Under the Divine Eye's observation, the future was a complete blank.
Sparkle, meanwhile, pulled out her phone and started snapping selfies. Perhaps she wanted to capture her beautiful, captivating self in those final moments.
The appearance of the Imaginary Wall had woken everyone aboard the Luofu.
System.
[Ding. Acknowledged. Host, simply envelop and draw it in.]
A reddish-brown mask covered Lingchen's face. [Humor] became a curtain, and energy became a mesh.
An immense surge of [Elation] energy instantly rushed beyond the Luofu, enveloping the Imaginary Wall, a conceptual creation of an Aeon.
"What?!"
Jing Yuan froze. After calmly analyzing the situation for a moment, he willed the Lightning-Lord itself back to its original position.
It seemed he would not need to intervene.
After all, even if he did, he would probably be powerless against an Aeon's creation.
In the sky, Lingchen thought this enormous slab of Imaginary Wall looked just like a giant amber-colored cookie.
Under the pressure of the Path of [Elation], and with the system doing the heavy lifting, the Imaginary Wall gradually broke apart. The area it covered grew smaller and smaller.
Until, at last...
An iridescent crystal lotus bloomed behind Lingchen. He extended his right hand toward the sky, and a series of sounds like shattering glass rang out. Upon the Pure Land pieced together from countless crystals, an enormous lotus quietly blossomed. It rapidly closed around the falling fragments of Imaginary Wall until it had swallowed them completely.
[Ding. Imaginary Wall seized. Deconstruction and integration in progress...]
"All right, it's over."
Having gathered up the entire Imaginary Wall, Lingchen slowly descended to the ground.
At the instant he finished taking in the Imaginary Wall, he seemed to feel a gaze coming from somewhere. Though it was extremely brief, he was certain it belonged to Qlipoth.
Perhaps he really could use this Imaginary Wall to obtain Qlipoth's power.
"Why are you all making those faces?"
Lost in thought, Lingchen suddenly noticed the stunned expressions on Jing Yuan and the others.
"I was just picking up a delivery from Aha. Nothing to be surprised about."
Honestly, even Lingchen was a little surprised by how quickly it had happened, but considering the system's level, he soon accepted it.
The system really is the best.
"Y-you really took the Imaginary Wall?"
Fu Xuan was the first to recover. Her cheeks had even flushed slightly with excitement.
The aura of that Imaginary Wall alone was different from the one she had seen before.
Yet she had never expected...
"Isn't that only natural?"
"So handsome~ As expected of Sparkle's future husband. My dear husband, since you're so powerful, could you spare me a mask? If that won't work, a crystal would do, too."
Sparkle pattered over to Lingchen in two quick steps, pushing Fu Xuan aside.
Her eyes were watery as she gazed at Lingchen.
"Sure."
"Really?"
"Of course. Once you've truly given me your heart, I can consider it."
What a joke. He was the only one allowed to freeload off others. Who could freeload off him?
"Hmph. My future husband isn't cute at all."
Sparkle pouted and went off to "sulk" by herself, occasionally stealing a glance at Lingchen.
"Wait, now that Sparkle mentions it, I just remembered. That last ability you used wasn't the Lord of Eternal Joy's, was it?"
"Mhm. You're right, Xuanbao. That was Fuli's Pure Land."
Good old Fuli is pretty generous, too.
Fuli's figure gradually faded from the sky. The corner of Lingchen's mouth twitched. Surely Fuli wasn't really that petty?
In truth, Fuli had only come to take a look after noticing that Lingchen had completely severed this portion of the Imaginary Wall's connection to Qlipoth.
After all, this piece was neither a fragment stripped from the Imaginary Wall nor amber that had naturally fallen from Qlipoth's body.
It was an Imaginary Wall Qlipoth had just forged, then unconsciously reinforced further when Aha used it to block an enraged strike from Nanook that Aha had drawn over.
Thus, although the impact of [Destruction] and its separation from the original Imaginary Wall had greatly weakened this fragment, Qlipoth's divinity remained within it. Now that Lingchen had taken it, if he could truly control it, probably nothing short of an Aeon could breach his defenses.
"...You wouldn't happen to be an Aeon's illegitimate child, would you?"
After a moment of silence, Fu Xuan finally spoke in a strained voice.
Honestly, she was actually a little jealous.
She had read the legends of Fuli in historical records, too: "Fuli sits enthroned in the Pure Land."
After that display, no one would believe Lingchen wasn't Fuli's Emanator.
Perhaps the authority Fuli had given Lingchen was equally outrageous.
At that thought, even Fu Xuan felt a little numb.
"You're like some kind of monster. Ow~"
"No bad-mouthing me, Sparkle."
"Bleh. Fine, I get it. What an ungentlemanly thing to do."
How could he bear to hit the adorable Lady Sparkle?
Sparkle crouched pitifully on the ground, clutching her little head.
Sparkle had certainly been shocked at first, but as one of the Masked Fools, her ability to adjust her mindset was frighteningly strong.
Those things were far removed from her anyway. Rather than worry or marvel over them, enjoying herself was much more worthwhile.
Now she had plenty more reasons to be interested in Lingchen.
After all, Aha's words had contained an astonishing amount of information.
"Lingchen, it's getting late, so I won't keep you from resting. General Feixiao will arrive on the Luofu within a few working days. I'll have her contact you then."
Hua recovered from her shock and promptly chose to take her leave.
The information in Aha's words, the importance the Aeons of [Elation] and [Remembrance] placed on Lingchen, and the strength Lingchen had just displayed... Hua felt that only an arrow from the Reignbow might have had a chance of dealing with that Imaginary Wall, yet Lingchen had simply taken it away through some unknown means she could not comprehend.
All of that was enough to convince her that Lingchen could probably take on the entire Xianzhou Alliance head-on.
This time, she could no longer wait for those people to expose themselves.
Hua made her decision. Once the call ended, she would contact the others directly, strip everyone who might have designs on Lingchen of their authority and power, and take them into custody to deal with them.
Moreover, having witnessed it firsthand, she would probably have a great deal to explain.
Aha's signal amplification really was ridiculous.
Of course, when addressing him, she still followed Lingchen's instruction: "No need for formalities."
The closer their relationship, the better!
"Lingchen, I..."
P.S. The picture shows Sparkle.
Chapter 51: You Have No Heart
"Lingchen, since the Marshal has left, I'll take my leave as well."
"There are still matters throughout the Luofu that require my attention."
Jing Yuan gave a wry chuckle. Something like this had happened on the Luofu in the middle of the night, and some people were still out at food stalls. All sorts of emotions were probably running high by now. As general, he had to offer some reassurance and inform everyone of what had happened.
He had thought everything would be over once Marshal Hua finished talking.
Now it seemed the next few days would be the truly busy ones.
But there was no helping it. Almost everything that had just happened had been caused by the Aeon of [Elation].
As for Lingchen, he probably hadn't expected Aha to toss over an Aeon's creation like the Imaginary Wall, either.
Jing Yuan comforted himself with those thoughts, gradually regaining his composure.
"All right. Please, go ahead."
Lingchen gestured for him to leave.
He could understand Jing Yuan's position. The fact that the general could still face him with a smile was probably out of respect for his strength.
After all, Jing Yuan now had to reassure everyone aboard the Luofu.
Poor old man.
"I must make some arrangements as well."
With Jing Yuan and the others leaving, the air in the courtyard seemed to circulate again, and Fu Xuan's clever mind finally reasserted itself.
"The Lord of Eternal Joy appeared, followed by the Imaginary Wall, then an immense surge of [Elation] power and the mobilization of the Path of [Remembrance], not to mention that giant net and enormous crystal lotus. The Divination Commission is probably in chaos by now."
Speaking of this, Fu Xuan could not help sighing.
Who wanted to keep working overtime?
Even Fu Xuan wanted to rest now that the pain in her forehead was gone.
As for those two things Aha had said...
Whether it was Fu Xuan, Jing Yuan, or Marshal Hua, who had already disconnected, they all chose to take those words to their graves.
No matter how shocking the information in them had been.
After all, if that information spread, Lingchen might never have another peaceful day. If he grew annoyed, the first target of his resentment would undoubtedly be the Xianzhou that had leaked it.
Of course, more importantly, such a major incident and such immense fluctuations of imaginary energy had probably been detected by many factions. There would be plenty more work to do.
"Why not just notify Qingque and let her make the arrangements?"
"Could I?" Fu Xuan's eyes lit up, but after careful consideration, she shook her head. "No, forget it. Qingque doesn't command that much respect yet. Perhaps in the future."
At that moment, Qingque, who had long since returned home, shivered for no apparent reason.
"Lingchen, I must make this clear. Other factions may send people to contact you after this. How do you intend to handle them?"
Although Aha's remarks had contained astonishing information, they concerned things that might happen in the future. They could simply pretend not to have heard them. But the various Paths that had erupted here, especially the Imaginary Wall...
Even if no other faction came, the Interastral Peace Corporation would certainly send someone.
No one understood the Imaginary Wall's importance better than the Corporation.
Moreover, Lingchen had gathered it in so quickly that Qlipoth's aura had not yet spread.
After all, it was a creation meant to withstand a strike from Nanook. This Imaginary Wall contained an immense amount of Qlipoth's power. Even with much of it depleted by the attack, it was still a defensive creation of the highest order.
"The Corporation will definitely be tempted. They might even try to obtain it at any cost."
"If you don't wish to meet them, the Xianzhou can turn them away on your behalf."
"Don't worry. Anyone who isn't an idiot should realize that Qlipoth's creation gradually disappeared amid the power of the Paths of [Elation] and [Remembrance]. There's no way that happened without something behind it."
"The Market Development Department may be full of lunatics, but they aren't mad enough to come force their expansion on the Xianzhou."
"Besides, with just my current Paths of [Elation] and [Remembrance], I could kill four or five ordinary Emanators if I went all out."
"Once I've fully integrated Qlipoth's creation, nothing in this universe will pose a threat to me."
"If they want to meet me, then let them."
Lingchen's confidence briefly startled Fu Xuan. Then she nodded in agreement.
"True. I nearly forgot that your future achievements will probably be astonishing."
Aha had personally said that this was someone worth waiting for in the future. Who but an Aeon could be worth Aha's wait?
Thinking about that, Fu Xuan felt both happy and a little worried.