Mu En, Xuan Zi, Jing Hongchen: Is Chi Yuan a Deity?

On the first floor of Sea God Pavilion, Mu En's phantom stood beside the seat of honor. Xuan Zi sat in the first seat on the left, while Fu Hua and Jing Hongchen sat on the right, with two seats between them.

Xuan Zi glanced at Fu Hua and said to Jing Hongchen, "It seems Soul Tools have helped Soul Masters to a certain extent. You're only at rank ninety-three, yet you can still sit steadily here."

Jing Hongchen smiled. "I have always believed that the future will belong to Soul Tools. Soul Tool research has only just entered its initial stages. If one day Soul Tools no longer need a Soul Master's Soul Power to operate, then Soul Masters will ultimately be completely replaced by Soul Engineers. Do you believe that?"

Xuan Zi snorted coldly. "No matter what the future brings, even if Soul Masters really disappear, you won't live to see that day."

Mu En did not speak. He understood the significance and place of Soul Tools in this era more clearly than Xuan Zi did. If Soul Tools no longer required a Soul Master's Soul Power, then Soul Masters truly might be eliminated by the times. However, just like the Extreme Individual Soldier Plan, Mu En believed that the future lay in the strongest individuals wielding the strongest Soul Tools. Even if Soul Engineers became the mainstream, the strongest would still inevitably be Soul Masters.

Jing Hongchen watched Xuan Zi glare and rebuke him, but he did not care. Mu En, meanwhile, remained calm, as though he had long reached a conclusion. Yet since he offered no comment, even if he disagreed, he would not reject the idea outright. As for Lord Chi Yuan, she had her eyes closed and leaned against the back of her chair as though dozing. Jing Hongchen wanted to ask for her judgment, but given her immense cultivation, he did not dare question her directly.

Though Jing Hongchen found it difficult to ask, Mu En wanted to know what this unfamiliar powerhouse thought. She called herself Chi Yuan and had never appeared before, as though she had emerged out of thin air. Her aura was even stronger than his had been at his peak. What view would someone standing at the pinnacle of the world have toward Soul Tools?

Mu En said, "I believe Jing Hongchen's words are not entirely correct, but they do have some merit. I wonder what Lord Chi Yuan thinks?"

At his words, Fu Hua opened her lightly closed eyes and looked at Mu En, who had spoken. She smiled faintly. "The development of Soul Tools will indeed affect the status of Soul Masters, but replacing Soul Masters can only happen after Soul Tools break free from their dependence on Soul Masters' Soul Power. No one knows how long that will take. Besides, even if Soul Tools no longer need a Soul Master's Soul Power, wouldn't their creation still require Soul Masters with sufficient cultivation? Even after becoming Soul Engineers, they cannot change the fact that they are Soul Masters by nature."

After hearing this, Mu En continued, "Then does Your Excellency believe the future should be a combination of Soul Masters and Soul Tools?"

Fu Hua chuckled and shook her head. Instead of answering directly, she said, "I know someone who was not a Soul Master, yet she created a weapon capable of slaying gods. The growth of Soul Beasts is far from enough to satisfy humanity's cultivation needs. If one day Soul Beasts vanish from this world, then whether Soul Engineers or Soul Masters, both will become history."

A yellow-green hairpin gathered her pale gray hair, which nearly reached her knees, into a coil. The bangs before her forehead covered her blue right eye. Her fair skin and exquisite features made Fu Hua exceptionally beautiful, but the words spoken with a light smile by such a beautiful woman sent a faint chill through the hearts of the other three seated there.

That was right. While they had been discussing the future of Soul Masters and Soul Engineers, they had never considered the issue of Soul Beasts. Just as they did not know when Soul Tools might break free from the restraints of Soul Power, they also did not know whether Soul Beasts could continue supporting the future need of Soul Masters and Soul Engineers for Soul Rings. And what had they just heard? Someone who was not a Soul Master had created a weapon capable of slaying gods? That was absolutely impossible!

Fu Hua could tell that the three of them did not believe her claim about a god-slaying weapon, so she continued, "This place is called Sea God Pavilion, isn't it? Before coming here, I went to a place where the people told me it was called Sea God Island."

Upon hearing this, Mu En and Xuan Zi could not help straightening up. They knew of Sea God Island. Both Shrek Academy's Sea God Lake and this Sea God Pavilion had been named after Sea God Tang San, the leader of the first generation of the Shrek Seven Devils. Jing Hongchen was different. The Sun Moon Empire knew nothing about such matters, and the original three empires of Douluo Continent would not take the initiative to tell them these things. But seeing the solemn expressions of Mu En and Xuan Zi, it was clear that what Senior Chi Yuan was about to say was no simple matter.

Fu Hua remained composed, a slight curve on her lips as she said with a soft laugh, "Judging by your expressions, you should know what kind of place Sea God Island is. This place is also called Sea God Pavilion, isn't it? For the past two years, I have been searching for someone, traveling everywhere I could reach. Four months ago, I accidentally arrived at Sea God Island. The person in charge there called herself the Sea God High Priestess. She told me that outsiders who wished to move freely on the island had to accept and pass the Sea God Trial. She was very strong. In my condition at the time, I was not confident of certain victory, and I did not wish to stir up unnecessary trouble, so I agreed. Only after accepting the so-called trial did I learn that it had actually been set up by the Sea God to seek a Deity Successor."

"So you became a Deity Successor?" No wonder her aura was so powerful. Upon hearing this, Mu En and Xuan Zi both assumed Chi Yuan was so strong because of a deity. But what they heard next was beyond their expectations.

Fu Hua shook her head. "When I accepted the trial, I saw the Sea God himself through the Sea God Statue. He said his name was Tang San."

"What?!" Xuan Zi abruptly rose to his feet, crying out in disbelief. Though Mu En was equally shocked, he could still control himself. He waved a hand, signaling Xuan Zi to sit down.

After Xuan Zi sat down, Fu Hua continued, "If one chooses to inherit a deity, then after passing the divine test, one will become a god. But after becoming a god, one must go to the God Realm. As I said before, I only came to Sea God Island by accident while searching for someone, so I chose to refuse. After I refused him, he did not force the matter. He told me, 'Between you and a true god, there is actually only the difference of a divine position. Perhaps one day, you may even create a deity of your own. I hope to see you in the God Realm in the future.'"

Mu En and the other two fell into thought. After a moment, Mu En spoke. "The Soul Tool Your Excellency mentioned earlier, the one capable of slaying gods—where is it? Could you let this old man have a look?"

Fu Hua shook her head. "There are thirteen such Soul Tools in total, collectively known as Divine Keys. I originally possessed one, but I gave it to someone else several years ago. Due to an accident, one of them ended up at the Starlight Auction in Star Luo City, where it was later purchased by a student of your Shrek Academy. I came here for that very reason."

As though recalling something, Xuan Zi asked uncertainly, "Was it a red-and-black longsword?"

Fu Hua answered, "That's right. May I ask where Ksitigarbha Soul is now? Could you return it to me?"

"You say return it, and we should just return it? How is demanding it empty-handed any different from outright robbery?" Xuan Zi mocked.

Fu Hua did not hurry. She continued, "You have no understanding of how terrifying Divine Keys are. Without a Stigmata, using a Divine Key is no different from suicide. Even a Stigmata bearer will be affected by a Divine Key to a certain degree. It is still not too late to return it to me now. Otherwise, once disaster strikes, everything will be too late."

Xuan Zi did not speak this time, but his gaze was as though he were looking at a fool. Seeing that look, Fu Hua had no intention of continuing to persuade him. Everything that person had done in the past had taught her that persuasion was sometimes useless. If Kiana and the others had listened to him more back then and had not been so willful or tried so hard to prove themselves, perhaps he would not have disappeared in the end.

"Since that is the case, could you let me take a look at it? I can tell you how to use Ksitigarbha Soul."

Xuan Zi sighed. "Although we would very much like to know how to use that Soul Tool, I'm sorry. That student disappeared more than two months ago. The Ksitigarbha Soul you mentioned was on him as well. We have been searching for him this entire time, but we still have not found him. We have not even found a single clue. It is as though he vanished into thin air."

He disappeared? Fu Hua lowered her head in thought and sighed inwardly. Several months ago, a rift had appeared in the Sea of Quantum. After searching almost every known World Bubble and still failing to find Ling Mo, Fu Hua, Kiana, and the others decided to enter the world beyond the rift and continue their search. However, the intense turbulence while passing through the rift scattered some things aboard the Hyperion. Even the warship itself could only remain suspended above the West Sea due to damage and excessive energy consumption.

Not long afterward, they discovered that this was not a World Bubble with a certain degree of similarity, but a truly new world. Worse still, Ai-chan could no longer locate the spatial coordinates of their original world.

Only after visiting Sea God Island did Fu Hua believe that perhaps the God Realm was preventing the Hyperion from calculating and locating the spatial coordinates of the Honkai World. Still, since they were already here, they might as well settle in. Perhaps because this was a complete world, it was clearly far larger than a World Bubble. No one was in a rush. They planned to find Ling Mo first, and if they could not find him, they could think of a way to return later. Though she did not know how powerful Sea God Tang San was, judging from his aura alone, Fu Hua was confident that with Herrscher of Reason's help, she could defeat him easily. Thus, they were not worried about being unable to return.

During her search for Ling Mo, Fu Hua had accidentally learned of Ksitigarbha Soul's whereabouts. Ksitigarbha Soul was different from the other Divine Keys. The souls of Yae Sakura, Kallen, and Fei Yu Maru were all within it. If something happened, she did not know how she would explain it to Ling Mo in the future. Thus, Fu Hua had come all the way to Shrek Academy, only to find that Ksitigarbha Soul had disappeared once again. Who knew when the next clue to its whereabouts would appear?

PS: School has started, so I can no longer focus entirely on writing this novel. I wrote this chapter once, felt dissatisfied with it, and rewrote the whole thing. It still feels terrible, but it has been too long since the last update, so I could only revise it a little and post it. I hope it is at least barely readable.