Glancing at the Judgement of Shamash in Kaino's hand, Su Mei fixed her gaze on Fu Hua. The corners of her lips curled up as her figure gradually vanished.
Controlling the refraction of light—that was the ability of Ma Fei Ma's Xuanyuan Sword.
"You took the core from the Xuanyuan Sword and fused with it."
Fu Hua assumed the Sword Opening: Sever the Sea stance, staring gravely at an empty spot beside Lin Chaoyu.
"Yes. In order to uncover the secret of your agelessness and immortality, I spent a full fifteen years studying the Xuanyuan you left behind on Mount Tai Xu. Ever since then, I had been looking forward to this day—the day several Xuanyuan Swords would gather together."
Su Mei's figure slowly emerged beside Lin Chaoyu, and she let out a faint sigh.
"As expected of Master. Little Ma's Xuanyuan ability is completely useless against you. But now that your strength has been damaged and your feather is useless against me, can you still defeat me?"
With that, Su Mei grabbed the Xuanyuan Sword beside Lin Chaoyu and charged at Fu Hua.
Fu Hua changed her stance with both hands, and Opening Sword: Chaotic Thunder erupted in an instant. Su Mei was immediately sent flying back the way she had come, crashing onto the floor.
"Cough, cough. As expected of Master."
Su Mei climbed to her feet, the injuries Fu Hua had inflicted on her body rapidly healing.
"But you cannot kill me. How much longer can you keep this up?"
Fu Hua looked at Su Mei and frowned slightly.
"I do not understand. If you merely wanted to kill me to avenge your father, there was no need to spend all these years studying how to become a Herrscher. Back then, you could have killed me completely. Herrschers... I should have explained what they were to all of you."
"Yes, of course you did. A life that submits to a so-called god, abandons itself, and knows only how to destroy humanity."
Su Mei smiled.
"But as you said yourself, did you not? A god's apostles can only be killed by humans. Ordinary birth, aging, sickness, and death can no longer befall them."
"Master, you do not truly believe that I wanted to kill you merely to avenge my parents, do you? I admit that when I first became your disciple, I did have that thought. But a few years later, when I watched Eldest Senior Sister gradually grow old while your appearance remained unchanged, my thoughts changed."
"Avenge my parents? Heh. What was that worth compared to eternal youth and immortal life?"
"You had already planned to kill me back then?"
Fu Hua's expression grew increasingly grim.
"Yes, back then. Even Eldest Senior Sister, who was closest to you, was never told the secret of immortality. Why would you tell me? So I could only kill you and search for it myself."
"Unfortunately, although my senior sisters and junior sisters had also lost their parents to you, I could not persuade them at all when it came to avenging their parents. I had no choice but to find another way."
"I sowed discord among my senior sisters and tempted Sixth. Third and Fourth Junior Sisters would not listen, so I had the Sixth they adored lead them into absorbing True Qi until they fell into demonic deviation, while I also confirmed the possibility of becoming a god's apostle. I could not persuade Fifth Junior Sister either, but fortunately, I later found the obsession within her Sword Heart."
"As for Seventh Junior Sister? She was the closest to you. Fortunately, I deepened her attachment to you and made sure that after your death, she would keep your corpse by her side. That way, even if you truly came back from the dead, you would not seek me out first. I only needed to keep watch over Seventh Junior Sister."
At this point, Su Mei's expression became somewhat sorrowful.
"Unfortunately, even when faced with one of the people who killed you, you did nothing and only wanted your Xuanyuan back. There was no way all seven Xuanyuan Swords could gather otherwise. They would certainly hand over their Xuanyuan if it meant surviving."
Fu Hua gritted her teeth, glaring furiously at Su Mei.
"So the fire at Yi Xin Mountain Villa was also you..."
"That is right, I set it. Only then would they become anxious. After so many years, they had surely developed some regrets. Only when the people they cared about were all threatened with death would they regain their resolve to kill you and reunite."
Suddenly, the temperature in the room plummeted, and a flash of sword light streaked past Su Mei's side.
A gust from a fist swept forth. Inch Force: Mountain Collapse burst from Fu Hua's hand, carrying her fury as it slammed into Su Mei and drove a heavy punch into her face.
Herrscher Core
Accompanied by the thudding sound of heavy objects hitting the ground, the room fell silent.
Li Sushang stood where Su Mei had been, holding the Xuanyuan Sword. Her body still trembled as tears streamed continuously from her eyes. Fu Hua stood nearby, breathing lightly, while the Feather of the Underworld in the room gradually dissipated.
The lingering Illusion Realm Fu Hua had created for Li Sushang replayed her mother's life alongside Su Mei's words. The bloody reality and overwhelming hatred made Li Sushang cross the final threshold of the Sword Heart with the intention of killing Su Mei.
Having reached the Tai Xu Realm, Li Sushang's Sword Heart allowed her to break free from the lingering Feather of the Underworld Illusion Realm. The killing intent filling her Sword Heart drove her to cut Su Mei in half at the waist.
Fu Hua's final attack had punched Su Mei's head straight off her neck. The smile on her severed corpse remained incomparably clear.
Whether it was Li Sushang, who had only just attained the Sword Heart, or Fu Hua, whose body had been tempered a thousand times over, both were incredibly fast. Su Mei had been completely unable to react to their attacks.
Of course, both attacks had essentially been intended to vent their fury. For Su Mei, who held part of the authority of the Herrscher of Death and could regenerate rapidly, the wounds they inflicted were nothing more than injuries that could be healed by circulating Honkai energy.
It should have been so.
"Kaslana's ice? No... this is the authority of the Herrscher of Ice."
The anger on Fu Hua's face gradually faded as she stared intently at the solid ice imprisoning Su Mei and spoke in a low voice.
At that moment, Su Mei's body was divided into three parts. Her head, upper body, and lower body were all completely sealed within deep blue ice. Several wisps of black mist constantly eroded the ice, but the missing portions were immediately replenished.
This newborn Herrscher of Domination, who simultaneously possessed weak authorities from the Herrscher of Wind, Herrscher of Death, and Herrscher of Sentience, was trapped within the ice just like that.
And unlike those Herrschers composed purely of consciousness, Su Mei's existence could not leave her body. Trapped in ice and unable to breathe, she would soon die completely.
A normal Herrscher could have survived by drawing Honkai energy from Imaginary Space, but as Fu Hua had said, the Herrschers of this world could not draw Honkai energy from Imaginary Space.
In fact, if Su Mei had not taken the Herrscher Core out of the Xuanyuan Sword, she would never have had any chance of becoming a Herrscher at all.
"It is also my Stigmata ability. Since my Stigmata can possess the authority of the Herrscher of Wind, is it not perfectly reasonable for it to have the authority of the Herrscher of Ice too?"
Kaino walked over from afar and shrugged.
Naturally, he had released the ice sealing Su Mei. Although it was the weakest of his six authorities and thus did not have much presence, freezing this crippled version of a Herrscher was not difficult.
Besides, Su Mei had become far too arrogant.
Whether it was because her years of planning had finally succeeded, or because she had seen that Fu Hua's attacks did nothing to her—regardless of the reason, the fact remained that she had become excessively swollen with confidence.
If she had not stood there explaining her years of planning to herself, enraging Fu Hua and causing Li Sushang to break through her Sword Heart, then her ending probably would not have been like this.
...At the very least, she would not have lost so miserably that her body was cut into three pieces.
"But speaking of which, can Kaslanas naturally use ice as well? This is the first time I have heard of it in my life."
"The Kaslana bloodline does indeed possess the ability to use ice. Otherwise, the Judgement of Shamash would not have become the Kaslana family's inherited weapon. It is simply that most people never awaken it."
Come to think of it, there did seem to be rumors that his father had unleashed the Judgement of Shamash several times during the Second Honkai War. Back then, he had thought they were fabricated by some of his father's fangirls.
Now it seemed they were true?
"So, how should she be dealt with?"
Kaino kicked Su Mei, who had been frozen into an ice block, and asked Fu Hua and Li Sushang.
Although Kaino detested Su Mei's actions, he had no real connection to her. Li Sushang and Fu Hua were different. One had lost her mother and the entire villa, while the other had been murdered herself. Both held deep hatred toward Su Mei.
Fu Hua shook her head.
"Leave it to Sushang and Chaoyu to decide. They were deceived and used by her. They have that right."
Li Sushang came back to her senses from the excitement of having avenged her great hatred. She bit her lip and hesitated before speaking.
"I want to offer her corpse before my parents' graves, so their spirits in heaven may rest in peace."
Seeing that Fu Hua had no intention of responding, Kaino thought for a moment before saying,
"Sure, I have no objections. But before that, we need to take the Herrscher Core out of her body, so no one with ulterior motives can use it—or so that core does not revive by possessing her corpse."
Human greed had no end. No one could say whether someone in the future might set their sights on that Herrscher Core in pursuit of immortality, dig up Su Mei's remains, and cause an even greater disaster.
And honestly... Kaino wanted the core formed from the fusion of the three Xuanyuan Swords as well.
Kaino had no interest in the authorities attached to those three cores. But he had not forgotten that one of his purposes in coming to Shenzhou was to free his body from its single-threaded state.
Although his original plan had been to cultivate the Red Sparrow Immortal's Sword Heart Sutra, since his body conflicted with the Sword Heart Sutra and there was a Herrscher Core right in front of him that could serve as a CPU, why take the long way around?
"Fu Hua, then how about letting me keep that core? I happen to need a Herrscher Core right now."
"A Herrscher Core?"
Fu Hua frowned upon hearing this and looked suspiciously at Kaino.
"Come to think of it, while I did not read Sushang's memories, in the Illusion Realm formed from her consciousness, you displayed the abilities of the Herrscher of Reason, Herrscher of the Void, and Herrscher of Death."
"And I noticed this the several times you used Herrscher abilities before. You do not seem to absorb Honkai energy from the outside world, so where does your Honkai energy come from?"
Oh no, I am done for.
Kaino's eyes widened as he looked despairingly at Li Sushang, who was watching them with a face full of curiosity.
You can dream all you want, but why did you expose my secrets?
Kaino did not mind displaying his abilities before Li Sushang. Partly, he was confident in his own strength, and partly, he trusted Li Sushang's character. But most importantly, Li Sushang had initially mistaken his authorities for martial arts.
That showed she did not understand the specifics of Herrschers, which was why Kaino had felt safe displaying them.
But to someone who understood such matters, his abilities looked less like Stigmata powers and more like those of a Herrscher whose core could not be detected.
Under ordinary circumstances, he could have properly explained things to an acquaintance. But he had known the immortal for less than half a day, and someone had just taken out a core and become a Herrscher right in front of them.
In such circumstances...
Kaino prepared to defend himself.
"You may."
After remaining silent for a while, Fu Hua suddenly spoke. She looked at Kaino with a serious expression.
"You may have this core. Besides, without you, it would have been difficult for me to kill her. Under these circumstances, the core can be considered your spoils of war."
"Uh..." Fu Hua's reaction was beyond Kaino's expectations. He blinked and asked tentatively, "Fu Hua, are you not worried that I have ulterior motives?"
"Now that the connection to the Tree has been severed, even becoming a Herrscher through fusion with a core allows one to retain one's consciousness. Su Mei became like this because that was her true nature."
"Although we have known each other for less than half a day, based on your actions, you are indeed on the side opposing Honkai. In that case, there is no issue with giving you the core. Besides, you did not deceive me, so naturally I will trust you."
"Moreover, if you wanted to take it by force, I would find it difficult to stop you."
"Of course, if possible, I hope you can do me a favor. Consider it payment for giving you the core and helping you return home. Naturally, it will not exceed your capabilities, nor will it go against your heart."
"I only want you to use the Herrscher of Reason's ability to construct something for me."
Split Up
"Sure. What is it?"
Kaino agreed without hesitation.
Constructing items was very easy for Kaino, practically effortless, so he naturally would not refuse. Besides, Kaino did not consider the help of others something he could accept with a clear conscience.
"I do not know exactly what needs to be constructed. I only know it is a type of battery. Once we return to Mount Tai Xu, I will give you the relevant materials to help you complete the construction more smoothly."
Under Kaino's increasingly strange gaze, Fu Hua stated her request.
"A battery? Wait, Fu Hua, it is the year 1495 AD right now, correct?"
Kaino swallowed, unable to help suspecting that he had somehow traveled through time again.
"It is indeed this year."
Fu Hua was stunned for a moment, then nodded.
"I roughly understand your question. It is simply that batteries are not something that should exist in this era. But that is precisely why I need your help instead of making one myself, is it not?"
"As for why I know about batteries, the reason is too long to explain. After you help me, I will have one of my friends explain the doubts in your heart... and perhaps ask you for another favor then."
"I do not mind helping again, but can you first tell me clearly what you need me to do? If it is too difficult, at least I can prepare myself mentally."
Kaino scratched his head, rather troubled.
"I forgot."
Fu Hua shook her head, looking somewhat embarrassed.
Kaino's expression gradually turned subtle.
"Chaoyu and the others injured my head, and I lost many memories. In fact, even my memories with them only gradually returned over these past few months. When I asked why they had killed me back then, I also intended to fill in my own memories."
"Apart from some memories from many years ago, I only remember that I was meant to protect the people of Shenzhou and train warriors to resist Honkai. At the same time, I was searching for people with extremely large stores of Honkai energy, or people who could directly draw Honkai energy from Imaginary Space."
"I no longer remember why I was searching for such people. I only know it concerns the survival of this world. But my friend remembers."
"The survival of the world... Fine. If you think I can do it, I will do my best."
Fu Hua did not remember the details, so continuing to question her would not produce a more concrete answer. Kaino merely nodded, then turned to Li Sushang.
"Li Sushang, are you taking Su Mei's corpse back to Yi Xin Mountain Villa? I will not go with you. I will head straight for Mount Tai Xu with Fu Hua."
"Hey, Raiken, why do you not come with me to Yi Xin... Ah, never mind. You should go to Mount Tai Xu with Grandmaster first. Research materials, batteries, and all that—it sounds like you two will be busy for quite a while, right?"
Li Sushang's eyes darted about, and the tips of her ears reddened slightly as she spoke awkwardly.
Before you continue