Fatherly Love, Filial Daughter.

The two temporarily set aside their Lostbelt near the Taihang Mountains. No one knew what unforeseen events might occur on this trip, but considering the difference in spacetime flow between the Lostbelt and the outside world, they had no choice but to slow down their current pace.

As a result, the usually quiet Fuyun Temple has become unusually lively in recent days.

Although Li Shishi and the Immortal Chi Yuan were not formally master and disciple, they gradually developed a master-disciple relationship through her teachings every morning and evening. With the empowerment of the Manas Consciousness, she forcibly made up for most of the elements that required time to accumulate and talent to develop.

With such exceptional privileges, aside from practicing the Sword Heart Technique, honing one's physical fitness becomes the central focus. No matter how ingenious the skill, it must be built on a solid foundation to have room for development; otherwise, it will only be a castle in the air.

If Li Shishi cannot resolve the predicament of feeling like she's dying after running ten kilometers, then she is not qualified to descend the mountain and travel the world alone.

Since Su Qing'an took her away from Zhen'an Ward and chose to intertwine her fate with that of the former last Courtesan, he must take responsibility for her future.

Jiang Rongyue's cultivation didn't really require much attention from the two of them. In Su Qing'an's view, the sword techniques and Qi cultivation she wanted to practice could be mastered in one fell swoop with the initiation of Manas consciousness. However, not wanting to give rise to any thoughts of laziness or dependence, he was unwilling to use this method frequently.

If Su Qing'an were to return to half a month ago, he might not choose to use the empowerment technique to make it easier for Jiang Rongyue to protect herself.

Such actions, driven by mere interest or fleeting thoughts, now seem somewhat naive and incomplete.

Fortunately, Jiang Rongyue's personality is extremely calm, and she will not be swayed by the temptation of instant success and easy gains.

The young man sat on the eaves of Fuyun Temple, the water in his jade teacup rippling. His long, jet-black hair was tied up with silk and cascaded down behind his loose white robe, draped over the clean blue tiles and reflecting a faint luster in the sunlight.

He lowered his gaze, looking at the scene in the courtyard.

The girl who used to wear a blood-red dress has changed into a more practical and comfortable outfit. The outfit is decorated with many delicate patterns in dark shades ranging from navy blue to almost black. The style seems to be adapted from the Qin Dynasty's cut and tailored pattern, making it more form-fitting and convenient. The quality of her body lines can be seen at a glance.

Her slender and graceful figure, bathed in the bright sunlight, slowly unfolded, appearing exceptionally radiant.

Li Shishi is currently practicing a set of Qi techniques recently adapted by Su Qing'an. Although it is not as sophisticated as the Void Sword Qi, which directly constructs an internal and external cycle between heaven and earth and oneself, it is still more precise than the Qi techniques passed down by Chi Yuan.

After discussing this point with her, Su Qing'an discovered that Fu Hua's level of skill in creating and weaving Qi techniques was much lower than he had anticipated.

Theoretically speaking, being able to create a unique Void Sword Qi means being able to take a high-level, top-down approach to integrate the underlying Qi operation theories and methods.

However, it took her some time to weave a proper Qi incantation, much like a math professor hesitating for several minutes before writing down the answer to a primary school student's calculation problem, revealing a subtle sense of incongruity.

This made him begin to suspect that the existence of the [Ascended State] was some kind of interference and deviation in Karma and effect, allowing her to bypass some kind of constraint and directly reach this ending, but without completing the logic in between.

Delving deeper into this area, many details become problematic again.

The boy was not unaware of the original prototype of the Divine Sound; it was like a mysterious frequency of some kind of waveguide, guiding a chaotic and disordered path and methodology. It was indeed somewhat abnormal to outline a method for sublimating to the Manas consciousness from it.

However, if we consider the current Void Sword Qi as being interfered with by his [Personal Record], another counter-argument will emerge.

That is to say, he had heard Su Muxi's explanation of the Ascended State before, and this knowledge and understanding were not fake.

In the two reboots prior to the St. Freya era, Su Qing'an did not learn the divine version of the Void Sword Qi. Even though he lost his memories of Fu Hua, he could understand that, logically speaking, he did not have the opportunity to interfere with Fu Hua at that time, thus distorting reality in the next reboot.

In order to find out this, he asked Chi Yuan what specific theory she used to weave this complete path and method before taking the step of sublimating her sword heart.

The answer I received was quite idealistic.

--It happened naturally, like water flowing into a channel.

--It came suddenly, yet it was perfectly harmonious.

Su Qing'an began to speculate, believing that either there was a bigger secret and conspiracy hidden behind the restart, or the beginning of the story he thought it was the middle or even the end of the story, and that he had experienced endless reincarnation before, and that the divine version of the Taixu Void Sword Qi was the residue left behind by his former "self".

However, this line of thinking is too vague, like a white line tying a kite to a string, and it is unconvincing and weak to assume that it holds the entire sky.

Therefore, he felt that it was more convincing to assume that the state of being, which resembled the Great Luo realm in ancient mythology, after successfully ascending to a higher dimension, was more profound than the cause and Karma he had originally anticipated. It was more persuasive to believe that it could directly intervene at the root and change the past.

Of course, it's also possible that the emergence of the [Ascended State] was simply a pure coincidence unrelated to any ability.

The boy simply preferred to believe that there was something more to explore behind it all.

Even now, or rather, precisely because of this current state of slowly reflecting on oneself and constantly rediscovering oneself, Su Qing'an is able to speculate about the height of the gods, the past world, the meaning of restarting, and the future after completing the game, just as if she had just arrived in this world.

After discovering that [Personal Record] could autonomously interfere with the world line, the boy realized that he was gradually deviating from the definition of a player.

Does this mean there are completely new rules for the game?

In the past, he had to worry about the Honkai, struggle with the various constraints and limits he had to face due to insufficient combat power, and lament the narrowness of time and the rapid pace of the apocalypse.

But things are different now.

As long as the [Personal Record] doesn't go so far as to bring the Karma of Fuxi's birth into this timeline, Su Qing'an, who is observing the future thousands of years later from the perspective of ancient civilization, has lost the sense of crisis he used to have.

Lack of time, a powerful enemy, and a powerless self.

These elements that led to all sorts of tragedies were completely erased after the dimensional ascension.

Under such circumstances, the boy could almost look forward to a bright future.

Is it a problem for an ascended life form, one of the very few even among countless Leaf World, to preserve its Proper World?

The enemies that civilization faces.

That is, the Honkai mechanism.

For the Imaginary Tree, it is similar to a pair of scissors used when transplanting ordinary trees. By pruning a large number of branches and leaves, it can reduce the transpiration and nutrient consumption of the tree after transplanting, thereby indirectly increasing the survival rate.

Once you figure out the reasons behind it, you'll understand one thing.

In other words, the Proper World does not necessarily have to be destroyed.

Rather, the fact that the defeat in the previous era did not lead to the Proper World being cut into the Sea of Quantum for flow reveals a lot of underlying logic.

The efforts of those Moth to Fire are indispensable, but this trial rule based on civilization is also the reason why this era can exist peacefully.

As for countering the Honkai mechanism, even during Su Qing'an's peak of safety, he could hardly do what Fuxi did—almost dragging out the Honkai Gods to beat them up—but keeping the Proper World safe and sound was not difficult.

From this perspective, the conditions for clearing the game that have remained unchanged since the beginning are now almost entirely met by simply waiting patiently.

However, the things that [Personal Record] interfere with in the world line always give one the feeling that there are shards of glass hidden under the sugar coating.

Su Qing'an had no choice but to become secretly vigilant.

His insistence on going to that World Bubble was to find out the specific connections and Karma, thereby eliminating the possibility that Fuxi was born in this world.

Even after reaching the limits of both paths and ascending to the highest level, the boy at that time had no interest in fighting such an enemy to the death.

To nip it in the bud is the best answer.

Rather, her very existence is a tragedy for humanity.

If it weren't for the fact that nearly 90% of humanity in the previous era hadn't perished, this concept of innate divinity would have remained perpetually shrouded in chaos, never achieving clarity.

The boy gazed at the distant mountains stretching to the horizon, a breathtaking panorama of sky and mountains, and suddenly, on a whim, asked the White Sparrow perched on his shoulder:

"Xiao Xi, what was the final fate of Fuxi?"

The reverse regression of the Soul Scale initially occurred because the divine intervention shifted it in the opposite direction, but the subsequent regression was essentially due to the Soul Lifeform ascended to a higher dimension.

This kind of completion tends to be conceptual, which is why it can erase that burning resolve.

Su Qing'an's plan to share memories with Su Muxi that day was forced to fail. Those memories were burned away completely in the form of concepts, so even if they were to share memories with her, all that would be possible would be a vast blank space.

Even if it's just a question-and-answer session passed down orally, the relevant memories that aren't revisited will soon fade and gradually disappear, like an elderly person suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

In fact, the moment the question left his mouth, the boy fell silent, and he couldn't help but wonder if he had asked the same question repeatedly.

Su Muxi mentally calculated that this was the eighth time Xiao Su had asked this question in seventeen Tiāntiān. Like a tender little cotton-padded jacket caring for her elderly father, she ignored the number and simply answered obediently:

"After Xiao Su slept Fuxi, the coordinates you left on him were also found by Dr. Mei and her team. I heard that she and Doctor Mobius have joined forces to revise the original plan calculated using Prometheus, and are preparing to officially implement it."

"I don't know what happened after that. Maybe it was restarted before it even started."

Su Qing'an's memory of Mei was somewhat hazy, but she could still recall many details.

In contrast, his memories of Mobius are particularly vivid, perhaps because the two were not very familiar with each other. Based on his impression of the two, it is likely that their goal after joining forces would not be simply to delay Fuxi's slumber, but rather to attempt some very bold schemes.

Unlike the Honkai Gods, who have never appeared in the world, Fuxi's origins are closely related to the humans of the previous era.

Although she is incomparably powerful, she is not entirely mysterious or unknown.

Su Qing'an said quietly:

"They wouldn't want to turn Fuxi into a weapon for humans, would they?"

This is an extremely crazy plan, but due to the nature of the other party's collective human consciousness, it is not entirely impossible.

Perhaps due to their previous collaboration, which had given him some tacit understanding with her, he always felt that this was an operation that Mobius could have come up with.

The White Sparrow pecked at its downy feathers and said innocently:

"I only found out about what I said before by asking Xiao Fu, but I know nothing about anything after that."

"But even if, as you say, the PhDs have such ambitions, it's probably because they prepared a more secure second plan so as not to let your sacrifice go to waste."

"After all, it involves the future of all humanity."

"Based on our understanding of Honkai, Fuxi Finality. We all know that the latter caused the failure of the previous era, but it was still able to leave behind a legacy to be passed down to future generations."

"If Fuxi is allowed to awaken, she will directly annihilate the souls of all humanity, causing the Kindling Project to grind to a halt by ninety percent. The era we are in now will also be unable to be born, Proper World, with Fuxi's departure, will be judged as a failure, peeling off into the Sea of Quantum and turning into a World Bubble that will eventually perish."

Su Qing'an silently stroked her head, realizing from her fluent and thoughtless answer that this wasn't the first time he'd asked her this question.

Because Xiao Xi usually stares blankly when answering these kinds of questions, and speaks very slowly—because she's slowly reading from the notes—there's no time for her to react so quickly.

For a moment, he felt a subtle sensation of being carefully cared for by a child, a feeling that was both embarrassing and heartwarming.

Li Shishi's mournful cry shattered this heartwarming scene. The girl, who had been gracefully practicing her stance training and qi cultivation, had somehow lost her elegance and was now being chased by Jiang Rongyue, who was dressed in black and wielding a wooden sword. Several pieces of her clothes had been torn by invisible and colorless sword energy, making her look quite disheveled.

As Li Shishi leaped to the side of the rocks, she saw an extremely sharp sword aura slicing through the obstacle in her original direction, as smoothly as cutting tofu, creating a razor-sharp cut.

She appeared pitifully curled up in the corner, but in an instant, her waist sprang up as if a taut and then released bowstring, and she landed lightly on another spot like a cat, picking up the large spear she used to train her strength along the way.

The young girl stared guiltily at the scene that had been completely obliterated by the wooden sword, feeling a chill run down her spine. She glanced back at Jiang Rongyue, whom she had been dragged along as a "sparring partner" for the past few days, and tried to calmly analyze the situation:

"Um, this training session should be in the evening, right?"

Jiang Rongyue remained silent, her slender fingers slowly tracing the blade of the wooden sword, sending dust particles swirling in the air.

This approach—neither speaking nor immediately taking action, but quietly using the Heaven and Earth Qi and Earth to hone an even colder edge—exudes an extremely terrifying pressure.

However, judging from her life experience, Ms. Jiang has always been a ruthless person.

Su Qing'an asked her to come and help with the training, which was essentially asking her to hold back and perform naturally.

For a fleeting moment, Li Shishi, who was usually fearless, wanted to run back to Zhen'an Ward and bury her head in the sand like an ostrich.

Well, it's a pity I can't accept it.

This inhumane training probably didn't last long. Under the onslaught of killing intent that swept like a strong wind, the delicate girl was exhausted after only eight minutes by Jiang Rongyue. During the training, she kept wondering if she would really die at any moment.

Su Qing'an used the Heaven and Earth Qi to move the beauty lying on the ground back to the quiet room. He then had the other person apply the ointment from the porcelain bowl evenly all over their body, using his strength to regulate the spasming muscles and speed up the absorption. In the meantime, he refused someone's request to help him apply the ointment.

Every time Li Shishi entered this room, she could sense the bitterness of wandering the world. She turned over on the cool jade bed, her lips naturally pursed, and she complained:

"Waaaaah, SuSu, why are you just watching?"

"I was almost beaten so badly by Rongyue that I couldn't take care of myself just now."

"That child just wouldn't budge no matter how much he begged."

The young man said calmly:

"Senior Sister Shishi, your experience and talent mean you don't have an innate sense of crisis."

"But if Rongyue launches a few more ambushes and assassinations like this, you'll gradually get used to it."

"That's why Rongyue came early today to train with you. From now on, when she goes to work will depend on her own mood."

Upon hearing this, Li Shishi was immediately terrified:

"... Even during meals?"

Su Qing'an gently combed through her messy hair, and while doing so, corrected the other person's incorrect way of massaging her, saying comfortingly:

"It's not that devilish."

"You have to eat one bite at a time. Let's start with the simplest things. We'll move on to the next stage when Rongyue feels you're ready."

The girl was speechless with emotion.

What level is "that degree"?

That's so blurry, it sounds really scary.

After a moment of fear, Li Shishi began to numbly give up on treatment.

She was well aware that everyone was doing it for her own good. Even though the training was painful, she only complained verbally, but secretly resolved to work hard and meet their requirements as soon as possible.

But... with my own aptitude, when will I ever be able to step into the very first stage of the Sword Heart Technique?

Although Sister Chi Yuan has already said that the Heart Essence is the most difficult level to enter in the Void Sword Qi, even the most talented people need to start cultivating from a young age, and being able to enter the level within a few years is considered to be a very good quality.

With himself stuck at the age of 16, where opportunities could slip away at any moment, it's probably impossible for him to cultivate his sword spirit within two years.

In fact, Li Shishi could glimpse how slim the hope was from the fact that Su Qing'an had specially created an independent Qi cultivation technique for her.

But... I still don't really want to give up.