"Taixu Mountain really is a place of breathtaking scenery—if only Fuyun Temple hadn't vanished, it would have been a historic relic."Standing atop Taixu Mountain and gazing over the surrounding landscape, Daniel couldn't help but think back on Fu Hua's past life as he glanced at the crumbling ruins of Fuyun Temple not far away.
Although Fu Hua was an immortal, she cared little about the finer things in life. To put it bluntly, back then her living standards were probably no better than those of Cocolia's orphanage—every day was just salted vegetables and steamed buns. "Chunbulao salted vegetables" was Fu Hua's staple.Although Chunbulao salted vegetables weren't particularly unappetizing—someone who'd never tasted them might even find the flavor pleasing—eating them day in and day out for years would eventually grow tiresome.
"Cangxuan… let me think… where did I bury it?"After a brief moment of lingering over the ruins of Fuyun Temple, Fu Hua sighed quietly and began pondering the whereabouts of the Cangxuan Book. Because of using Yuduchen, some memories related to the Book had been burned away—along with the memories of those seven traitorous disciples. In a strange twist, that turned out to be a good thing for Fu Hua.
"Any thoughts?"As Fu Hua searched for clues about the Cangxuan Book's location, Daniel approached her side. Standing beside the Fu Hua who had long been surveying the distant horizon from the mountaintop, he asked in a soft voice.
"Is Bronny here?"
"She's at school now. If you wish to see her, you can come by once things here have been sorted out."
"School? I never imagined she would obediently attend classes now. Back in the day, no matter what I did, she'd never even want to go to school."Fu Hua's tone held genuine surprise. A girl who, before the age of ten, had run off seeking out a mercenary to leave Taixu Men was hardly the type to willingly attend classes.
"Once she finds something that truly interests her, she'll naturally settle down. Normal school wouldn't have appealed to Bronny—but St. Freya Academy isn't a normal school."
"Seems she's found her interest, then."Daniel's eyes brightened as he watched Fu Hua emerge from a pit carrying an iron box. He immediately realized the box must contain the Cangxuan Book. In her quest to locate the Book, Fu Hua had been busy—she had dug six pits, each nearly thirty meters deep. Without Fu Hua's guidance, no one would have been able to find it in such deep underground.
"Let me take a look."Taking the Cangxuan Book from Fu Hua's hands, and following her directions to where its energy source lay, Daniel cautiously applied an electric current to activate the Book. Since he wasn't sure what its specific energy source was, the fastest method was to query it directly about its energy status.
In fact, back in the day, if Su and Kevin hadn't dueled over the Stigmata Project—fighting in the "Mustard Seed" realm, with that realm ultimately sinking into the Quantum Sea—Fu Hua could have arranged, during the routine contact that occurred once every ten years, for Su or Kevin to help recharge the Cangxuan Book.
"Chiyuan, how long did I sleep this time?"The Cangxuan Book, having just awakened, looked rather puzzled—much like a human waking from a deep slumber. One had to admire the sophistication of some technologies from the previous civilization; the armored dolls they created looked almost indistinguishable from real humans.
The Cangxuan Book had been built by Cangxuan and Dan Zhu solely to accompany Fu Hua. Although it was equipped with a weapon system, under normal circumstances it wasn't needed for combat.
The previous civilization even had specially built armed dolls for battle—like Kevin's own armed doll. Though it was said to possess only about one percent of his full strength, that power still surpassed that of an ordinary S-rank Valkyrie of Schicksal. Even Youlandel could hold her own for several rounds against it.
"What is this? Why are there two Crimson Kites? Am I dreaming?"Barely awake, the Cangxuan Book nearly leapt up in shock when it saw two figures resembling Crimson Kites standing before it—one at a distance and one close by. Startled, it rubbed its eyes with both hands and pinched its arm."Ouch—so it's real."Feeling the sting, the Book looked up at Fu Hua and said, "Chiyuan, you can now create a doppelgänger?""It's been a long time, Cangxuan," Fu Hua replied, stepping forward and pulling the awakened Book into a warm embrace—something the old Fu Hua would never have done. The gesture left the Cangxuan Book looking bewildered, its cheeks flushing as if shy.
"Old relic, what's going on? How many years did I sleep this time?""Over a thousand, I'd say."
"That technology is something we must secure— for Jie's sake."Watching their conversation, Daniel resolved then and there that he must obtain the technique for creating armed dolls. It wasn't for augmenting combat power per se, but for Jie. Currently, Jie relied on a mechanical body. Although its performance was good, compared to an armed doll it was like night and day.
"Chiyuan, what's the state of your body? Didn't I tell you to take care of yourself?"While the Book inquired about Fu Hua's condition, it simultaneously activated its diagnostic sensors. The resulting readout shocked the Cangxuan Book to its core.
"It's nothing serious—just a minor mishap," Fu Hua replied calmly when asked about her condition.
"What exactly is going on?"Under persistent questioning from the Book, Fu Hua eventually disclosed everything. Although she couldn't recall the names of the seven traitorous disciples, she had a vague impression of them.
"It's all my fault. If I hadn't insisted you take on disciples at the end…"Upon hearing Fu Hua's confession, the Book began to berate itself, apologizing for urging Fu Hua to accept disciples."That's not your fault. It's all in the past now," Fu Hua comforted gently.
"Enough of this—let's focus on your energy supply first. Fu Hua doesn't know anything about it. I can't understand why they didn't install solar panels on the Cangxuan Book when it was built," Daniel interjected as Fu Hua and the Book began a cycle of mutual apologies.
"Solar panels… solar panels…"The Cangxuan Book suddenly fell silent, as if struck by lightning. It stood there, murmuring the words over and over."Surely, our old masters must have forgotten."The Book's face reddened as it realized that, had it thought of installing solar panels earlier, it wouldn't have had to enter a low-power state to conserve energy.
"Regarding your energy supply, Fu Hua isn't entirely sure either. For now, I can only temporarily provide you with some energy—and later, I'll supply you with a full energy package, plus solar input."Whether needed or not, solar power was essential as a backup.
"Thank you. By the way, who are you? And who is she?"The Cangxuan Book nodded in gratitude, then, as if noticing something, asked Daniel and the other Fu Hua for their identities. Compared to Fu Hua's reserved nature, the Book was far more perceptive."As for me, consider me a friend of Fu Hua's. And this—this is the Fu Hua from the World Bubble. You know what a World Bubble is, don't you?""Your friend from the Crimson Kite Immortal—old relic, you've finally made another friend. That's wonderful," the Book said happily. But then its brow furrowed as it looked at the two Fu Huas and hesitantly added, "Two Fu Huas? From now on, I'll call you 'Second Hua'.""Call me Hua."Even though Fu Hua's mood wasn't exactly light, being addressed in that manner made her frown involuntarily.
"Xuan-Yuan Sword… what a pity there's no Super-Transformation Factor. Useless!"On Taixu Mountain, before Fu Hua departed, she had arranged a number of Xuan-Yuan Swords—and virtual Yuduchen—to set up array formations and barriers. Here, it was one of the few oases untainted by Honkai energy's corrosion.
Strictly speaking, these Xuan-Yuan Swords weren't genuine Xuan-Yuan Swords at all—they were merely "Keys of Dominion" of inferior quality. They might shatter even when chopping Honkai Beasts. Only when they were enhanced with a Super-Transformation Factor or modified by Stigmata could they become weapons resembling Divine Keys.
Fu Hua's "Taixu Grip," Cheng Lixue's "Ruoshu Sword," and Hili's "Golden Sword" were all products of such transformations. In truth, the only one that truly deserved the name "Xuan-Yuan Sword" was the Golden Sword wielded by Hili.
"This body… it's in rough shape. Physical recovery is one thing—but the soul, that's another matter entirely. Fortunately, I have plenty of methods at my disposal."After leaving Taixu Mountain, Daniel did not return to St. Freya Academy immediately. Instead, he headed back to Tianqiu City within the World Bubble to recharge the Cangxuan Book's energy and to treat Fu Hua's injuries. In his relentless efforts, Fu Hua's body recovered rapidly, although her shattered "sword heart" and lost memories would not be restored overnight.
Based on the fact that the Recognizer had absorbed all of Fu Hua's memories, it appeared that the memories she lost were still hidden deep in her mind—more like emotions.For others, there was little that could be done for Fu Hua's condition. But Daniel had acquired abilities concerning souls from the Death Brigade Zero. He was capable of fully restoring Fu Hua's soul.
"Who would have thought that even souls can soak in a hot spring? That's truly bizarre," the Cangxuan Book remarked as it observed Fu Hua, clad in a simple garment, relaxing in a hot spring within the soul-space that Daniel had created.
"Not bizarre—it's just that you haven't seen much. Your memory issues are really just due to insufficient soul strength. Once you enhance your soul, your lost memories will quickly return. I'll leave both of you in my care," Daniel explained.
(Latest novel: first published on 69Book!)
With the soul hot spring now established, it wouldn't be reserved for just one Fu Hua. Although the other Fu Hua had no injuries requiring recovery, boosting her soul strength was always beneficial.
"Taixu Sword Qi—the five aggregates of mind, body, intention, soul, and spirit; the four realms of Still Water, Unstained, Bright Mirror, and Taixu—Fu Hua, you're truly impressive. Your divine essence could easily counter the powers of Natural-type Devil Fruit users."
While Daniel worked to enhance Fu Hua's soul strength, he simultaneously began cultivating his own Taixu Sword Qi. Though he and the other Fu Hua trained together, his progress lagged behind hers. Even if they weren't from the same world, she was still Fu Hua.
Taixu Sword Qi was powerful enough to obliterate Honkai Beasts outright. As for fighting humans, that was child's play. Even Natural-type Devil Fruit users—capable of disintegrating their bodies into elements—their consciousness could not be so easily elementized.
"Your group's here in full force."
In a standard suite in Canghai City, a golden portal appeared, and Daniel and Walter emerged from it. Inside the room, Einstein, Tesla, and Siegfei were quietly waiting. They had chosen to meet in Canghai City to avoid Otto's surveillance.
"Chicken Coop Head, look! It's magic—real magic!"A fiery red, twin-tailed Tesla exclaimed excitedly at the sight of the golden portal, almost rushing forward to investigate."Dr. Tesla, remember your position—you're a scientist. Are you planning to change careers and become a magician?" Einstein chided her with a stern look."I know," Tesla replied.
For a true scientist, magic didn't exist. The "miracles" were merely phenomena that science hadn't yet explained. Both Einstein and Tesla were, without question, genuine scientists.
The miraculous powers of the Ruler of Reason had never been classified as magic. In other contexts, such abilities to create things from nothing might be seen as divine.
"Let me ask again—does Kiana truly still live?"At this point, Siegfei had grown noticeably more composed, not immediately demanding details about Kiana's fate.
"I can assure you, she's alive and well. And if, in the end, you find discrepancies, you're welcome to come beat me up," Daniel replied.
"I'll remember that," Siegfei said as he withdrew his Heavenly Fire Judgment and handed it over to Daniel.
"Rest assured, I should complete the replication soon and return it to you," Daniel said, tossing the Heavenly Fire Judgment into his space ring.
"These are spatial storage devices," Tesla remarked excitedly upon seeing the Heavenly Fire Judgment vanish, then reappear in his hand. Daniel held both Tesla and Einstein in high regard. Frankly, Otto had made a terrible mistake forcing them out—if they had remained on Otto's side, his research would have advanced considerably faster.
Yet Otto had driven them away—apparently, he didn't mind, as Otto himself was a great scientist. Dr. Makki's Honkai Neutralizing Serum was a testament to Otto's contributions. Prior to this, Otto had labored on the serum, and his success was built upon the shoulders of giants—and that giant was Otto himself.
Although the Void Archive's abilities were similar to those of the Ruler core, when combined with the vast library of relics from the previous civilization, the Void Archive was, in fact, even more valuable than the Ruler core.
"Alright, Dr. Tesla, the rest we can discuss later. You've met your conditions; now it's time for you to fulfill your promise," Einstein said, drawing an enthusiastic Tesla back in.
"Of course, no problem. But to avoid repeating myself—and to allow others to listen in—I'm about to open a transmission portal. Our destination is Headmistress Theresa's office."No sooner had the portal opened than the sudden change startled Theresa, causing her to nearly drop her copy of the Hoom Three Kingdoms manga along with the Oath of Judah.
"Dr. Davis, Dr. Einstein, what is the meaning of this?""Long time no see, Ms. Theresa," Daniel greeted warmly.
"Hey, Siegfei, how dare you show up!"
______
(≧◡≦) ♡ Support me and read 20 chapters ahead – patreon.com/Mutter
For every 50 Power Stones, one extra chapter will be released on Saturday.