"If I failed to kill you back then, then I would never have escaped that cage. Now that you have returned from the dead, then... I will kill you once more."
"That is why the human heart is so changeable. No calculation can account for it. So many measures have lost their effect."
Su Mei withdrew her gaze from the window, sweeping it over Kaino and the others. After lingering on Kaino for several seconds, she looked at Fu Hua and slowly sighed.
"Master, I have never regretted it either."
"We have never regretted it either."
Jiang Wanxi and Jiang Wanru exchanged a glance before speaking in unison, their Xuanyuan swords leaving their sheaths as well.
Ma Fei Ma said nothing. He merely glanced at Su Mei, silently drew a breath, and raised the red greatsword in his hand.
Five Xuanyuan swords of different shapes pointed directly at Fu Hua. Fu Hua silently sighed.
Cheng Lingshuang and Li Sushang also silently drew their Xuanyuan Swords. After hesitating for a moment, Kaino stepped behind them.
There were two Sword Gods on his side. Even if he did not join the fight, it was impossible for them to lose. Since that was the case, he might as well stand in the back and watch for any underhanded tricks.
"The matter between us has nothing to do with you two. I alone will handle it."
After glancing at Kaino, who had retreated to the back, Fu Hua's lips twitched imperceptibly before she spoke to the two of them.
Then, Fu Hua looked at the five disciples standing across from her. Her knees bent slightly, her left arm curved across her chest, and her other hand stretched forward as she slowly let out a breath.
Several red-and-white feathers suddenly appeared in midair and slowly drifted down.
Feather of the Underworld
Feathers?
Kaino froze.
Why had feathers suddenly appeared in the air? And no matter how he looked at them, they did not seem natural.
Before Kaino could react to the sudden appearance of those feathers, five thuds came from ahead.
The five disciples who had been pointing their swords at Fu Hua were now kneeling on the ground with vacant eyes. Their Xuanyuan swords had slipped from their hands and fallen to the floor. Their chests still rose and fell, showing that they were alive, but they had fallen silent like corpses.
Huh? Huh? Huh?
"It's over?"
Li Sushang swallowed and asked hesitantly.
Everything had happened too fast for her to react. She was starting to wonder whether she had not fully woken up yet.
It was no wonder she could not believe it. Kaino could hardly believe it either.
Five opponents with combat strength close to that of S-rank Valkyries, wielding weapons similar to God Keys, had been dropped without a sound in a single instant. Anyone who could watch that calmly would have to be insane.
Kaino was certain it had something to do with those red-and-white feathers, but what exactly were they?
A God Key?
"Yes, it is over."
Fu Hua lowered her stance and lightly waved her hand. The feathers floating in the air immediately vanished.
After retrieving the red-and-white feathers, she appeared somewhat exhausted. Still, after shaking her head, she looked at Kaino and the others.
"I did not kill them. I merely made them temporarily lose their ability to fight. Once they awaken, I will ask them again why they betrayed me back then."
It seemed that rather than wanting to eliminate them immediately, Fu Hua wanted to know why they had betrayed her and ease the resentment in her heart.
Kaino was not entirely sure what Fu Hua was thinking. But now that the five had fallen, her thoughts no longer mattered much.
They were all here and had nowhere to run. She could do whatever she wanted with them.
But...
"Fu Hua, if you are this strong, how did they manage to kill you back then?"
Kaino voiced the doubt in his heart. Li Sushang also looked intensely curious.
The gap in strength was far too great. With two of the Seven Disciples missing, had the remaining five really lost this miserably?
And Fu Hua was still injured. After all these years, there was no way their strength had not improved at all, right?
"Master was ambushed without warning back then. She had no time to use either the Xuanyuan Sword or Feather of the Underworld. Even so, she nearly killed the Sixth Disciple."
Cheng Lingshuang explained before Fu Hua could speak.
"Furthermore, I was the main attacker back then. Without attack power at the level of a Sword God, it would have been impossible to pose any threat to Master."
Fu Hua nodded, then shook her head again.
"That was only then. I am no longer as strong as I was. If I were surrounded and ambushed again, even without Ling Shuang's assistance, I fear they would not lose so easily."
"Feather of the Underworld refers to those red-and-white feathers just now? What do they do?"
Fu Hua had acted too quickly, and the five enemies had fallen too fast. Kaino had barely realized something was wrong with the feathers before Fu Hua's attack had already ended.
Because of that, Kaino had not analyzed Feather of the Underworld and did not understand its nature.
Besides, why had those people dared to speak so arrogantly when they were clearly so weak?
"Feather of the Underworld is a God Key. Since you are a member of the Kaslana family, you should understand what a God Key means."
Fu Hua explained.
"Unlike Judgement of Shamash, which your Kaslana family has inherited, Feather of the Underworld is a God Key specializing in manipulating consciousness. An ordinary person might be able to break free from the illusion created by Feather of the Underworld if their Sword Heart Sutra had reached the Sword Heart level. Otherwise, they would have no ability to resist."
"Huh?! Then wouldn't almost no one in the world be able to withstand Feather of the Underworld's attacks?"
Li Sushang cried out in surprise.
The Sword Heart Clarity Realm had only been reached by Fu Hua and Cheng Lingshuang in all of Shenzhou. With Li Sushang's talent, she might be able to achieve it in the future, but even then there would only be three people.
In other words, if Fu Hua wished to, she could easily bring all of Shenzhou under her control.
"Isn't a God Key like that a little too absurd...?"
Kaino drew a deep breath.
"Actually, it is not that bad. Feather of the Underworld simply suits me well. After all, what I fused with was... no, never mind."
As she spoke, Fu Hua shook her head.
"In short, I am exceptionally gifted in spiritual matters. If someone without talent in that regard or with an unsteady will used it, its effects would be much weaker. It might even backfire on the user."
"Of course, if you are gifted in this regard and your intentions are righteous, with the eradication of evil as your duty, then it would not be impossible to give you a few feathers to use."
"Then, Great-Grandmaster, can you see whether I can use them?"
Li Sushang's eyes lit up as she spoke excitedly.
Fu Hua hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"Very well."
As she spoke, Fu Hua extended her left hand. Two feathers appeared from thin air and drifted down before Kaino and Li Sushang respectively.
"There's one for me too?"
Kaino blinked and reached out to pinch the feather before him.
He had not expected Fu Hua to test him as well. After all, this was essentially their first meeting. Fu Hua had no reason to assume his character was suitable.
Though Kaino believed he would never use it to manipulate the consciousness of other humans... Otto excluded, of course.
"I know the character of the Kaslana family very well. Members of that family may stray down the wrong path at times, but they will ultimately stand on the side of justice."
Fu Hua stared at Kaino, her brows slightly furrowed.
"More importantly, why do you have no reaction at all?"
"A reaction?"
Kaino did not understand. Then he suddenly realized it had become quiet and turned to look at Li Sushang.
The previously noisy and delighted Li Sushang was silently staring at the feather before her with dull eyes, just like the five people still lying on the ground.
"Wait, Fu Hua, the test you mentioned was directly using Feather of the Underworld on us?"
Kaino's eyes widened as his body leaned back slightly.
"Yes. Of course, you need not worry. I did not peer into or alter your memories. I merely attempted to create an Illusion Realm for you."
"But judging from the results, Sushang has completely fallen into it, while you appear to be entirely unaffected."
"Does that mean I am exceptionally gifted?"
Kaino asked tentatively.
"Generally speaking, yes. But your talent is abnormal even by that standard."
Fu Hua's brow remained furrowed.
"No matter how gifted one is spiritually, they should not remain completely unaffected by this attack the first time they encounter it. If this happens, either something is protecting your consciousness and bearing Feather of the Underworld's attack for you, or your consciousness is highly unusual, to the point that Feather of the Underworld cannot interfere with it at all."
"So which one am I?"
"I do not know. The former is more likely. It would make sense for the Stigmata that allows you to use Herrscher powers to protect your consciousness as well. As for unusual consciousnesses, the only one I know of is..."
A faint explosion interrupted Fu Hua.
Fu Hua abruptly raised her head. Kaino and Cheng Lingshuang also sensed that something was wrong, and the three of them looked out the window in succession.
At that moment, wisps of black smoke were rising from the Tai Xu Sword Sect at the foot of Sky Vault Peak. The Tai Xu Sword Sect, which had already been somewhat unsettled due to the search for an intruder, had now descended into complete chaos as fleeing people scattered in every direction.
Blazing fire devoured the surrounding buildings, surging toward Cloud Sweeping Temple at the mountaintop.
"What is going on?!"
Kaino asked in alarm.
Herrscher of Domination
The inexplicable fire left Kaino deeply confused. He had clearly replaced the gunpowder, yet the fire had still broken out for no apparent reason. But that alone was not enough to trouble him, because as he had said before, this fire would not cause many casualties. Almost no one in the Tai Xu Sword Sect would die.
But the problem was not as simple as a fire.
Among the burning buildings and fleeing crowds, Kaino vaguely saw many massive white-and-pink figures. Having spent years clearing Honkai Beasts around the Orphanage with the priest, he was naturally very familiar with such creatures.
"They're all Honkai Beasts, with varying levels of strength. The strongest one is... a Temple-Class Honkai Beast?!"
Unlike five hundred years later, the technological level of this era was too low for powerful Honkai Beasts to emerge easily. In fact, if he had not seen the prototype of a Temple-Class Honkai Beast in Kallen Fantasy, he would not have recognized it now.
Destroying the Tai Xu Sword Sect in the flames could indeed trigger a fairly significant Honkai eruption, but that should not have been enough to produce a Temple-Class Honkai Beast.
"The human heart changes too much, so any meticulous scheme requires many contingencies. Master, I prepared for fifteen full years for this plan."
Su Mei's voice sounded behind Kaino. His heart jumped, and Judgement of Shamash instantly appeared in his hand. Kaino turned and fired toward where Su Mei had originally been lying.
But he missed.
Su Mei, who should have continued playing dead on the floor, was now standing beside Ma Fei Ma, holding the Xuanyuan Sword that had belonged to him. Her originally brown eyes had turned entirely golden, and her clothes had somehow lengthened until they dragged far across the ground.
She stood there, smiling cheerfully and casually.
"Master, how do you like the gift I prepared for you?"
Fu Hua frowned at Su Mei, then swiftly turned to Cheng Lingshuang.
"Ling Shuang, the monsters outside are too dangerous. The disciples of the Tai Xu Sword Sect will certainly not be able to defeat them alone. Go and assist them. Leave the enemy before us to me."
"Kaino, I have removed the Illusion Realm I cast upon Sushang, but she has not recovered yet. Watch over her for now."
Kaino nodded, removed the feather before Li Sushang, then carried her to a corner and watched Fu Hua confront Su Mei.
Cheng Lingshuang immediately rushed out of the room after Fu Hua spoke. Thus, the only people in the room who could barely be called conscious were Kaino, Fu Hua, and Su Mei.
Li Sushang was likely still trying to awaken from the Illusion Realm, which had not fully dissipated. Her body was trembling slightly, and she should have been able to sense what was happening outside.
"The Doctor clearly said that once this world was disconnected from the Tree, no new Herrschers should be born, and the Tree would no longer supply Honkai energy to Herrschers. Even if you were a Herrscher, you should not be able to ignore Feather of the Underworld... So, Su Mei, what exactly is happening to you now?"
Countless feathers floated through the room once more as Fu Hua watched Su Mei's relaxed smile with a grave expression.
"What is happening? Hehehe, Master... this is all thanks to you."
"Although the Sword Heart Sutra of the Clarity Realm cannot ignore your Feather of the Underworld, that is no longer a problem after fusing with your Xuanyuan Sword. After all, your Xuanyuan Sword happens to affect consciousness, does it not?"
Still smiling, Su Mei gently placed her right hand on Ma Fei Ma's greatsword. With a light squeeze, a crystal-clear gem flew out from within it and landed in Su Mei's palm.
A flash of red light streaked past, and an attack from Heavenly Fire blasted Su Mei's hand apart. Yet the gem vanished without a trace, while Su Mei's ruined right hand rapidly regenerated.
"A weapon with tremendous power... but my Xuanyuan Sword happens to control the regeneration and destruction of the body, so it is useless."
Before you continue