place where her gaze looked. He looked down and saw his bigger little brother. His lower body started to heat up in response.

Kiana swallowed her saliva as she sent him a lustful stare.

‘She needs to be taught another lesson…’

Chapter 203: Tao Body Acquisition

Today marks a special day.

Ten days of hard work and the wave of Tao Gifts completed my Golden Core journey.

{Body: Peak Golden Core (100%)}

{Qi: Peak Golden Core (100%)}

{Mind: Peak Golden Core (100%)}

Five years…

I was too conservative… or rather, I was always conservative with the honkai. I did not have much confidence to reach the Purple Mansion Realm before the battle on the Moon. Then, the gradual discovery of honkai hacks raised my expectations to the Golden Core Realm. One event led to another. The Sea of Quanta gave us a huge opportunity.

Looking at the brilliant light emitted by my Golden Core, I can only sigh. The progress within the Golden Core Realm relies on strengthening the Golden Core. This feeds back to the soul, nurturing it. Once this process is completed, the Golden Core can be shattered as the soul transforms into a Nascent Soul.

I watched as the fourteen different lights circled around my Golden Core. They represented the supernatural powers I possessed. It sets me apart from other Golden Cores, especially the Supernatural Power of [Enlightenment]. 

Ever since I spread [Blade Mantra 2.0] to this world, the stagnant supernatural seed blossomed into a supernatural power. It, just like the rest of the supernatural powers, are at the limit of the Golden Core Realm. My impending breakthrough will merge them into one, forming the so-called “Dharma Avatar”.

There is one last thing left to do.

The thin atmosphere at Mount Fuji’s summit resulted in the lack of gusts of wind. Kiana’s Void Drifter Battlesuit, consisting of a half-sleeve jacket and a close-fitting black inner wear that took the shape of her waist, did not rustle. The same went with her untied long white hair.

“Are you sure you don’t need to call her over?” She suddenly asked.

“No. You can do it.”

“Okay.”

She lacked her usual unserious look. The two of us came here today to do one thing: to proceed with my Tao Body acquisition. Once mine is completed, I will do it to Kiana too. The Demon Cores I stockpiled is enough for the two of us.

“You know, I did not expect you to major in formations.”

“Hm..?”

“You hated math back then, yeah?”

The formation originally required for this is at the seventh level. With the existence of the Herrscher of the End’s physical body samples, I managed to lower it to the fifth level.

Kiana’s Thirty-Six Heavenly Phase Flags are enough to take full control of it. Our idle talks remained for a while.

“Hmph. I hated studying back then because I couldn’t understand anything. Once I learned the knowledge from the lower grades, it no longer felt as boring as before.”

“So you went through elementary to college in a year?” I asked rhetorically.

“What’s wrong with it? I looked for things that can make you proud back then.”

In short, she wanted bragging rights.

“And here I thought only Bronya will focus on formations.”

“I am not that dumb…”

“Yeah.”

I chose not to contradict her. Bronya has a high comprehension and affinity with the stars. It made her suitable for formations. Kiana possessed the talent over void. Her affinity for dimensions is very high, which also made her suitable for formations. All she had to do was study the advanced theoretical mathematics contained within the cultivation techniques.

In this regard, her buy-one-get-one main cultivation technique is a hack. 

It did not take long to complete the set-up of the fifth grade formation. Its materials came from my five years’ worth of gacha. I refined all of the hundred and twelve formation flags required with fourth and fifth grade materials. It did not require much since this operation relies on me and the thirty five Demon Cores I gathered.

I saw Kiana’s gaze remaining on the fiftieth formation flag.

“The forty-ninth flag creates the fifth fundamental homeomorphic space for…”

The naughty Kiana is cute, but the serious Kiana is cute too.

“Every deformation has a range. It will be fine as long as it is within the limits.” I said.

“Can you guarantee an error-free operation?”

Hearing her question, I willingly gambled with my aura.

“Yes.”

“You said it. I will have no choice but to nurse you in bed once something bad happens.”

My heart skipped a beat. As expected, her voice filled with realization rang.

“We haven’t done that yet, have we?”

I decided to start the operation before something else happens.

*****

Tao Body acquisition is a high-end cultivation technique. Within a typical cultivation world, its required resources are very hard to take. Every Demon Beasts with True Spirit Bloodline has a backer. The pure-blooded ones are almost guaranteed to have a background of Void Refinement Realm. It is impossible to offend several Void Refinement Realm practitioners for a high grade Tao Body. A potential Void Refinement Realm is outweighed by three actual Void Refinement Realm practitioners, and as such, the chances of using it is slim.

Fortunately, Shi Tian went to the honkai world. Not only did he have several cultivation hacks (i.e., Honkai, Imaginary Tree, Sea of Quanta), he also had the golden orb that supplied him endless amounts of Demon Cores with True Spirit Bloodlines.

Thus, it leads to the scene of today.

Shi Tian sat cross-legged midair without any piece of clothing. The 112 formation flags floated mid-air. Kiana’s Thirty-six formation flags split up evenly and seeped through the 112 other formation flags.

A ray of ‘light’ connected them one-by-one. The thirty-five Demon Cores around him floated mid-air. Following them is the ‘blood’ from the Herrscher of the End. She did not have a ‘real’ physical body per se. It is more appropriate to call them a part of her Divine Transformation Authority. 

It was supposed to grant her a strong connection with the Cocoon of Finality. But, the Sea of Quanta recreated it into a strong connection with the Sea of Quanta. That was where her power lay.

Now, Shi Tian used this fragment to complete the transformation of his Tao Body!

They began to rotate around him at a fast speed. Their movements turned into a blur.

The gaps within the formation were swiftly closed. The last thing Kiana could see was the Demon Cores’ movements being as fast as light itself.

Soon, Shi Tian was enveloped by a blood-red light; its shape akin to an egg.

Seeing everything was stable, Kiana breathed a sigh of relief.

“A nurse outfit… There are variants of them aside from the white one.”

She began to think of the various nurse outfits all over the world.

Chapter 202: Legitimate Martial Arts

The Bubble World Earth no longer faced any external threats. Its peacefulness started to come back to the time without the honkai. 

The Two Xuanyuans witnessed it unfold first-hand. They saw how the world looked fifty thousand years ago. The modern sight—cars, skyscrapers, phones—bedazzled them.

For a year, they juggled between immortal cultivation and integrating with this new world. Their problems mostly lay in a cultivator’s skewed sense of time. One seclusion lasts a week during the Purple Mansion Realm. When they attained a fourth level Tao Heart and broke through the Golden Core Realm, it lasted months.

It took them three entire years to discover the Internet. Oblivious to its power, Ji Xuanyuan looked up some inappropriate content and was devastated. No matter how strong her heart has become, she would remain quite helpless in the face of things she hasn’t experienced before—more so if it is about the “mortal life” she missed out on.

“Wait. Did you know about it?”

“Who else do you think searched it up first?”

“...”

Hei Xuanyuan moved her face away. Her reddened ears betrayed her, however.

“...Have you heard of dual cultivation?” Ji Xuanyuan asked.

“...!”

Hei Xuanyuan looked at her with surprise. Her shattered calmness showcased her chaotic thoughts.

“That’s why I told you not to check the Internet!”

Her frantic attempt to shift the topic began.

“B-but I thought rule thirty-four is a precept about…”

The two fell silent the moment they sensed Shi Tian’s arrival. The latter was confused to see their silence.

‘Dual cultivation… Dual cultivation… So that’s it…’

‘He’s really doing it with her!’

Two different thoughts, each coming from Ji and Hei Xuanyuan, rattled their minds.

“Did I do something wrong?” He asked.”

“...No, no. We had a disagreement…”

Shi Tian saw Hei Xuanyuan’s explanation and chose not to dig further.

“I heard from Pardofelis about your hard work. You don’t need to provide instructions to the ‘disciples’ more often. You can let them accumulate more questions for a while and provide instructions every four to six months.”

“They are rapidly progressing. Wouldn’t it be bad?” Ji Xuanyuan asked.

“Accumulating more questions can lead to a huge breakthrough. You might not have encountered it yourselves, but not everyone can have the same cultivation speed as us.”

The establishment of the Earth Federation also led to the creation of the ‘sect’ that Shi Tian envisioned—Beginningless Dao Sect. Its top-down structure consists of a sect master, vice sect master, peak masters, elders, deacons, and disciples. There are a lot of subdivisions such as sect elders and disciples being divided into inner and outer sects. Exceptional disciples who are personally under the peak masters, vice sect master, and the sect master himself fall under “True Disciples”.

The two Xuanyuans, for instance, are elders of the Physical Cultivation Vein. The peak master position is left to Shenzhou’s Immortal Jingwei. They are tentatively responsible for the instruction of the disciples practicing Martial Arts (i.e., Blade Mantra 2.0).

Overall, Shi Tian is testing the results of some decisions to optimize his plans for the real world’s Earth.

“Here.”

“..?”

Ji Xuanyuan caught the storage ring he tossed out.

“That contains thirty or so volumes for the problems encountered within [Eminence] and below. There are also some helpful spiritual pills to aid in their practice. I also separated a portion of supplies that you two will use…”

Shi Tian acted like a bonafide sect master. He distributed the necessary supplies to embolden the current number of martial arts disciples. The number of martial artists who comprehended up to the [Clear Mirror] realm reached two digits. The rest who are in lower realms numbered ten thousand.

Consequently, anyone who reaches the [Eminence] stage is heralded as “Martial Masters”. They numbered in single-digits.

It is not wrong to say that the two Xuanyuans have a lot of work to do. Their martial arts is at the [True Intention] Realm with the virtue of their fourth level Tao Hearts. They are hailed as the “Martial Grandmasters” amongst all the disciples.

Besides Shi Tian who made rare appearances as the world’s one and only “Martial Emperor” (i.e., Heart Intention), they have one of the best prestige.

After some formalities, Shi Tian thanked them and left.

The two Xuanyuans looked at each other and communicated with their eyes.

‘Did he hear it?’

‘Probably not…’

*****

It’s been a long time since I saw Kiana cultivate properly. Every time we are together, it is all about dual cultivation.

Five years of constant dual cultivation did not reduce our addiction.

It worsened.

We tried out all sorts of things so long as it remained in a single room… with us alone.

It took two seconds for her to exit her meditative state. Her figure disappeared before reappearing right behind me.

“Hup!”

She hopped off to my back and clung like a koala. Her arms wrapped around my neck, with her breasts pressing behind my back.

Her sweet scent drifted to my nose.

“How was it?” She whispered in my ear.

“It’s fine. We’ll definitely beat your ancestor thoroughly.”

“Hum.”

Kiana thought of something and said:

“Your vision from before… We have that bed now.”

“...”

Sirin…

Back when I healed her completely, I used my fourth level divination skills to peek at a possible future. I ended up seeing me and Sirin kissing. What happened after that is self-explanatory.

“I won’t talk about the Nascent Soul Realm.” She stated. “She already has an answer, but she does not want to talk about it.”

“Sirin..?”

“Yes. How can I not like you?”

“...”

It is an irrefutable fact.

Despite Sirin and Kiana being two different people, they bear a lot of similarities. Someone can give me a long list and I can enumerate it all. 

Inevitably…

I fell for her.

I doubted this myself two years ago. I wouldn’t develop any preference for her had I not seen her will to change. She came to terms with the devastating things she inflicted back when her anger consumed her rationality. Being accepted by Kiana led to such a change.

I cannot sit still and do nothing. I can see how Sirin really wanted to change. She may be an irredeemable villain to others, but she is also a part of Kiana.

“I am a few percent away from Golden Core perfection.”

Her eyes lit up.

“Do we need to work hard?”

I nodded. I had to make sure I could reach it. Sin Mal’s and Bronya’s breakthroughs are one thing; dual cultivation is another.

She did not wait for another word as her mouth started nibbling on my ears.

Chapter 201: Internet is a Dangerous Place...

Three years is not a long time in terms of cultivation. Sirin basically shut herself for most of these three years. The feedback from Kiana’s cultivation is enough to let her catch up. With zero bottlenecks and a rocket-like progress, she reached the late stage of Golden Core Realm.

Kiana, on the other hand, reached the peak stage. Veliona reached the peak stage along with Seele. I remained in the lead with a little bit left for the Nascent Soul Realm breakthrough.

What I once imagined as impossible was proven to be true with the help of honkai hacks. There are also the Demon Arena to supply us with endless demon beast meat and the Herrscher of the End to serve as a sparring partner.

All I can say is, place us in a cultivation world and we’ll make everyone else question their very lives.

“Boss!”

I appeared in Pardofelis' office. Her physical body had grown up. She is no longer the girl from the Sundown Alley, but a competent CEO who manages a dozen subsidiary companies. The brown-framed glasses she wore suited her light brown hair.

She stood up from her seat and bowed. I could only remain helpless at her repeated insistence.

The black pencil skirt she wore added more legitimacy to her CEO title.

I thought I would leave this position to Bronya at first, but I ended up passing this to Pardofelis instead.

“It’s been three months since the operation. Are there any side effects?”

Her cat-like ears trembled. Her long tail hid behind her back.

“...No. There are none.”

“Give me your wrist.”

“...”

Pardofelis presented her right hand. I can scan her condition with a quick spiritual consciousness sweep. Only, that feels inappropriate. Doing this avoids that feeling at the very least.

I ran through her physical conditions and found nothing strange. Except for her unfixable fragmented soul, her physical body is far stronger than before. 

Since two and a half years ago, Mobius kept in contact to improve Project Soldier. I had no qualms in doing so. I sought to combine her MANTIS study and immortal cultivation’s Taoist Body acquisition.

To that, the Herrscher of the End contributed a lot of samples. It took us two years to develop a mature outcome that could house the advantages of both the honkai and immortal cultivation.

Pardofelis herself volunteered for that.

I let go of her wrist and sat down on the chair across her desk. The glass wall behind her encapsulated the bustling city below.

“You see what I told you before? Most bosses who worked enough can operate hands-off.”

“My abilities are not yet good enough for it, Boss.” She scratched the back of her head. “I need to create a brand new management structure. The usual ones won’t suffice. Only when I can maintain the company’s operations world-wide can I fulfill it.”

Unlike before, Pardofelis took her ‘job’ more seriously. The number of orphanages she helped, be it in donations or creation of a foundation herself, numbered tens of thousands.

The “boom” created by the lack of honkai and spiritual qi led to a huge reshuffle of the world’s major powers. The ones left above are morally good. Coupled with the physical improvements and newer findings granted by honkai energy and spiritual qi, the world progressed at an extremely fast rate.

Fire MOTH took the helm as the first world government to spearhead these changes. Countries are no longer divided by national governments. Thus, the formation of the Earth Federation occurred under Doctor MEI’s leadership.

“How is the bottleneck going?” I asked.

“About that, Boss…”

It took a while for Pardofelis to form her words.

“Do you know of a dangerous place?”

“Dangerous place?”

I understood what she wanted to do.

“It’s rare for you to take that initiative.”

“Being stuck for two years is frustrating!”

Meow-!

An imaginary cat’s complaint reached my ears.

“Eminence in two years and you’re still complaining…”

“But Boss! Hua’s attainments are just like mine. She caught up to me…”

No matter which place it was, competitions are a way to motivate people. Fu Hua’s comprehension was insane despite her lack of thousands of years of experience. With the help of spiritual qi, the physical body recovers faster. This allowed for a faster adaptation of it to honkai energy.

Like Fu Hua, Pardofelis got stuck at the level of [Eminence]. The traditional way of reaching [True Form] relies on Tao Hearts. 

Bad news? This world is inherently flawed.

Good news? I found an alternative for it.

“Impatience clouds your mind. Project Immortal is your biggest chance. What you lack is the synchronization of body, mind, and soul.”

“...”

She could not speak.

Tao Hearts’ main purpose is to turn the ‘forceful’ adaptation into a ‘natural’ one. It is akin to turning it innate. Project Immortal, borne out of our efforts, granted exquisite physiques. 

To create a high grade Tao Body, one requires enough Demon Cores with True Spirit Bloodlines. The number needed must make up three True Spirits with pure bloodlines. The concentration of the True Spirit Bloodline mattered the most. The never-ending supply of Demon Beasts from the golden orb gave me a chance of acquiring one.

However…

With Project Immortal, it is reduced to a tenth of the requirements, requiring 30% of a True Spirit’s Bloodline at most. Granted, the blood from the Herrscher of the End is present. Honkai hacks are at work again.

The best physique that came with it came with the benefits of a high grade Tao Body and control over imaginary energy itself. Moreover, every physique can be customized.

I did not hesitate to grant Pardofelis this opportunity. Twenty Demon Cores of True Spirit Felines are used to give her the equivalent of a high grade Taoist Body. 

Unfortunately, she is not a cultivator. Her Tao Body remains semi-active. The part with imaginary energy control is active. But, the other half related to immortal cultivation remains inactive.

Nonetheless, it is enough to comprehend the [Blade Mantra 2.0] to the [True Form] and even [Heart Intention] realm.

“You fell into a misconception. You do not need to control everything.”

“..!”

Looking at her face filled with enlightenment, I nodded. I divined her predicament and knew all that’s left for Pardofelis is a change in mindset. I needed to speak at the right time to fix it.

Buzz-!

I isolated the entire office space from anywhere else with spiritual consciousness. Not a single thing fell down due to the shockwaves she emitted.

A bright glint passed by her blue eyes. She breathed out as she reverted to her normal state.

“Boss…”

“Alright, alright. You can show off now. Just remember not to strike at Daoist Jingwei’s sore places.”

“..!”

Pardofelis’ face turned red due to embarrassment. Kiana is not the only cat who likes to shower Fu Hua with strays. Perhaps due to their age, Pardofelis became remarkably closer to Fu Hua. They became martial arts buddies.

Although, there are times when Pardofelis ends up flexing her somewhat developed chest. Shenzhou’s Imperial Tablet really has no fate with anything but a flat chest.

“Practice well.”

“I will, Boss!”

My figure soon dissipated from her office space. 

Several steps later, I arrived back at my abode.

Only…

“That’s why I told you not to check the Internet!”

Ji Xuanyuan could not hide her blush. On her phone is something I was familiar with.

“B-but I thought rule thirty-four is a precept about…”

She ended up discovering the world of NSFW.

Chapter 200: Impending Breakthrough

Sin Mal approached Bronya because she wanted to pass onto that message. Everyone decided that every message to Shi Tian goes through her. It would be bad if Shi Tian misses their messages during a crucial breakthrough.

After passing on the message and acting smugly, Sin Mal tacitly left. 

‘Sister Bronya must be more motivated, no?’

Their relationship grew closer during the past year. Sin Mal’s hidden thoughts could not be hidden from Bronya.

A light sigh escaped her lips.

“I am too impatient.”

She looked up at the stars once more. Their brilliance could blind everyone. The closer you get, the more blinding their light becomes. They live their lives freely, without any constraints. They merely follow the cycle of the world—of their birth and destruction.

“The answer is right in front of me.”

All of the techniques’ implied meanings suddenly made sense to Bronya. Her Tao Heart resonated with her realizations.

Looking at the stars no longer suffices;

She must become one.

*****

Damn.

My focus over comprehending the [Blade Mantra 2.0] got disrupted by a big news. Sin Mal and Bronya comprehended a fourth level Tao Heart. The dangers of the Golden Core Tribulation lay on the Heart Demon Tribulation. Everything else can be resolved by dissipating the [Two Phase Art].

With a fourth level Tao Heart and a high grade spirit root, forming a Golden Core is basically guaranteed.

It has been eleven months in the real world, but five years inside the Bubble World. Seele’s time runs 155 times faster than in the Bubble Worlds. That is roughly 775 times when compared to the real world.

For others, it is eleven months.

For us, it is five years.

For Seele, it is 719 years.

Zip-!

The tip of my fingers distorted the space. The partial power of the [Innate Sword Soul] contains the characteristics of a Nascent Soul Cultivator. If the Golden Core Realm touches upon the three-dimensional space as they will, the Nascent Soul Realm controls the higher-dimensions. Though it is not as extensive as a complete time reversal, it is powerful enough.

The world has three dimensions as its framework. The higher dimensions serve more as ‘permissions’ to cause further changes. The order of the dimensions does not matter, either. One can control the fifth, sixth, and ninth dimension without touching upon the fourth, seventh, and eighth. 

Hum-!

My surroundings are nothing but a vast sea of stars. My body can properly withstand vacuum spaces by itself.

A dozen white lines crawled around me. They formed a geometrical cube filled with grids.

Crack-!

Zoom-!

Shatter-!

My hand did a gesture of squeezing. No amount of light could come close to me. The vacuum space turned into a “true” vacuum, having nothing. 

I opened my palm. A miniature black cube rested peacefully. It contained nothing but the previous ‘light’ around me.

Honkai energy surged around me. The Sea of Quanta’s energy came in droves. Under my sight, the ‘space’ I took got repaired in a moment’s notice.

“Heart Intention.”

I threw the black cube back to its former place. 

Zoom-!

POP-!

A loud ‘explosion’ rang. The restored space conflicted with the space I took, causing a complete collapse of the three-dimensional plane it resides on.

“Fu…”

My Golden Core frantically absorbed the surrounding spiritual qi. My mind felt extremely heavy to the point I wanted to lose consciousness. I could barely maintain my state by taking in several pills at once.

The heaviness between my eyebrows eased.

“Three years. It’s just right.”

For three years, I spent all my quota inside the [Encompassing Sea] to comprehend the [Blade Mantra 2.0]. All of the techniques I used reached the [Great Accomplishment] anyways. Aside from dual cultivation sessions to increase my realm, I spent most of my time studying it.

I am not wrong for doing so.

[Blade Mantra] is a unique art born out of the honkai. It forces the physical body to adapt to the honkai through mental suggestions. By the time one reaches [Eminence], they can control the surrounding honkai energy as well as Herrschers.

However, it is a forceful measure in the end. The lack of ‘naturalness’ leads to a dead-end. 

This is where [True Form] comes in. 

Derived from immortal cultivation’s esoteric interpretations of the way of swords, it shifts the ‘forceful measure’ into a ‘natural attribute’ with the help of [Sword Nurturing Pagoda]. 

Similar to that, [Heart Intention] is anchored to the [Innate Sword Soul]. Except for the Cocoon of Finality, the source of honkai, I have no other match in terms of honkai energy control.

[Heart Intention]’s purpose does not even lie within the honkai, but of the imaginary energy. The [Innate Sword Soul] can be considered as a high-dimensional aspect of the soul. It can perfectly withstand the ‘high-dimensional’ aspect of imaginary energy, and as such, utilize it to one’s whim.

As for what it could do, it is tied to the Imaginary Tree’s nature. It is the basis of the existence of everything in this world. There is a lot I can do with it, be it creation or destruction. 

Unfortunately, my realm is too low to properly utilize the [Innate Sword Soul]. The best I can do is to launch some Nascent Soul-level attacks. If I focus everything in one blow, I can reach the threshold of Divine Transformation-level attacks without any need to burn lifespan.

Eminence, True Form, Heart Intention. 

Three realms.

No wonder everyone else took ‘shortcuts’. The honkai are unfriendly with immortal cultivation’s slow pacing. Though it is unfriendly, it also served as a cultivation hack. The two are a perfect match together.

The [Beginningless Sword] took form in my grasp. Spiritual swords are not limited by physical forms from the fourth grade and above. I placed it back inside my Golden Core. I sensed my progress and let a smile in my face.

{Body: Peak Golden Core (99%)}

{Qi: Peak Golden Core (100%)}

{Mind: Peak Golden Core (98%)}

The pure essences converted from the four Herrschers’ mental pollution was enough. I threw away the Herrscher Core of Flames inside my [Chaos Furnace]. That ensured my continued rapid progress.

Bronya and Sin Mal…

Once they break through, I can also begin mine.

I will strive towards the Nascent Soul Realm.

Chapter 199: Kianium

“Comprehension… There really is something wrong with it.”

Ten minutes had passed since everyone went away. The entire meeting took up five hours. The Expert Vill-V was more serious and talkative. She talked a lot about her ideas regarding the ‘semi-artifacts’ she built. Mobius also talked about the effects of spiritual qi on the field of biology.

The most shocking part was that their findings are swiftly converted into immortal cultivation. They mastered various knowledge of the Qi Refining Realm, Foundation Establishment, and even the Purple Mansion Realm. The lack of inheritance limited their ideas.

I refrained from giving them direct guidance to delay the Herrscher of the End’s descent. Now that it’s resolved, I had no qualms in doing so. This revealed one thing: their insane comprehension.

Everyone around me has good comprehension. Kiana, for example, was able to comprehend all of her main cultivation techniques to the [Great Accomplishment] mastery. There is also Bronya who is catching up. Seele overtook them all and comprehended all of her techniques to the [Great Accomplishment] mastery, being second to me.

Then there is Welt Yang who could create second grade artifacts in Qi Refining Realm. Now that he is at the Foundation Establishment Realm, he can create peak third grade artifacts.

There is also Grandpa Su. He came out of the Bubble World via the teleportation function of the formation I left him. He is actively monitoring Kevin’s movements in the real world. 

Despite being at the peak stage of Foundation Establishment, he had already comprehended several mind-based supernatural powers. That was done with the help of his high-dimensional mind. Everyone around me is hacking in some way.

It’s just that I am the best hacker of them all.

Anyways…

This shows the anomalous comprehension possessed by Earth’s people. The unusually high ratio of spirit roots within Earth’s denizens is another thing. It was as if they were destined for immortal cultivation. Only, they are also destined not to know about it.

I wouldn’t be surprised if I find a lot of high grade cultivation physiques once my [Two Phase Art] reaches the [Great Accomplishment] mastery.

As for me, I already prepared something. So long as I gather enough Demon Cores with True Spirit Bloodline, I can forge a high grade cultivation physique—a full-fledged version of the dual cultivation trait I received.

 It can adapt to cultivation physiques acquired later, turning into a unique constitution with effects of numerous other physiques. Its only prerequisite is the lack of any cultivation physiques. Once there is one, it could no longer be created.

Nevertheless, cultivation physiques are for long-term plans. It will not pose any help against the honkai.

Earth’s potential for immortal cultivation is extremely high, but for now, we have to go through the crisis of honkai first. The Herrscher of the End is weaker than Deliverance Kevin. Our hope still lies on Origin’s ability to connect all Herrscher Authorities to one person.

It’s all up to the Tuna. I am not taking any risks by choosing anyone else.

Buzz-!

“Five girls… and two of them are familiar.”

Kiana suddenly appeared and sat on the tea table. The Finality battlesuit she wore revealed a portion of her milky white thighs.

I knowingly averted my gaze from it. She will use it against me again.

“The newcomer was Shenzhou’s Jingwei?”

“The younger version of her.”

“And she still hasn’t changed?”

Kiana left some words unsaid, though I knew what she was referring to.

“You and your sexual harassment jokes…”

“It isn’t one if I am a girl!”

“It’s time for punishment.”

I stood up. Before she could react further, I stopped her from saying anything else with my lips. My hands held her wrists down on the edge of the table. 

Due to her Golden Core Realm ascension, Kiana gained the purple star-like pattern on her irises. Both of them directed a look filled with grievance. I did not mind her and refilled my Kiana energy for the day.

It took five minutes for us to separate.

“Stop dissing others on what they do not have.”

“Does it matter? You will make her your…”

“No, no.”

I immediately knew she was feeling jealous, though she cleverly concealed it under the guise of teasing.

“I can’t help you much. I don’t have any talent for anything else.”

“I will teach you.”

“You’ll definitely spend more time with others.”

“I will never forget about you.”

Kiana’s insecurities stemmed from the situations around me. She adapted to them and made concessions regarding Seele, Veliona, and even Sirin. Both she and I knew that it cannot be stopped once she started it.

Like a broken dam, there will be others whom I cannot reject. A part of me likes this situation. I might really be born to be a scumbag. But it cannot wash all the guilt inside of my mind.

I am lucky to have Kiana by my side.

No longer speaking any words, I chose to prove myself through actions.

*****

Real World, Earth.

Bronya stared at the Moon high above in the skies. The darkness of the night allowed the stars to shine. Surprisingly, they seem to follow her will.

“Eleven months…”

For eleven whole months, Earth’s peace remained. The increasing number of honkai beasts did not matter in the face of immortal cultivators. There are five active Purple Mansion Realm cultivators, let alone the sole Golden Core Realm cultivator present. It is unsurprising to see six individuals hold off Earth’s predicament on their own.

The honkai beasts now weren’t the problem; Kevin’s plans are.

It no longer mattered whether there are other ‘viable’ options for humanity. He will carry on the Project STIGMA whether they like it or not.

This left Earth’s side watching. Shi Tian’s major discoveries made them hold back their firepower. The fact they “defeated” the Herrscher of the End inside the Bubble World reached their ears.

“You’re still watching those stars like an idiot.”

“Sin.”

Bronya turned and saw the young woman standing behind her. Her slender and moderately tall figure could not be compared to her previous child-like features. Her shoulder-length hair grew up to her waist. Her heterochromatic eyes are brimming with sharp light. 

Unlike her, Bronya only grew several centimeters. She looked like a kid more than Sin Mal.

“I dreamed of something.”

“What was it?”

“I forgot.”

“...”

“But my Tao Heart stepped onto the fourth level.”

Sin Mal’s Tao Heart is different from weapon-types. It fell in the same category as Saintly Heart and Murderous Heart—the Passionate Heart. The more she stuck closely to her inner desires, the faster her breakthroughs became. Its innate abilities imbue her with more charm, a perfect fit for her dream-related techniques. 

Bronya’s mouth opened in an o-shape.

Chapter 198: Flamechasers' Enlightenment

The Golden Core Realm represents ‘perfectness’. The entire soul is nurtured inside the Golden Core. The physical body evolves from mundaneness to ‘perfectness’, having jade bones and golden blood. The spiritual consciousness increases exponentially, having a wide range of 10,000,000 kilometers for the peak stage.

The combination of the three grants a unique temperament for each Golden Core cultivator. Add to that Shi Tian’s numerous supernatural powers, Tao Heart, and job specializations, it becomes a lethal attack to mortals.

Even Elysia was helpless during their first meeting. He is also far stronger now, making his temperament even stronger. 

Fortunately, Elysia was there to awaken them. They sat silently on their designated chairs.

In this suppressive atmosphere, nobody dared to speak first…

Aside from one.

“Lemon pudding! It tastes even better.”

“You can’t eat those second grade dishes yet. Become stronger and you’ll be able to taste them.”

“Uhm. Ywes.”

Pardofelis’ prior image in their minds was broken. All that’s left is a greedy and gluttonous cat.

Shi Tian looked at Elysia and found she was eating her desserts in smaller bites. He almost could not hold back his laughter. He faced the other trio with a smile.

“You need to know something first.”

Between acting mysterious and being straightforward, Shi Tian chose the latter.

“This world is a Bubble World. Earth’s Previous Era had long fallen. I, along with the other few, came from the Current Era. That is roughly fifty thousand years later.”

Nobody could speak for a while… except for an eccentric girl.

“I knew it. Nothing good happens out of nowhere.”

The Expert Vill-V shook her head as she clicked her tongue.

“Did I live until the end?” She asked.

“No. But she did.”

He gestured his eyes towards Fu Hua. The latter was surprised upon hearing this.

“So she died?” Vill-V pointed out to the silent Mobius. “That’sn very surprising.”

Mobius did not have any notable expressions.

Shi Tian saw this and decided to transmit something to her mentally.

‘You killed yourself.’

‘..!’

He disregarded her shock. Shi Tian proceeded to talk with Fu Hua first.

“So, have you come to ask about the technique? That’s something you can ask your present self with. She gave me the technique. I improved upon it.”

“The present me…”

Fu Hua does not know what to say. Everything feels surreal—from their entry up to their talks.

“Blade Mantra exists to utilize the honkai against the honkai. It is an interesting thought, I must say, but it is limited. Hence I added the principles of immortal cultivation.”

Shi Tian showed the original [Blade Mantra] to her. He used it as a comparison to the [Blade Mantra 2.0]. Their ten minutes of talks answered a lot of Fu Hua’s confusions.

He left her to digest her realizations.

“You are up next, Miss Genius.”

“I am flattered.”

Vill-V shrugged her shoulders as she asked.

“What is the future of this world?”

Shi Tian was surprised to see her ask this.

“I thought you would be more interested in hearing about your future.”

“...What happened has happened.”

‘She’s really apprehensive of her other half.’ Shi Tian thought. ‘There is a reason why she nerfed herself.’

Originally, the complete Vill-V possessed untold talents. She is enough to change the world itself. But, she has admitted that it is not the future she likes. Even before Aponia’s discipline came, she split herself into several parts, with half of her serving as the Evil Vill-V—the catchbasin of her pent-up resentments.

It was done more thoroughly with Aponia’s power.

“Once my power grows stronger, I will turn back time itself. This Bubble World will serve as an aid… a time anchor of sorts. The people of this Bubble World will be resurrected in the truest sense while the few who survived up until now will assimilate with their present selves. Oh, they are Grandpa Su, Kevin, and Fellow Daoist Jingwei.”

Hearing Shi Tian speak of reversing time so casually caught her off guard.

“What else can’t you do?”

“A lot. For example, the place outside the solar system. Numerous worlds are housed within the Imaginary Tree’s leaves. They, just like Earth, are influenced by the will of gods known as Aeons.”

The lecture to the Star Rail’s background swiftly fascinated her. Vill-V did not mind her worldview being shattered consecutively. Knowing that such a wider world exists made her eyes light up like a kid during winter holidays.

It was mainly Vill-V who asked and Shi Tian who answered. Elysia accompanied Pardofelis in munching on desserts. Fu Hua’s eyes have a comical spiral due to her sheer confusion.

Only Mobius followed through on the talks between the two.

Finally, she spoke up.

“Immortal cultivation. What should I do to learn that?”

“You can’t. The people of this Bubble World are flawed in nature. You will have to wait until I bring you back to become ‘complete’ again. The best option for now is to study this.”

He threw a jade slip in her direction. Her snake-like eyes followed its trajectory and caught it on her palm.

“Place it on your forehead. You will memorize its entire contents.”

The cold touch of the jade slip was ignored by Mobius. She directly placed it onto her forehead without any hesitation.

A dozen seconds later, her eyes snapped out of her daze.

“An information transmitter that involves nothing but touching it? That’s ingenious…”

“Take these.”

Shi Tian gave her a pair of jade slips. One is for the [Blade Mantra 2.0] while the other is all about first grade artifact refining.

“You cannot become a true immortal cultivator yet. You can take some inspiration from it first.”

“Yes. I will make sure to send the results to you.”

“Mail it to her.”

“Mhm?”

Pardofelis looked at Shi Tian before at Vill-V. She gave a thumbs up gesture to the latter. Her mouth remains stuffed with strawberry chiffon cake.

“Here is some useful knowledge for you, Miss Mobius.”

He did not forget to hand out the knowledge about demon beasts, spiritual plants, and a cultivator’s physical body. Mobius caught all the thrown jade slips with ease.

“It’s better not to use it here. It’ll take a long time to process them all. The tea will run cold.”

Just like that, another tea and dessert session was successfully held.

Chapter 197: Gang Boss???

Being an immortal cultivator does not mean that one strays farther from humanity. Most, if not all cultivators, retain human tendencies. They are basically humans but with a skewed sense of time.

Just like now.

“No. It’s been a week.”

Our shortest dual cultivation session came to an end. I cleaned up the mess we made in the dining room while we got clothed.

“Ah?”

“I have an appointment set. Remember Elysia?”

Kiana could not answer well. She grasped the edge of the table with her head hung low. Her enticing back filled with traces of whipped cream is fully exposed within my sight.

As for how to clean it… I left that to my mouth.

It took a while for her to snap out of it. I cast a cleaning spell on her for the umpteenth time.

“You really aren’t planning to do that?”

“No. I respect her as humanity’s hero. I don’t have that kind of motive.”

“Hum.”

Fortunately, nobody else went to this dining area. The two Xuanyuans are out there in the world. The ones that remained here are basically cultivating in seclusion.

It is important to note that I handed over the [Blade Mantra 2.0] to the two Xuanyuans. My spiritual consciousness mark remains on them. I want to see whether the spiritual qi-infused MANTIS soldiers can stand against this technique.

Most importantly, I wanted to fuse the two together. It is a brand new path branched out of immortal cultivation—and I am its creator. Like the Supernatural Seed of Enlightenment, I have a feeling I would benefit from it.

“Tian.”

“Yes?”

“It’s been happening repeatedly…”

“..?”

With Kiana’s serious tone, I could not joke around.

“I learned [Blade Mantra] faster during sex.”

“...”

“I am not using any creation qi. Is it weird?”

Her remarks made me fall into a deep thought. Thousands of unique scenarios, all coming from my extensive knowledge reserve, flashed in my mind.

The answer is simpler than I thought.

“We are starting to share our perceptions. It’s a sign of our compatibility increasing in terms of… well, dual cultivation.”

“There’s that?!”

Kiana paused as she gave me a look of surprise.

“Remember cultivation physiques? We do not… or rather, we haven’t awakened them yet. That is supposed to be the bridge between dual cultivators’ compatibility.”

In short, I fucked Kiana so bad our compatibility greatly increased despite the lack of cultivation physiques.

A noticeable glint passed by her eyes. I knew what she was planning from the get-go.

“Wait until I finish meeting them.”

“I haven’t said anything yet.”

“You already did with your eyes.”

“...”

After a light kiss, I stepped into the reception area. Like usual, trees and plants surrounded the circular stone tiles. The fragrance of flowers blooming, all of which are spiritual plants, calms down the mind.

I took out the dessert cabinet out of my storage ring. Cooking thousands of first and second grade spiritual dishes at once is but a trivial matter. A Golden Core cultivator’s work ability is extremely insane towards the lower level.

I sat down in my robes as the table in front of me expanded. It is part of a middle fourth grade artifact set made of ‘Evergreen Agarwood’. There are also the cutleries, plates, chairs, and futons. 

Once they are deployed, a middle fourth grade formation that attracts qi, calms the mind, and refreshes the soul gets put up.

I took out three chairs… until I saw Elysia having more company. I ended up taking two more.

Looking at the five visitors, a sense of anticipation welled up inside of me.

*****

Pardofelis tried her best not to look behind her. 

‘I thought there’s only one..?!’

The monthly tea sessions between them turned into Pardofelis’ unlimited buffet dessert. It was still fine with Elysia. One stranger wouldn’t make a difference.

But three? She would definitely feel embarrassed!

To the others behind her, however, her straight gait looked imposing.

‘Blade Mantra…’

The girl with the ash-blue hair reached out to her glasses’ bridge. 

Fu Hua accumulated all of her courage to reach out to Pardofelis. For some reason, the latter gave a technique to her six months ago. She did not know Pardofelis and was bewildered by her actions.

Only with six months of repeated practice did she realize how big of a gift she received. When Fu Hua reached out to her…

‘Boss told me to bring you over once you ask.’

‘Boss?’

‘Boss is a peerless sword immortal. You’ll know it if you see him.’

With the cat’s encouraging words, Fu Hua was brought over to Mt. Fuji on a private plane.

She sneakily looked at Elysia. The latter received her gaze with a smile. Fu Hua did not show any changes on her face.

‘Even Miss Pink Fairy is here. Are the rumors true?’

Nobody else spoke. Mobius did not seem to react to the presence of the girl with light brown hair. Luckily, the girl looked serious, lest Mobius would have been teased to death.

The five people reached the foot of the mountain. Elysia took a step back and allowed Pardofelis to step forward.

Swish-!

Her fingertips danced around as it drew the eastern character for “wu” (lit. boundless).

Hum-!

The surroundings rippled like a clear lake. A transparent film showed itself. She stepped forward before being followed by others.

The ‘world’ inside startled the newcomers. The ethereal “forest” has a great calming effect. Breathing into the air erased the effects of multiple all-nighters. It is nothing short of a paradise on earth.

The stone tiles formed a pathway across the place filled with greenery. Mobius stopped every now and then to taste some plants. Vill-V, on the other hand, examined the nature of the place itself.

“Space folding… I can get to this project later.” The Expert Vill-V muttered.

Fu Hua subconsciously ran the [Blade Mantra 2.0] and achieved significant results.

In this way, the five of them reached the huge circular space. Pardofelis’ body flashed right beside the table. 

She bowed down and shouted:

“Greetings, Boss!”

“Hm.”

Their attention, save for Elysia, went to the “Boss”.

Time stopped for the three of them.

Chapter 196: Perverted Tuna

The fight with the Herrscher of the End caused a lot of changes on this Bubble World’s Earth. Humanity won against a great enemy without doing anything. What came next is the rapid improvements caused by the combination of spiritual qi and honkai energy.

Fortunately, Shi Tian acted in advance and uprooted all of the problematic officials—either by killing or by surrendering. Mortals could not do anything in the face of a Golden Core cultivator’s spiritual consciousness.

This gave rise to Doctor MEI’s opportunity to truly become its leader. The consecutive successes of Doctor Mobius’ Project Soldier and Vill-V’s Project Divine Keys further added to MEI’s resume as someone who chose to support them.

There are some rumors, however, of some councilors wanting Elysia to become Fire MOTH’s leader. 

It all stemmed from one fact:

She is connected with the person who eliminated four Herrschers.

Her monthly confidential visits were leaked. Some people found her linked to “Pardofelis”, a renowned start-up with more than three dozen business ventures. Her partners consisted of those recognized within the top 500 companies worldwide. It was as if they were all actively supporting her to the top.

Strangely enough, Pardofelis has no notable background… except being a former resident of the Sundown Alley. Many higher-ups took this place seriously, mostly due to Aponia’s and Kalpas’ case. 

The furthest they dug out was Pardofelis’ and Elysia’s destinations converging at Mt. Fuji—at the same time, atop all. When they sent their people, however, they found nothing.

Elysia approached them right after, ultimately halting their efforts. MEI became Fire MOTH’s true leader since then.

Six months passed after the Herrscher of the End’s defeat.

“...”

“Can’t say a thing? It’s rare to see you like this~”

Mobius did not respond to Elysia’s blatant teasing. Her eyes stared intently on the glass tank.

Kevin was the first one to undergo the MANTIS surgery. He succeeded with no drawbacks. The honkai genomes fused perfectly with the addition of spiritual qi. From physical body recovery, life evolution, up to material sciences, it greatly contributed. It is a kind of energy that exhibits miracles.

Hence came the second phase of the Project Soldier—Project CHIMERA. A person can only choose one honkai genome. It is akin to a storage of sorts. Once that storage limit is reached, any attempts to further add more honkai genomes will fail.

Things changed with spiritual qi… yet again.

The fused honkai genomes slowly assimilated into its hosts’ original genomes. It is no longer a heterogeneous fusion, but a complete fusion. By absorbing the honkai genome, human genes advance and step onto a level unseen before.

Kevin is at the forefront of that process.

“I want to talk with him.”

Elysia was startled by Mobius’ suggestion. The look in her eyes spoke for herself.

She is determined to get at the bottom of it.

Throughout their years of friendship, there were only a few occasions that warranted Mobius’ seriousness.

This being one of them speaks volumes.

“There must be a reason he regulated Earth’s development. This project would have taken five more years had I not received the medicine he handed over.”

Her voice lacked cynicism. Mobius could barely hide her exhilaration aside from several slight trembles.

“Alright! I will bring you over. But, there will be someone else with us.”

An incredulous thought arose in Mobius’ mind.

“That crazy girl?”

*****

This Bubble World is one of its kind. It is the result of the Sea’s focus. Being able to recreate the Herrscher of the End is a stunning feat in and of itself.

The Sea spanned far beyond the solar system. It is present even in the later game I played, Honkai Star Rail. It and the Imaginary Tree are this world’s constants.

Unfortunately for this Bubble World’s denizens, they possess a fragmented soul. I tried fixing this by giving a fourth grade pill to Pardofelis, but to no avail. The next best chance they have is when I turn back time itself and fish the Previous Era “Earth” out.

This did not mean that my focus over cultivating others dwindled. Rather, it increased.

It all lies in the [Blade Mantra].

Typical physical exercises could only raise one’s physique up to the standards of B Rank Valkyries—the early stage of Qi Refining Realm. That was with the presence of a sixth grade spirit vein.

Facing such a limit, Pardofelis’ strength stagnated. That was until I realized the level of [Heart Intention], [Blade Mantra]’s sixth level. I utilized my understanding to re-arrange the first to the fifth levels. I simplified what could be simplified and added what needed to be added.

Thus, [Blade Mantra 2.0] is born. It is a combination of spiritual qi and honkai energy utilization. It aims to temper one’s body, mind, and soul with their help. 

Six months was all it took for Pardofelis to reach the third level, [Clear Mirror]. It couldn’t have been done without the help of her “lucky encounters”. Even without my intervention, her luck pushed through everything and acted as a mini-cheat.

Using that third level mastery, she raised her physique to be on-par with peak Qi Refining Realm cultivators. She can also utilize honkai energy as a mode of attacking.

Pardofelis hasn’t even undergone any MANTIS surgery yet. I planned to talk with Mobius first before attempting to do an operation with both honkai genome and demon beasts’ blood essence.

By this time, I saw more of honkai energy’s potential. Not everyone has to be a cultivator. Though the techniques of spirit root creation were there, resources are limited. Providing the majority of the seven billion or so human spirit roots is a huge undertaking. A huge sect would rather use that resources to create more powerful cultivators.

My mind drifted to Earth’s future possibilities for a while.

“You have to make me the deputy leader!”

Kiana sat between my legs as she ate a huge chicken leg. The Demon Arena provided an endless supply of Demon Beasts. My accumulation of their corpses and Demon Cores are insane.

Out of them all, thirty possessed a True Spirit Bloodline. This talent is the equivalent of a High Grade Cultivation Physique. I already have some techniques in hand that can utilize them perfectly.

“Can you lead others?”

“Of course!”

“You would rather go out than to stay indoors?”

“Well…”

She stopped chewing on the chicken leg as she looked at me with her big blue eyes.

Ever since we lived the shut-in life—with periodical outside world patrols—Kiana became more addicted to it.

By that, I meant dual cultivation.

“I’m kidding. You can be the deputy leader while doing nothing.”

“..!”

Her free hand pinched my thigh in excitement. It started to crawl towards it.

“It’s settled. Don’t forget about it…”

“Can we finish eating first?”

Looking at her eager eyes, I could only surrender myself to fate.

Chapter 195: Stronger Heart Demons

After seeing “Seele” off, I faced the other person.

The Herrscher of the End.

She bore many similarities with Kiana. She did not turn out to be as dramatic as expected. She accepted her “defeat” silently.

“Let’s have a proper talk.”

“...”

She did not say anything, as if waiting for my words to come.

“Does the Cocoon of Finality have a hold over you?”

“No. The Sea of Quanta envelops the world. Recreating ‘me’ based on my real self’s information is but a trifle.” She paused as her eyes flickered. “This world is ultimately flawed. It extends to its creations, including I.”

I focused on the mark on her soul. The Herrscher’s mind was damaged to the extreme using our three-fold Divine Transformation Realm attacks. The gap it created allowed for her to be marked on body, mind, and soul. I remained wary when it came to this aspect, but not much.

“What are your thoughts about me?”

I asked the most important question.

“I like you.”

“???”

The expression on my face became hard to describe.

What the fuck???

“I am merely a part of the Cocoon. Its avatar, as you may call it. I am the final test it has placed for humanity. Defeating me will warrant its embrace, and in turn, affection.”

“...”

…

Five minutes later, my silence ended.

“That’s all for now. I will call you once we need your strength.”

She nodded and disappeared. I stared blankly at the endless blue sky. Kiana, Sirin, Seele, Veliona, and now, this Herrscher…

There’s also my other partners in the real world. There are no sparks yet, though I have a strong foreboding that I will face their affection someday. It is no longer based on intuition, but also of my status as a fourth grade diviner.

Once that day comes…

What should I do?

*****

Kiana’s hurried breathing filled my ears. Her smooth and perfect back contained a mix of hickeys and saliva, all coming from me. My hands pressed upon her fragile-looking waist as my rhythmic thrusts ensued.

No matter how much we did it, her insides sent my mind to a state of bliss. Kiana’s situation does not need to be explained further.

Her toes stepped upon my feet. They curled up every time her body trembled in pleasure.

Soon, a major eruption occurred. My cum filled her insides to the brim.

Her entire body softened. She surrendered herself to the softness of the mattress, not minding her messy hair.

“Rest… Let me…”

Despite her words, her pussy seemed reluctant. Her inner folds clung tightly to my rod.

“You asked for the slave mark and received it. Wouldn’t it be inappropriate for a slave to act like this?”

“..!”

My chaotic desires surged forth. My words triggered something in Kiana. Her affection grew terribly stronger. I wasn’t used to speaking like that, but if it pleases her, I have no qualms in doing so.

I turned Kiana over, exposing her front to my sight. We remained connected during the process, causing her feet to curl up and twitch.

I held her ankle in my right hand. The sight of her feet caused some memories to resurface.

“You used to kick me with these during your sleep.”

“Dirty…”

I acted as if I heard nothing. The tip of my tongue touched her soles. I started licking it back and forth.

“Hee..! It’s ticklish!”

Her insides responded by squeezing my dick harder. A wave of liquid spilled out of her, staining the bedsheets further.

From her soles, then to her toes…

I did not leave any one of them. The combo of a tantalizing feet and immortal cultivator privileges (i.e., cleanliness) awakened a lot of things in me.

I started thrusting while licking her exquisite feet. The ticklish sensation caused Kiana to come several more times. Her breathing became heavier.

After unleashing another weave of my cum, she lost consciousness.

The sensory amplifier of the slave mark has a higher upper limit than the typical auxiliary techniques. Amplifying one’s senses by ten times is barely manageable.

But a thousand times?

Even Kiana, a bonafide late stage Golden Core physical cultivator, will end up weak on her knees.

Worse, we did it when we were already a week deep into our usual cultivation sessions. It only took two rounds for her to lose consciousness.

I started to clean the aftermath. I also did the post-dual cultivation treatment for Kiana—massages and the likes. I voluntarily canceled the [Moon Picking Yin Manual] cast on her.

Once it was finished, she clung onto my body like an octopus.

My thoughts drifted.

The Herrscher of the End…

She is a ‘fake’ Divine Transformation Realm. Nonetheless, her [Innate Yin] must be strong enough to be able to propel me to the Nascent Soul Realm.

That was the realm where one’s mind spans far beyond that of planets. 

A Golden Core Realm reaches 10,000, 100,000, 1,000,000 and 10,000,000 kilometers for early, middle, late, and peak stages, respectively.

A Nascent Soul Realm has an even absurd range of five hundred million, twenty-five billion, five hundred billion, and five trillion kilometers for the respective stages.

Each tenfold increase shows the difference of the Golden Core Realm from its lower realms. The increment becomes even bigger in the Nascent Soul Realm, and so does in the other realms.

The higher the realm, the more absurd their power becomes. True cultivators gain power in this way. 

They wouldn’t be like the Cocoon of Finality, reaching Void Refinement Realm (suspected) in authority but being stuck at one solar system.

If I am unprincipled, I could have taken Sirin’s [Innate Yin]. The same goes to Veliona. Even the Herrscher of the End wouldn’t be spared. Creation qi makes it possible to raise one’s realm instantaneously without any drawbacks. This way, I can reach the Nascent Soul Realm in one go.

But…

I looked at the Tuna beside me.

I am wronging her by choosing the path of harem. I cannot lie to myself. I am greedy enough to want a "good ending" for everyone.

...

Forget about this [Innate Yin]. I can still reach the Nascent Soul Realm with my current means. I checked at my progress so far.

{Body: Peak Golden Core (100%)}

{Qi: Peak Golden Core (85%)}

{Mind: Peak Golden Core (72%)}

 The fight with the Herrscher of the End brought a lot of improvements. My qi realm rose up mainly because of my [Innate Sword Soul]. My mind realm, on the other hand, got the leftovers of my Divine Transformation Realm attack. I spent ten thousand years of my lifespan all at once, granting me some ‘leftovers’ that raised it to a minor realm.

It is the only way of spending a lifespan for cultivation. Every other method results in a flaw or a huge drawback. I also need to recover for years before being able to gamble with my lifespan again.

The same thing happened to Kiana, Veliona, and Sirin. They gave me enough Tao Gifts to raise my body realm to completion. It is precisely why I thought of taking [Innate Yin] to complete my Golden Core cultivation.

The Herrscher of the End could break down this Bubble World’s barrier alone. All that’s left is my order. I can put an end to Seele’s endless time loops. Although, it will cost us “time”.

There is still a lot of time left before Kevin’s Project STIGMA—three more years in terms of this Bubble World’s time.

With those three more years, there is a lot of preparation that can be done. We decided to let this Bubble World be by taking advantage of the time dilution it offers.

Seele suggested this herself. She reasoned that the time could be put to good use. Moreover, whenever she connects with Veliona, her time flow to the Bubble World reaches 1:1. She could handle it with more ease, or so she says. 

I underestimated her three hundred years of maturity. 

To this, she asked for some “compensation” when she returned.

I knew exactly what kind of “compensation” she talked about.

‘She won’t be worse than Kiana, no..?’

*****

A/N: A quick note. Seele’s 1:60 flow rate comes from the Bubble World to her Time Loop World. In terms of Real World time, it is 1:300.

PS: Bonus Chapter.