Isn't This Also a Kind of Flame-Chaser? (Part 2)

Kill every enemy, burn them to nothing. Leave behind not even low-quality relics—erase them on the level of information.

Like a brush painting over the earth, he painted away the Fragmentum creatures threatening Belobog.

At first, Seele could still keep up with him. Later, she could only sit somewhere high up and watch him fly. By the time he had fought his way out of the Fragmentum and reached the surface, he was staring at the snow filling the sky...

Could he still paint it away?

He could.

It was no longer just Fragmentum creatures. There was also the cold, and the ice and snow. Fang Jie had never liked them in the first place, and Natasha had told him to move freely—

Authorization confirmed. Commencing cleanup.

"Boom boom—boom!"

Seele was genuinely in a great mood. With great interest, she imitated Fang Jie's every movement, mimicking the sounds of gases and materials expanding and exploding. It was rare for her to keep seeing him clearly the entire time; at one point, she had even managed to keep up with him.

How should she describe it?

"Handsome!"

His emerald-green eyes, as verdant as an ancient forest; his messy, disheveled hair, which ions would never straighten or curl; his tall, fashion-magazine-cover-model figure, like hers... Even the cheap Belobog clothes he had probably picked up from some street stall, along with the novel and tasteful tight-fitting outfit underneath, could not conceal his slightly androgynous yet sharply defined face, his bright smile, and his fiery enthusiasm. In terms of sheer presence, Fang Jie was incredibly charming.

Seele admitted that she did not think he was handsome because of such superficial appearances, but because he had guts.

At first, he had still put on an act, using lightning and ultra-fast bullet punches to set fires everywhere. Later, after gradually "practicing more," and muttering a few words about "why are you forcing me," he stopped pretending altogether. From boiling to burning, he unleashed undying flames.

The temperature was like lightning's, but the area it affected was far broader...

Every cell in his body shone more intensely than Geomarrow, sweeping through the sky and earth through heat transfer. The wind and snow melted because of it, the cold replaced by warmth, making Seele think of spring—the spring no one even mentioned in folktales anymore.

Of course, according to him, this was some kind of Path of Destruction.

She did not understand it. Whether it was Honkai or Paths, Seele had at least heard of the Legion. As for why he had not used it before, Seele had only recently taken on a disciple, and she had taught him everything she knew.

During their questions as they felt each other out, he said:

"I'm afraid I'll lose control, be corrupted, and turn into a monster. Awoo, awoo, awooo~... Sigh. Besides, this Path is neither logical nor reasonable. I really can't make sense of it, no matter how hard I try."

"Why use reason to understand it? Why not rely on instinct and impulse instead?"

At the time, Seele had seriously thought about it for once, then shared her experience with the somewhat troubled-looking Fang Jie—after all, learning meant learning from each other.

Then he burst into laughter, as though he had made some kind of decision, and began to burn.

As he earnestly pondered Seele's sincere question and answer, which had been enough to stir the lesser creation authority of the Herrscher of Death within him, Fang Jie in his dual cultivation state...

You really aren't afraid of me turning into a monster at all.

The rookie Pathstrider Fang Jie asked five-star Seele. He did not understand why Seele controlled her power so well. It could not be that her numbers were lower and therefore easier to control, could it?

When he gradually accelerated to Mach 9, Seele could still keep her eyes on him. Even when she could not keep up, she could still watch him. Was that reasonable?

To control his own power, Fang Jie felt that he should study knowledge, consult theories, and contemplate philosophy...

Seele told him not to overthink it. Just do it. Other than that, she did not have much to teach him.

That was philosophy too. Mm, antinomy.

If one wanted to walk a Path and achieve something, one had to come into contact with and contemplate philosophy. That was simply how the worldview worked; it was unavoidable.

And to understand antinomy, one first had to understand what "reason" and "a priori" meant.

In philosophy, reason was defined as purposeful activity. Purpose was very important.

The greatest difference between the movement of matter and human activity was that human activity had a purpose. Thus, humans were the most rational animals. Rational activity existed for a purpose.

"A priori," meanwhile, was relative to "experience." It came before experience and was an indispensable piece in constructing experience.

Naturally, people had no experience at birth, but they were not blank slates either. Things such as time, space, and logic were "innate categories," collectively called "a priori," or simply instinct.

Was it more rational for experience to guide action, bringing one closer to one's goal? Or was it more rational for a priori instinct to guide action, in pursuit of one's goal?

In the Honkai world, the Previous Era had written resistance against Honkai into the genes of the Current Era. The Kaslana family, in particular, had inherited Kevin's legacy. Was that a priori or experience? Was it rational? Was it a purpose artificially bestowed upon them, or the original purpose of life itself?

Fang Jie did not possess Stigmata genes. The way he drove Honkai... was closer to that of Death Troopers. Now, he even had the potential of a Herrscher. With Aponia's help, he had broken free from the purpose Honkai had given him, leaving behind only purposeless Honkai a priori. He was free, but somewhat lost.

In other words, that part of his a priori puzzle was blank, free, and purposeless.

The same applied to Paths. He was not a person of the galaxy; setting foot on a Path was not an innate instinct, but an acquired experience.

But experience...

That left him even more lost.

He had to give himself a purpose, unify his experiences, and write them into his a priori—if he ever had descendants, that was...

What a philosophy spirit.

But that was Fang Jie's origin—it was "the directionality of things arising from their original cause," and "the directionality that determined why he existed."

—not something from existence into nothingness, but something from nothingness into existence.

Only by sorting out his thoughts and carrying out his convictions could he put them into action more effectively.

And once he understood that a life without a priori or purpose only needed to survive to see more and gain something, then...

Paths, Honkai, Sato Yuno, Himeko, Rin, Aeons, Stellarons Spirits, March 7th, Dan Heng, Bronya, Gepard, Cocolia, Seele, Hook, Natasha...

They were undoubtedly all gains.

Therefore, Seele thought Fang Jie was strong, and Fang Jie thought she was amazing. Both were right; there was no contradiction.

Walking a Path often improved one's logical thinking and capacity for understanding. Traveling together and communicating amplified that improvement even further, and Fang Jie gained something from it.

Right or wrong, there was no right or wrong.

What he needed now was to take action. If someone were to tell him, "Quick, use that power. It has been in your mind all along, hasn't it?" that would be even better.

It was like someone telling Dan Feng, "Why not try the Dragon Transformation Technique? It's in your mind. You remembered the Dragon Transformation Technique long ago; you're only pretending to be stupid. Come on, only the Dragon Transformation Technique can save her."

Take action!

"Hahaha, Seele, you were right. Let everything burn."

Fang Jie acted as soon as he spoke, nearly setting Seele's clothes on fire. Luckily, she was fast and had plenty of experience warming herself by a fire, so she kept her distance and took advantage of the heat.

That was not important!

He was gradually getting into the rhythm. From cautiously releasing only a little power, he slowly became skilled at guiding out more of the violent Path energy, making the realistic spectacle of mountains collapsing and seas roaring grow ever fiercer.

Leaving aside the snow-covered earth melting away, and the lake of fire burning alongside it, thick storm clouds piled up in the skies thousands of meters above. A magnificent lightning storm appeared in Jarilo-VI's atmosphere for the first time in ages.

"Sometimes, perhaps abandoning reason can still lead to the right answer."

Because of Nihility and Destruction, his reason constantly reminded him: Be careful, and then be even more careful. Control the monster that was power, dominate the power that was monstrous, and do not make a choice he would regret.

This was not a wrong way of thinking, but he did not need to hesitate forever either.

He did not even need to think about anyone else. He could do it only for himself—

"I waited three days and three nights, and I still hate this world that has nothing but ice and snow!"

He burned without restraint, refusing to think about right or wrong. Facing the frozen earth, he burned everything to ashes. Fang Jie grinned brightly. "I will—

—turn all things around!"

He pushed out more power, more, more, more, pouring it forth—

His little human form was so tiny compared to the earth, yet it possessed the power to overturn everything—or destroy everything.

After he had first come into contact with a Path, he had instinctively realized amid its lingering resonance that if he wanted to go further, he had to break free of "restraints" and stop being human.

But that could manifest in the external "human," and naturally in the internal "human" as well.

In other words, the complete "self."

And so he had to understand one thing more deeply:

—"I" am correct.

This was not madness, nor was it falling into insanity. It was a state of logical self-consistency, where "reason" and "instinct" shared the same purpose. It required insight.

Affirm yourself. Believe in yourself. Believe that everything you thought and did was correct. Possess and protect such conviction, and you could bring forth miracles!

For example, the well-known mechanical emperor Rupert II realized the machine-like nature of life and that it had to be liberated from it...

Ahem. Better not use that as an example.

Seele was a better example. Cool Seele, handsome Seele—she was a good example. Looking at her garden, even Fang Jie was astonished.

So cool! What an arrogant person!

In the galaxy, pain was real, and romance was real too.

At this moment, he was a Destruction Pathstrider. Nanook had no objection to that.

So, burn.

On the Cosmic Island along the Path, the "moon" seemed to be burning. Only a tiny trickle of that magnificent power leaked out, yet Fang Jie guided it into explosive Destruction.

Actually, it really was a "moon."

A celestial body that could truly be pulled out somehow, one that could destroy the surface by sheer mass alone and make a planet stand at attention.

That was what Pathstriders were like. As long as you dared to think and act, carrying a universe around with you was no dream. You could even swallow Belobog in reverse, encompassing this sorrowful planet within the place that had gone from nothing to something, then directly draw Path energy from it...

This was the possibility that flowed from philosophical contemplation.

As an "ant," Fang Jie had restrained himself. He truly did not want to drop a star from the sky, and he was not quite bold enough to let go and go all out. Honkai was actually pretty good...

Seele dared to think and act, and she had succeeded. She told him: You can do it now!

"..."

The power of trust. Believe in yourself.

And so he burned, becoming heavenly fire. Everywhere he passed became scorched earth. Even the snow that had never stopped for seven hundred years melted, vaporized, decomposed, burned...

The fire of Destruction spread, growing fiercer and fiercer. It burned away the sky, melted the earth, ignited the sea, and turned all things to ash.

It did not sound as advanced as the Herrscher of Flame's authority to accelerate molecular motion, but when it came to boiling water and burning the earth to nothing, there was no need for anything so advanced.

Fang Jie simply piled on the quantity, continuously radiating Path energy.

In principle, he was merely a transporter. He raised extreme cold into extreme heat, brought down a sea of fire, spread it farther and farther, and caused endless explosions.

Simple and brutal—keep piling on more! Brighter than Belobog's sun!

"Wait, wait a second!"

Watching the ever-growing commotion from afar, Seele, who had never even gone to school, suddenly realized the severity of the problem as the glare began to hurt her eyes!!

Belobog was protected by Preservation. The Eternal Freeze, the Fragmentum, erosion, avalanches, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, torrential rain...

The Underworld did not feel any of it. This place never saw daylight all year round.

At this moment, the Stellaron Spirit felt that she had grown.

"What a fulfilling day, but some things need to be settled."

Cool as ever, she coolly made up her mind.

Thinking back, she had awakened in Natasha's clinic and fought side by side with the best March 7th in the world. It was not because she had been provoked by children, but because March 7th was the best in the world.

Then she had fought the Moles children in a chaotic brawl and, naturally, won a crushing victory in their game of hide-and-seek.

This was my terrifying talent!

Star brought the survival rules she had learned from the adult world into full play. She was practically about to leave the children with psychological trauma.

The losers had fulfilled their obligations too. Black Hook the Great had agreed to the promised terms and would lead the victor to Fight Club to find Dan Heng.

And Gepard—Star had not forgotten him.

But he could be ignored.

The important one was Hook, Black Hook the Great. Clearly, I was the winner, so why did I still have to respectfully address this tiny loser as Black Hook the Great?

How bitter.

March 7th felt just as bad, since they were going to a Fight Club that even children could play in. In March 7th's words, "No, my sense of justice is starting to sound the alarm."

That unpleasant feeling grew even stronger when Star saw the cold-faced little Azure Dragon Dan Heng at Fight Club, and after helping him defeat the mechanical team, they reached the largest—