HIA VOL.6 CH26-50 (Patreon)

HA VOL 7 CH26-50

Chapter 26: Preparing in Advance

Taking advantage of the break, Luo Lin made another trip to the "Elysian Realm." She planned to hand over the data of the "Anti-Honkai Energy Array" collected by the detector on Taixu Mountain to Vill-V.

Accompanied by the somewhat distressed Raven, the Valkyrie went straight to the Helixcraft, only to find that Vill-V was not there.

After a moment of thought, Luo Lin changed direction and headed to the Mobius Laboratory. Upon pushing open the door, she indeed spotted Vill-V's figure... and of course, standing beside her, the somewhat agitated Mobius.

It seemed that the two of them were engaged in a heated debate over some academic issue, reaching the point of blushing in anger and getting worked up.

Sensing the situation wasn't favorable, Luo Lin prepared to close the door and distance herself from the dispute, only to be stopped by the impatient Mobius: "Luo Lin! What are you doing here?!"

"Ah, I just came to see..."

"Really?"

Under the sharp gaze of those green serpent pupils, Luo Lin's momentum quickly weakened, and she whispered, "I came to find Vill-V. I have some detection data to give her..."

The expression of the green-haired scientist became increasingly unpleasant.

At that moment, Vill-V reached out her hand towards Luo Lin and said, "Looking for me? Bring it out. It just so happens that I've been 'deeply collaborating' with Mobius lately, and 'progress has been smooth.' We need something else to spice things up a bit."

"Vill... V..."

Mobius almost squeezed out these words from between her teeth.

The dual-colored lady spread her hands. "You should be happier. How long have you been in the comfort zone before Luo Lin came? Researching only one type of experiment day in and day out... Now, Luo Lin has brought us so many new things. Don't you feel like you've returned to those passionate years?"

To this, the green-haired scientist retorted, "Yes, everything has come back, good and bad, including but not limited to our arguments and the fight for funding... Passionate years, huh?"

Raven, following behind Luo Lin, and had slipped outside the laboratory door at some point, leaving a crack to observe the situation inside.

Luo Lin had no choice but to take out the borrowed detector and connect the data cable, explaining as she went, "This is the data I collected from Hua, uh, from the Fu Hua of the current era. She used a large number of 'Key of Dominions' over there to construct an 'Anti-Honkai Energy Array,' effectively protecting the surrounding environment..."

As the data entered the computer, Vill-V and Mobius quickly focused their attention on the incomprehensible tables and images.

Both research giants crossed their arms and squinted their eyes, beginning to analyze the data.

Mobius furrowed her brow and murmured, "These fluctuations seem so familiar..."

"If they seem familiar, it's because when Dr. Mei and I were studying the 'Moonlight Throne' system, we referred to the way the 'Key of Dominions' transferred energy... using the special connections between the 'Key of Dominions' to form an array to suppress Honkai energy. It's an interesting idea."

Vill-V snapped her fingers and smiled, "But I didn't expect that the girl who could barely put together scientific theories, who often became material for others' research (at this point, Vill-V deliberately glanced at Mobius), has grown to this extent."

The Herrscher of Sentience felt like an innocent bystander who had been kicked by someone passing by and was quite angry.

The Herrscher grumbled, "You old fossil, why didn't you learn more knowledge during the previous era when your brain was still good? I can't even argue back in front of Vill-V..."

—Having a doctorate in scientific research is truly impressive!

Luo Lin mentally responded to Herrscher, "Is there a possibility that during the previous era, the Honkai catastrophe came too suddenly and too viciously? Hua, as a member of the 'Fire Moth' frontline combat team, was busy improving her martial arts all day long, with no time even to read leisurely books..."

"Tch." Mobius clicked her tongue and said, "No matter what, Hua is also a member of the elite. It's not surprising that she could research something like this."

"Alright, I won't disturb you. I'll take my leave now!" Luo Lin maintained her posture facing the two scientists, her feet swiftly moving, and in a matter of seconds, she ran to the door: "I came today just to deliver some data to you... I might have to do something big later, and I might bring you something else, so stay tuned!"

—Then she collided with Raven!

"Oh!"

The two of them stumbled away.

Mobius commented on Luo Lin's behavior, "... Silly."

Just then, Vill-V awkwardly adjusted her hat: "Um, it seems we didn't have a chance to ask Luo Lin about the issue we were arguing about just now, regarding those 'Signets,' right?"

The green-haired scientist finally seized the opportunity to mock, "The person has already left, and now you remember?"

"Well, let's make sure to ask next time."

---

Luo Lin woke up right on time, sitting up in bed and gazing at the faintly lit sky outside the window.

She wondered how Kiana and the others were doing in St. Freya, if they had eaten breakfast properly...

The Valkyrie quickly got herself ready and headed to the Operations Command Room of this Schicksal Base.

Apart from a few Valkyries still on duty in the command room, it was empty, making Luo Lin realize just how early she had gotten up.

It seemed that Fu Hua woke up even earlier than her, really terrifying!

After about half an hour, Whitley and Alvitr arrived leisurely, looking at Luo Lin sitting in the chair in a state of shock.

Luo Lin, holding a stack of research materials (co-authored by Mobius and Vill-V), looked at the annotations on them while conducting small-scale experiments and training within a safe range using Honkai energy.

Alvitr poked her captain and asked in disbelief, "Are all the Valkyries at headquarters... this 'busy'? Doing research while... fighting?"

Whitley looked puzzled, "The friends I know at headquarters aren't this exaggerated... At most, they put in a little more effort at work and add a few extra strokes when writing reports..."

"Hmm? Here already? Any news about the clues we talked about yesterday?" Luo Lin put down the research materials, waved her hand, and the two could see the scattered purple star points drifting from her fingers, remnants of Honkai energy in motion.

"Y-yes, we just received the analysis results this morning... The research department said they've identified four locations with abnormal signals — now we can prepare to explore further underwater."

Alvitr snapped out of her daze, took out her personal terminal, and showed Luo Lin the underwater topographic map she had seen yesterday, with four locations highlighted.

Luo Lin took a closer look and noticed that three of the abnormal signals were on the periphery, surrounding the last one in the middle.

The Valkyrie pondered for a moment before saying, "Hmm... Let's first see what's going on with these three outside."

Chapter 27: Diving (Physics)

Luo Lin surveyed the ships moored not far away in the harbor. One ship, about seventy meters long and ten meters wide, with a towering bridge, was equipped with many research and detection devices. A flag bearing the emblem of "Schicksal" fluttered on the mast.

The Valkyrie blinked, quickly recognizing it as a research vessel.

"Although the transport airship is fast, if you want to conduct long-term exploration at sea, you still need a research vessel like this," one of the Valkyries at the base continued to explain. "This ship is named the 'Icarus.' It will take you to the Stigmata Ruins. Later, we will dispatch transport airships to provide personnel and supplies for the ship."

"Alright." Luo Lin followed the others onto the "Icarus." The ship soon left the harbor and sped across the sea at an exaggerated speed. The Valkyrie was now sure that this was indeed a vessel under Schicksal's jurisdiction, judging from the modifications alone.

A few hours later, the Valkyries arrived at one of the locations of the abnormal signal.

Luo Lin and Captain Whitley promptly changed into diving suits, put on oxygen masks, and two other Valkyries also geared up, preparing to dive.

Thanks to Schicksal's advanced technology, this diving suit did not hinder the Valkyries' movements. It even came with a backpack equipped with a small Honkai engine, allowing for swift movement underwater and long-term oxygen supply.

Alvitr remained on the ship. As the team's technician, her role on the research vessel was much greater than that in underwater exploration.

Before diving, Captain Whitley confirmed with her team once again: "Final check, is all equipment normal?"

Everyone checked their gear again and responded, "All normal."

"Begin descent!"

Luo Lin leaned back and gracefully entered the water, feeling the sea engulfing her.

When she opened her eyes again, the Valkyrie was already submerged underwater.

The depth of the seabed here was not great, and natural light easily illuminated the ocean floor.

However, there were no colorful corals or varying sizes of fish here, except for the white sand, there was nothing else, making it seem somewhat lifeless.

Luo Lin frowned, carefully sensing her surroundings. She noticed that the concentration of Honkai energy here was slightly higher than elsewhere—perhaps this was why it seemed so lifeless.

Whitley also anticipated this situation. She said, "Generally, the Stigmata Ruins themselves gather some Honkai energy, causing the surrounding area to appear lifeless..."

"I see."

Luo Lin moved her arms and legs freely in the water.

Luo Lin, who exercised every day, indeed had a good figure, especially after putting on the diving suit, her body's curves became exceptionally prominent.

The parts that should be plump were plump, and the parts that should be slender were slender... Uh, let's change the subject.

Luo Lin only gets along with Fu Hua in this regard.

At least in Luo Lin's opinion, her appearance met the definition of a popular two-dimensional waifu.

Especially in this scene, with sunlight shining through the rippling sea surface, the black-haired girl in a diving suit floated there, her slender legs swaying slightly, creating a small string of bubbles. The wide-open diving mask made it easy to see Luo Lin's face.

Her black eyes reflected the scenery of the seabed, with faint starlight hidden within, making it easy to get lost in them if one made eye contact.

If Luo Lin noticed it one day, she might exclaim that in the Honkai world, giving eyes special effects was the norm, and she had now adapted to it.

The flickering sunlight through the sea sponge cast a faint white halo around her, making Luo Lin look like a mermaid from a mythical legend...

This scene felt like a high-quality Stigmata illustration, at least it had to be a five-star Stigmata.

If someone could take a picture and upload it online, there would be countless internet users shouting "wife" in their mouths, wishing to lick her legs until they broke.

"Huh? Why... do I feel so light?"

The black-haired girl looked at her body in surprise, trying to move in the water again.

Something had indeed changed...

After a few more seconds, Luo Lin finally found what was wrong. She had become very good at swimming, much better than before when her swimming skills could only be described as "armed swimming" or "underwater combat readiness."

This feeling was very familiar, just like when she switched character cards and suddenly acquired those combat skills inherent to the character. The method of swimming also appeared abruptly in her mind.

Luo Lin glanced at the nearby Whitley and the remaining two Valkyries, who had their weapons hung on their waists and backs, assuming a standard diving posture. If there were any unexpected situations, they could react immediately.

At that moment, Alvitr's voice came through the communication channel: "This is Alvitr. I've marked the position of the abnormal signal on the map. Please follow the guide and proceed."

Luo Lin touched her diving mask, and a real-time three-dimensional positioning map appeared before her eyes, with clear path planning marks.

The Valkyries proceeded toward their destination.

As Luo Lin and her team gradually approached the target, the fluctuations of Honkai energy increased. Whitley, now half excited and half worried, explained, "It seems that this time, the Stigmata Ruins have gathered quite a bit of Honkai energy, and there is a high probability of encountering Honkai beasts... Stay vigilant!"

"Yes!"

The Valkyries all unfastened their weapons from their backs—basically, they were all firearms designed for underwater use, powerful enough to deal with ordinary Honkai beasts.

Why did I say "basically"? Because Luo Lin not only carried a gun but also a golden sword floating beside her. The "Moon Ring" on her shoulder also started to operate, illuminating her face.

This girl, shining brightly, attracted the attention of the Valkyries.

"Is this high-tech equipment from the Equipment Department?"

"It is high-tech."

But not only from the Equipment Department of Schicksal, but also the technology of the ancient civilization...

After walking a short distance further, the group found a fissure on the seabed, dozens of meters long and seven to eight meters wide, from which strong Honkai energy fluctuations emanated.

Clearly, this was the source of the abnormal signal.

Luo Lin squinted, her "Honkai Energy Radar" constantly emitting warnings. The Valkyrie shouted loudly, "A large number of mobile units with Honkai energy are approaching ahead. Prepare for combat!"

The next moment, a swarm of Honkai beasts surged out of the crevice like a tide!

Chapter 28: There Are Also Arrays in the Sea

The Honkai beasts that "gushed" forth were entirely different from those Luo Lin had seen before. Although they had the characteristic white shells and purple patterns, the Valkyrie felt that these creatures didn't seem like typical products of the Honkai.

They looked too much like sharks, both in appearance and behavior, lacking the otherworldly feeling that didn't belong to the real world. Luo Lin knew why—these creatures were the result of Honkai energy corrupting Earth's native sharks.

The black-haired girl sighed. Honkai-corrupted versions of native creatures like these were extremely rare in modern times. After the outbreak of the Honkai catastrophe, high concentrations of Honkai energy could directly spawn Honkai beasts from thin air!

That meant facing enemies like the Seraph class, Chariot class, Knight class, Templar class, and a series of old friends that Luo Lin encountered every day on the Abyss battlefield, feeling like she met them more often than she ate her meals.

Moreover, with humans everywhere on Earth now, even a slight Honkai could produce zombies stronger than Honkai beasts formed from wild animals.

So Luo Lin speculated that the shark-type Honkai beasts in front of her should be considered "ancient craftsmanship," like antiques dug up from the ground, exuding a "primitive beauty."

But that didn't stop the Valkyrie from pulling the trigger and firing at the Honkai beasts.

At the same time, Whitley and the other two Valkyries also launched their attacks, their bullets forming a web of death underwater.

However, there were unexpectedly many of these shark Honkai beasts, which was in line with the Valkyries' understanding of Honkai beasts. The four of them fought while retreating to prevent themselves from falling into the encirclement of the shark Honkai beasts.

Luo Lin quickly realized that these Honkai beasts were surprisingly fragile, perhaps because they were already considered "beta versions" of her old enemies—

At that time, human technology was underdeveloped, and the global concentration of Honkai energy wasn't high enough. These creatures only needed to deal with ancient Chinese people wielding long spears and swords. Having a hard shell was enough for them.

Who could have imagined that hundreds or even thousands of years later, four Valkyries responsible for combating Honkai would come here wielding "long spears" and "short swords"...

The "spear" was a fully automatic assault rifle assisted by Honkai energy, while the "sword" was formed by Luo Lin using the "Key of Revelation," combined with the amplification of "Edge of Taixuan," "Moon Ring," and "Dark Feathers of Etherial Light"!

The next moment, exaggerated sword Qi and sword light flew out from the blade, cutting a gap in the "turbulence" formed by the shark Honkai beasts, halting their attack!

The Valkyries aboard the research vessel "Icarus" stared in astonishment at the images transmitted by the cameras, feeling as if their emotions were riding a rollercoaster.

"So many Honkai beasts! Captain Whitley is in danger! Everyone, prepare to launch torpedoes and depth charges!"

"Wait... these Honkai beasts don't seem as formidable as we imagined..."

"No, they're coming continuously! Keep your weapons ready!"

"Wow!"

These were cries of surprise from being startled by Luo Lin's indiscriminate Taixuan Sword Ki strikes.

Yarveit sighed, "The headquarters personnel are really amazing... Is she an A-rank Valkyrie?"

The surrounding Valkyries nodded and agreed.

"Indeed, I once had the honor of fighting alongside an A-rank Valkyrie, and the scene was incredibly exaggerated!"

"With an A-rank Valkyrie leading, wouldn't exploring this Stigmata Ruin be easy and enjoyable?"

The discussions on the research vessel didn't reach the ears of the Valkyries engaged in battle underwater. Luo Lin single-handedly turned the tide of the battle, even showing signs of completely annihilating the enemy.

A few minutes later, Luo Lin casually dispersed the morphing long sword in her hand and gazed at the floating bodies of the shark-type Honkai beasts. These bodies were rapidly disintegrating, turning into purple specks and disappearing.

The black-haired Valkyrie nodded. "I don't think there are any more."

Captain Whitley approached Luo Lin with a reverent expression and suggested, "Luo Lin, you've used a lot of Honkai energy just now. Do you need to rest?"

Luo Lin was initially going to decline, as compared to the Abyss, the atmosphere here was relaxing and enjoyable, and there was no need to rush and risk her life, using a strategy of aggressive engagement and exhausting every bit of her Honkai energy...

But Luo Lin noticed that Whitley and the other two Valkyries' Honkai energy aura was somewhat disrupted. Although continuing forward wouldn't hinder them, facing Chiyou and the inevitable "accidents," Luo Lin thought it would be better to be cautious.

"A short rest, and then we'll proceed."

A few minutes later, Luo Lin and her team entered the underwater crevice in perfect condition.

Initially, the black-haired girl could still feel strong Honkai energy fluctuations. But as they progressed deeper into the crevice, the concentration of Honkai energy began to rapidly decrease. Even Whitley and the other two Valkyries, who were relatively less sensitive, noticed something was off.

Whitley tapped her breathing mask, expressing her confusion. "The Honkai energy here is unexpectedly low? Could it be that the signal anomalies detected earlier were caused by those gathered Honkai beasts?"

"We should be approaching the real anomaly point."

Arriving here, Luo Lin felt a familiar sensation rising in her heart. The pattern of diminishing Honkai energy around her was strikingly similar to the "Anti-Honkai Energy Array" she encountered on Taixu Mountain two days ago...

No, it should be said that a "Anti-Honkai Energy Array" had really been deployed here, with the purpose of sealing Chiyou!

The black-haired girl speculated that if they continued forward, they would probably see a "Key of Dominion" inserted into the sea.

Soon, Luo Lin confirmed her speculation.

A spherical shield emitting a faint light suddenly appeared in their sight, illuminating the depths of the underwater crevice. Standing within it was a golden longsword.

It was indeed the "Key of Dominion - Xuanyuan Sword"!

However, the state of this golden sword was very precarious. Luo Lin noticed that the mass-produced God Keys were covered with fine cracks, and the light circulating on the sword's body was flickering, causing the surrounding shield to also flicker, obviously unable to support for much longer.

Whitley didn't know the function of the golden sword here. She scratched her head and said, "This... this antique seems to be in a dangerous state. Shouldn't we conduct a rescue excavation and bring it back to the research vessel?"

Antique?

Oh, Whitley probably still didn't understand things like mass-produced Divine Keys, so treating it as an antique was a normal thing to do.

Luo Lin glanced at the two Valkyries beside her, who also expressed agreement with Captain Whitley's proposal.

But the black-haired girl knew clearly that the "Key of Dominion" before her was still maintaining the operation of the "Anti-Honkai Energy Formation."

If she directly dismantled this thing, there was a good chance that Chiyou would wake up with a "waaaagh" sound.

"Let's leave a detector here and wait for archaeologists to come and take it." Luo Lin advised, "We big brutes might just end up smashing the antique to pieces. There wouldn't be anything left... Let's go check out the other anomalous signal points."

The three Valkyries didn't hesitate and readily agreed.

Chapter 29: Urgent Assistance in the Martial World

Luo Lin instructed the research vessel to increase its speed, as she was uncertain about the situation regarding the "Key of Dominion" components responsible for the "Anti-Honkai Energy Array" in other locations and needed to investigate personally.

By the time the sun began to set, Luo Lin and her team had finally finished exploring all three peripheral anomaly signal points underwater, and they climbed back onto the research vessel with solemn expressions.

"We found the third one, a golden sword in a precarious state that could shatter with a single touch..."

Whitley shook her wet hair, somewhat helpless, and said, "Could it be that we'll find another dilapidated longsword at the fourth anomaly signal point? Have we exhausted all our luck while locating the Stigma Ruins?"

Luo Lin remained silent. She wasn't worried about finding another dilapidated golden sword at the fourth anomaly point because as a "master of creating Anti-Honkai Energy Array," Senti had already completed the analysis, presenting a map in her mind marked with many lines.

"I never expected that just three swords could set up a framework."

Senti sighed, "It's probably because this 'Anti-Honkai Energy Array' has been maintained since the ancient Shenzhou era until now, spanning thousands of years... To be able to sustain itself for so long with just three swords, and still not shattered, I can only say it's a miracle."

Spiral's playful voice also timely resounded in Luo Lin's mind, "The most important part of this miracle isn't actually these three swords, but the one standing in the center of the Array, and the sacrifices made long ago by Fuxi, Nuwa, and Jixuanyuan. Thanks to them, Chiyou didn't awaken when humanity couldn't handle it."

"Yeah..."

Luo Lin rubbed her cheeks. After checking the three points outside, the sun was almost below the horizon, and continuing would mean exploring deep into the night.

Seeing Whitley and the accompanying Valkyries somewhat out of breath, Luo Lin decided to rest well tonight and take them out again tomorrow.

Coincidentally, she could also borrow something from the Elysian Realm...

Luo Lin squeezed into the bunk of the research vessel's dormitory and quickly closed her eyes.

"Urgent assistance, urgent assistance in the martial world! Vill-V!"

"What urgent assistance?"

The lady with bicolor fluffy hair, Miss with green snake hair, and Miss Island Burst Crow looked at Luo Lin with confusion.

Luo Lin spread her hands, "Tomorrow, I'm planning to explore the belly of a Judgment-level Honkai beast from the era of the old Project Ember. Right now, I need equipment that can penetrate the shielding layer inside the Honkai beast for external communication, and powerful explosives..."

"Stop, stop, stop, hold on a moment, little mouse."

Mobius quickly gestured, asking, "Where did you find a Judgment-level Honkai beast!? A Honkai Beast during the era of Project Ember?!"

"A Honkai Beast born in the era of Project Ember. The advanced civilization intended to use residual technology to promote the development of present-day human civilization. As a result of the advanced technology triggering the Honkai Eruption, a Judgment-level Honkai beast emerged, which was jointly sealed by Fuxi, Nuwa, and Jixuanyuan at the cost of their lives..."

Luo Lin briefly introduced the background story, then looked hopefully at Mobius and Vill-V, trying to get their help.

Raven was half-open-mouthed, stunned.

It turns out there's such a big danger hidden underwater? If I buy a villa island, will it be eaten by such a Honkai beast in one bite?

Vill-V fell into thought and said after a while, "There shouldn't be a problem, but the time you need is a bit tight... Alright, I'll work overtime. Oh, remember to bring a detector too, to study and explore the living Judgment-level Honkai beast, it's... a rare opportunity."

Mobius reminded expressionlessly, "Remember to give me a copy."

"Sure, no problem."

With Vill-V's help, Luo Lin immediately went to find Elysia.

Miss Pink Elf was also shocked by the news brought by Luo Lin, but she quickly realized something and hesitantly drew her longbow, "I don't mind lending you this, but can you really take it away? After all, this is the Elysian Realm, a world composed of memories and data... Hmm!?"

Elysia widened her eyes. In just a blink of an eye, "Whispers of the Past: Sonnet" disappeared from Luo Lin's hand.

A mix of curiosity and grievance covered Miss Pink Elf's face. She circled around the girl, touching Luo Lin's sleeves, collar, and waist several times, checking for any existence...

It's hard to say what Elysia's purpose of this inspecting was, but Luo Lin felt like she had been thoroughly inspected from head to toe, and Elysia used legitimate reasons.

However, Luo Lin didn't take away "Whispers of the Past: Sonnet" after shrinking it because she directly stored the item in the system warehouse.

"Whispers of the Past: Sonnet (Temporary. Lv50 Bow and Arrow)"

"A replica of a super-limit weapon, can exist for about 3 days. When using Honkai energy with the weapon, the duration of the weapon will be significantly reduced, leading to premature damage."

Elysia summoned her weapon and said, "I thought it would go with you to fight Honkai beasts..."

"No problem, we'll have to fight Honkai whenever it is. I'll find another opportunity to beat up Honkai beasts with you." Luo Lin promised nonchalantly.

"Really?"

"As true as gold."

Soon, Luo Lin embarked on her final "expedition" in the "Elysian Realm" today.

With a heavy expression, the girl pushed open the door of the maintenance station next to the Elysian Realm reception hall, took a deep breath, and prepared to face Book of Fuxi's head hammer attack, or whatever else...

Unexpectedly, Book of Fuxi didn't know where it found a small spherical floating device, lying on it sound asleep. If it weren't for the wire still connected to the back of its neck, Luo Lin would have thought the little ancestor was slacking off.

In fact, Book of Fuxi did slack off. It directly gave the operation authority of the machine to Klein, letting her call the shots... This is actually similar to giving away all your savings and various passwords at home to others. If others want, they can make you unable to survive in minutes.

Fortunately, Klein is a kind-hearted person... an ELF. She specifically allocated a small amount of soulium reserve from the "Elysian Realm" arsenal to make a mount for Book of Fuxi, and also prepared many massage service vouchers...

Then, when everything was on track, Luo Lin came back and said she wanted to borrow Book of Fuxi for a few days.

"What did you say!? You're planning to stroll around inside Chiyou's belly!?" Book of Fuxi shouted loudly, "Are you crazy?! It's perfectly sealed over there..."

"I'm certainly not crazy, because it seems like the seal is about to collapse."

Luo Lin showed the "golden sword full of cracks" she had photographed to the little ancestor, then looked into Book of Fuxi's lively eyes.

The ELF remained silent for two seconds, then unplugged the data cable plugged into its back.

"Let's go, and see what's going on."

Chapter 30: In Some Sense, a Graveyard Disco (3k)

"Up ahead is the fourth anomaly point..."

Leading the way was Luo Lin, followed by three Valkyries, swiftly navigating through the seawater. The depth here wasn't significant, and sunlight still illuminated the surroundings, allowing the Valkyries to see clearly.

Whitley asked in a puzzled tone, "Is that... a cave?"

Indeed, what caught the Valkyries' eyes was a peculiar small mountain made of rocks. Halfway up the mountain, there was a dark and deep cave emitting strong Honkai Energy fluctuations.

One of the Valkyries trailing behind asked, "What's wrong, Lady Luo Lin?"

Luo Lin's perception of Honkai Energy was extremely keen, and she sensed that the overall concentration of Honkai Energy nearby was gradually increasing at an extremely weak rate.

Is it because the "Anti-Honkai Energy Array" is gradually failing?

The black-haired girl fell silent for two seconds, then said, "Proceed with caution and stay on guard."

The group entered the cave, continuing forward with headlamps illuminating their path. After groping for about a hundred meters and turning a corner, the scenery ahead suddenly opened up—

It was an extremely spacious cave, with an unknown light source at the top, illuminating everything inside brightly. From afar, the Valkyries could see a huge stone door deep in the cave, surrounded by many carvings of dragons.

And a golden barrier stood before them, separating the seawater outside and keeping the interior of the cave dry.

"It seems this is the legendary Nine Realms!"

Whitley exclaimed excitedly, pointing at the door, "That's a very obvious artificial structure!"

"But there's still a barrier ahead..."

One of the Valkyries in the group squinted and said, "This barrier... seems to be similar to the shields surrounding the golden swords we encountered earlier?"

"Indeed..."

Luo Lin, bold and daring, relying on her "Yao Guang Dark Feather" and a series of healing skills, directly reached out and touched the golden barrier. She found that her arm easily passed through.

The black-haired girl made a decisive decision, "Let's go in!"

Whitley and the remaining two Valkyries glanced at each other, shrugged, and said, "Let's go!"

So, the four of them passed through the barrier, took off their fins needed for swimming in the water, hung them behind their backs, and stood steadily on the ground.

Whitley took out a portable detector and waved it around in the cave. She looked at the results and said, "The air here is no different from the outside, and we can even take off our masks to move around—though I don't recommend it, after all, this is just the periphery of the cave, who knows what changes are inside."

"Okay, then let's continue wearing our breathing masks; we still have plenty of oxygen."

The four lined up in a combat formation and cautiously advanced towards the stone door.

As they walked through the cave, Luo Lin and her team discovered more details, including paths paved with slabs of stone, and some collapsed building remnants, all proving that people had lived here a long time ago.

Soon, the Valkyries arrived in front of the stone door adorned with dragon patterns.

Luo Lin asked, "Is communication with the research vessel still normal?"

"The signal is a bit weak, but communication is still functioning normally."

The black-haired girl nodded, looking around, and spotted a stone tablet with ancient Shenzhou characters carved on it next to the door.

"Everyone, come and take a look, there are words on it!"

Whitley naturally also noticed the stone tablet. She took a few steps to ensure that her camera could capture the entire tablet, and said, "Alvitr, help me check the database of Schicksal to see if there's a translation of these characters?"

"Okay, Captain! Let me..."

Luo Lin stepped forward and said, "No need, I know how to translate this."

Whitley was already shocked to the point of numbness, "You still know this language!?"

Luo Lin didn't know, but Senti does. She just needed to play the role of a parrot.

"Senti, I choose you!"

"Okay, okay, okay, fine." Senti reluctantly rubbed her temples, "Wait a moment, let me think about it. This is not the same as the characters in the Silk Book from before..."

"What's written here is: 'To the destined ones of future generations, I am Lianshan, the leader of the Shenzhou tribe. My comrade, Jixuanyuan, used her life to seal the monster Chiyou that threatened Shenzhou...'"

Senti still in the system space was surprised.

She looked at the Book of Fuxi beside her, "She's the one who translated the characters carved on the stone tablet just now."

Book of Fuxi was sitting on the floating ball made of soul steel, looking at the TV screen in front of her with a complicated expression (the screen displayed Luo Lin's perspective). She paused for a moment and continued to translate:

"All I can do for her is to use these stone tablets to record her legend, hoping that future generations can remember her sacrifice... Lianshan, ah, you little brat..."

Luo Lin acted as a parrot and read out the translation.

"Lianshan? Isn't that the hero who lived in the same era as Jixuanyuan in Shenzhou legends?"

Captain Whitley was somewhat excited, clenching her fists, and shouted, "Then it seems that this is indeed the Nine Realms!"

Meanwhile, the research vessel was already bustling with activity, celebrating their accurate discovery of the location of the Stigma Ruins.

"Was it Book of Fuxi that translated just now?" Luo Lin asked Senti.

"Yes." Senti glanced at the Elf, "She's feeling... lost now."

For the Book of Fuxi, memories were stored firmly in the database. She vividly remembered the scene when she and Nuwa sacrificed themselves. Now, seeing the traces left by her acquaintance thousands of years ago, the feeling of things changing but people remaining the same overwhelmed the ELF's heart.

"...I'm fine." Book of Fuxi forced a smile, "Luo Lin, the translation on this stone tablet is done, continue to search nearby. There should be other stone tablets."

"Okay."

Luo Lin immediately took action and indeed found several other stone tablets nearby.

"One year ago, Jixuanyuan entered the Nine Realms alone with the Xuanyuan Sword, sealing Chiyou. I wanted to find her body but couldn't find the Nine Realms in the vast ocean. When I was about to give up, the Nian Beast kept hovering over the sea..."

"The Nian Beast?" Senti's train of thought was a bit off track, "Isn't that the chubby little guy on Taixu Mountain?"

Luo Lin hesitated and said, "Shouldn't it... be?"

Book of Fuxi answered everyone's doubts, "It's that Nian Beast! The Nian Beast on Taixu Mountain was specially bred by Jingwei. It was used to commemorate Jixuanyuan... but something happened later, and she forgot about it herself."

Senti sighed, "It seems to be 'Fenghuang Down'... continue with the translation."

Book of Fuxi nodded, "The Nian Beast was Jixuanyuan's beloved pet. It is said that the name comes from her former friend. In the end, it brought me here, but left on its own... The story on this stone tablet ends here, but there's a sentence added at the end: The Nian Beast points the way forward."

"Hmm... I seem to have some impression..."

Luo Lin rubbed her chin, vaguely remembering that in the game, Kiana's team seemed to have moved three bird-shaped stone statues next, and then the seal was broken...

Alright, then she would definitely not move the stone statues!

Listening to Luo Lin's retelling of the story, Alvitr sighed, "I didn't expect this to be a story? But I feel like this story hasn't finished yet, right? Perhaps there are other stone tablets nearby?"

"Over there! There's another one over there!"

One of the Valkyries in the team reached out her hand, pointing into the distance.

So, the four hurried over to the last stone tablet.

"...Unfortunately, when I came here, I couldn't even find her body. Her most important artifact, the Xuanyuan Sword, is also missing... All I can do for my wife is to erect this stone tablet here to tell her story and carve a statue of her beloved Nian Beast, to accompany her here forever."

"Is that all?"

"Yes, that's all." Luo Lin nodded.

Whitley asked, "If I didn't hear wrong, did the stone tablet say that Jixuanyuan's body couldn't be found? Then the Stigmata should not have been preserved... It's a bit of a pity."

One of the Valkyries in the team comforted, "It's not that bad. Didn't we find three artifacts that can emit light and erect protective shields?"

"Those things look useless to me. I think we still need to search more in the Nine Realms." Whitley scratched her head, "Lady Luo Lin, what do you think?"

"I agree, but it's best for everyone to act together. Who knows if there are any traps here—after all, in a sense, this place is Jixuanyuan's tomb, right? The people of Shenzhou are fond of setting up traps in tombs to prevent grave robbers."

"Ah, that's... true."

The black-haired girl stretched her shoulders, preparing to continue searching with others when she heard a strange sound in her ear.

"You finally came to find me... filthy humans..."

"Huh?"

Luo Lin frowned and looked in the direction of the sound.

It was a stone wall with mysterious and profound runes carved on it, but in just a blink of an eye, bright purple lines had climbed up it, completely corroding it!

The next moment, the stone wall shattered with a bang, and countless debris flew towards Luo Lin and her team like bullets!

"Get behind me!"

Luo Lin stepped forward, drew out the Mimetic Longsword, and initiated the Taixu Swordsmanship's Guarding Sword Form, creating a dense series of sword lights to intercept all the flying debris.

The Valkyries watched the rising smoke with solemn expressions.

"Dada, dada, dada, dada..."

The crisp collision echoed in the cave, and the intense Honkai Energy response accompanied the sound, gradually approaching.

Whitley also took a defensive stance, her ear cocked, and said, "Is that... the sound of horseshoes?! Knight-class Honkai beast?!"

"No, it shouldn't be..."

Luo Lin narrowed her eyes.

A black sword emitting a bloody light tore through the smoke, and a slender figure riding an armored warhorse appeared in front of the Valkyries.

The weapon looked familiar, a variant of a mass-produced Divine Key, and the person riding it looked very familiar to Luo Lin, also a classic variant of someone.

The Valkyries murmured, "Wow, how did you get out..."

Dark Jixuanyuan's expression was blank, pointing the sword at Luo Lin and the others.

"Die!"

Chapter Thirty-One: All Defenses Have Gone

The dense fog formed by the collapse of energy condensed above the cave, transforming the area into gloomy weather. Accompanied by Dark Jixuanyuan wielding her black Xuanyuan sword, several lightning bolts descended from the sky, densely covering the stone-paved road and shattering it!

"Boom!"

"Dada!!"

Luo Lin's barrage of rifle fire first enveloped Dark Jixuanyuan, the echoing gunfire in the cave brought Whitely and the two remaining Valkyries back to their senses, immediately raising their rifles to open fire.

However, the opponent remained motionless, and the bullets merely sparked against Dark Jixuanyuan's body, adding a bit of courage to the girl riding her tall horse.

Luo Lin knew exactly what this was; Dark Jixuanyuan had a thick shield of Honkai Energy, granting her significant damage reduction until the shield was shattered.

The bullets fired by her three Valkyrie teammates were not entirely ineffective, but they couldn't even scratch the shield.

Dark Jixuanyuan pulled on the reins, her armored warhorse neighing loudly as both horse and rider turned into blurry shadows, leaping behind the Valkyrie's position.

The next moment, golden ripples appeared around Dark Jixuanyuan, similar to a signature skill called "Gate of Babylon" used by someone named Gilgamesh next door, as a barrage of arrows flew out towards Luo Lin and her team!

Facing this scene, Luo Lin once again stepped forward, activating her "White Heat Mode" this time, under the enhanced effect of the Honkai Energy. Her surging sword energy collided with the arrows, blowing away both volleys of arrows and even rushing towards Dark Jixuanyuan.

"Hang!"

Dark Jixuanyuan casually swung her darkened Xuanyuan sword, neutralizing the remaining sword energy. Her blood-red eyes quickly locked onto the most threatening presence among them!

The blackened Shenzhou warrior bent down, raising her longsword with golden lightning coiling around its blade. Her warhorse also entered a charging state along with her movement, leaving deep craters on the stone floor, with fine cracks spreading out.

Her target was directly aimed at Luo Lin!

And to everyone's surprise, Luo Lin also raised her longsword brimming with Taixu sword energy, launching a countercharge towards Dark Jixuanyuan!

"Oh my god!"

On the research ship, someone already covered their mouth, even wanting to close their eyes and not watch their collision.

"Boom!"

A strong shockwave erupted from the point of impact between the two, raising a large cloud of dust. The three Valkyries at the edge of the battlefield squinted, trying to find the figures of Luo Lin and Dark Jixuanyuan.

The next moment, the fierce gleam of blades shattered the mist in front of them, revealing two figures entangled in a high-speed duel to everyone's view.

It was a ferocious fighting style that Whitely, Alvitr, and all the surrounding Valkyries had never seen before: Luo Lin wielded her longsword, maneuvering on the edge of lightning flashes and sword shadows, almost dancing with those powerful attacks.

Any slight mistake could disrupt her rhythm, allowing Dark Jixuanyuan to counterattack calmly.

But Luo Lin would never give her that chance!

Facing Dark Jixuanyuan's various offensives, Luo Lin felt like she was back home, recalling her experiences fighting Dark Jixuanyuan in the Infinity Abyss and Memorial Arena after transmigrating.

It was the experience extracted from hundreds of times being struck by lightning, cleaved by the black Xuanyuan sword, trampled by hooves, killed by charging, and a series of hardships and torments!

To the Valkyries watching on the sidelines, Luo Lin accurately anticipated all of Dark Jixuanyuan's attacks, whether it was the ranged arrow rain, surging split sword energy, or the lightning bolts descending from the sky.

None of them could hit the black-haired girl!

Ah! All defenses have gone!

Alvitr only glanced at the footage transmitted from Luo Lin's body camera for a few seconds, feeling a bit dizzy. She immediately switched back to Whitely's camera and shouted over the communication, "Captain! Can we support Lady Luo Lin?!"

"Impossible!"

Whitely also felt helpless. Luo Lin and Dark Jixuanyuan were entangled, and they couldn't fire freely. Moreover, in the current situation, Luo Lin clearly had the upper hand, making them the potential weak point that Dark Jixuanyuan could exploit!

In order not to affect the situation, Whitely and the remaining two Valkyries distanced themselves, enough for them to react to Dark Jixuanyuan's sudden attacks.

The Valkyries turned their heads, looking towards the central battlefield filled with clangs of steel, flashes of lightning, and thunder. Dark Jixuanyuan was obviously fixated on the battle, completely ignoring the three Valkyries who had quietly slipped to the edge of the battlefield.

After all, Luo Lin always evaded attacks at the most thrilling moments, which was a blatant mockery to Dark Jixuanyuan!

Moreover, every now and then, Luo Lin would deploy a wide-ranging slow field. With the help of the field, she could seize the extremely brief window after Dark Jixuanyuan's attacks to launch a rapid counterattack!

The black-haired girl gritted her teeth, "Take my newly learned Space Time Fracture!"

Indeed, after Vill-V pointed out that the Signets of Luo Lin might be related to the base rules existing in the world, the black-haired girl began to research her own skills!

Luo Lin quickly shifted her gaze to her character card, "Valkyrie - Dark Feather," and the panel that lacked many skills.

She found that she did have an evasion skill, but the skill description only consisted of a few words: Rapid displacement evasion, can evade twice in succession.

Wait a minute, shouldn't a support like "Dark Feathers" have a skill like "Space Time Fracture"?

Hold on, does she need to find a way to unlock this herself?

Intuition told Luo Lin that she guessed right.

Next, in the intense battles of the abyss and the Memorial Arena, Luo Lin began to study various evasion skills of character cards.

After all, the evasion here was not as exaggerated as in the game with its "invincibility frames". Charging straight into attacks was simply seeking death, the best way was to skim past and trigger "Space Time Fracture".

But how close should she get to skim past? How could she determine the success of the evasion?

With these questions in mind, Luo Lin further researched and finally caught a glimpse of inspiration.

Not long ago, she successfully triggered "Space Time Fracture" as the identity of "Valkyrie - Dark Feather"!

Now, this new skill came in handy against Dark Jixuanyuan!

"What trick is this?!"

Riding her warhorse, Dark Jixuanyuan felt her vision blur every now and then, and immediately, annoying little insects would rush at her with lightning-fast speed, leaving several obvious wounds on her.

Dark Jixuanyuan gritted her teeth, releasing another barrage of lightning bolts, only to be skillfully dodged by Luo Lin.

Even the Valkyries had time to pepper her face with a flurry of bullets, making her see stars (metaphorically).

The knight was furious, shouting, "I see through your tricks; you're a disciple of Jingwei! How despicable your moves are?!"

"Despicable?! Taking advantage is a good move!"

Luo Lin no longer responded to Dark Jixuanyuan's angry roar, channeling more power into her slashes. The wounds on Dark Jixuanyuan became increasingly visible, even her armored warhorse looked quite miserable, purple Honkai Energy oozing out of the wounds, dissipating into the air.

Almost there, her shield is about to break. The time when Dark Jixuanyuan is knocked off her horse will be the perfect time to unleash her DPS!

Chapter Thirty-Two: Advancing!

Under Luo Lin's relentless assault, the fluctuation of Honkai Energy on Black Jixuanyuan's body became increasingly unstable, even her warhorse emitted a miserable neigh due to the scattered Honkai Energy!

Black Jixuanyuan's face was filled with anger and confusion. She had no way to deal with this agile opponent. The enemy knew her inside out; every move she made, Luo Lin could predict what technique Black Jixuanyuan would use next.

Finally, after more than a dozen exchanges, the sword strike filled with Edge of Taixuan became the last straw that broke the camel's back!

The armor shell of the armored warhorse cracked open, spraying Honkai Energy like a deflated balloon. It screamed as it fell sideways, crashing heavily to the ground, shattering into pieces!

Black Jixuanyuan also looked uncomfortable. As a knight closely bonded with her warhorse, she suffered a considerable mental impact as well.

However, in the real world, Black Jixuanyuan didn't collapse on the ground like in the Memorial Arena, instead, she rolled gracefully from the horse's back, dodging out of Luo Lin's attack range.

Immediately after, Black Jixuanyuan got up, enduring the pain and dizziness, gripping her black Xuanyuan sword tightly, pointing its tip towards Luo Lin.

Luo Lin wasn't very surprised by this. She now had a clear understanding that the system environment was different from the reality of the collapse world. The Signets that made Vill-V and Mobius excited were the most compelling evidence.

It was no big deal that Black Jixuanyuan didn't faint after falling from her horse.

What Luo Lin was more concerned about now was Black Jixuanyuan's origins and the situation of the seal of Chiyou.

At this moment, the Herrscher of Sentience shouted loudly in Luo Lin's mind: "Look at the black Xuanyuan sword in her hand! It's the core of the 'Anti-Honkai Energy Array', its even maintaining the operation of the entire formation!"

The Valkyrie looked solemnly at Black Jixuanyuan not far away and asked, "Are you Jixuanyuan?"

"Oh? You know me... It seems that people from the future haven't completely forgotten about me... No, judging from your moves, you're related to Jingwei, and Jingwei hasn't forgotten about me either! But this only shows how filthy and hopeless humanity is!"

Black Jixuanyuan unexpectedly showed a sweet smile, which appeared quite yandere-like to Luo Lin: "Clearly, I'm here to seal the monster Chiyou, which threatens humanity, but for hundreds and thousands of years, no one has bothered to maintain the seal... Only when the seal is about to be broken do they come, hahaha..."

Luo Lin's expression was peculiar.

But Jingwei really had forgotten about you...

Hearing this, the Herrscher of Sentience couldn't help but slap its forehead in exasperation: "Old fossil, why do I see your debts everywhere!?"

After laughing, Black Jixuanyuan unexpectedly inserted her sword into the stone slab, staring at the Xuanyuan sword in her hand with dangerous eyes.

"I thought it was just a few ignorant thieves breaking into Jiuyou, thinking they could control someone's body to escape their misery and live carefree... I didn't expect to poke a hornet's nest!"

The aura around Black Jixuanyuan suddenly became chaotic. Luo Lin observed intently, her gaze momentarily dull.

Then, Black Jixuanyuan suddenly shouted, "Disciple of Jingwei! Quickly, kill me, I...!"

She actually slapped herself fiercely, the force so strong that even Luo Lin felt a sourness in her teeth!

"Stop yelling, I want all the humans in this world to accompany me to the grave!"

Even the Book of Fuxi was puzzled: "What's going on?"

Suddenly, Luo Lin remembered the plot in the "Xuanyuan" segment. In order to maintain the seal for a long time, Jixuanyuan had to abandon all love and hope in her heart, turning loneliness, fear, and regret into darkness, forming the individual known as "Black Jixuanyuan."

She said in the plot: "Only hatred remains in my heart, hatred for the one I wanted to protect... hatred."

So when Black Jixuanyuan said she wanted to make all humans in the world accompany her to the grave, she happened to have a convenient and quick way...

Release the seal, unleash Chiyou!

Luo Lin's body acted before her thoughts, her speed so fast that she kicked Black Jixuanyuan hard.

This kick was powerful, making Black Jixuanyuan's ongoing actions pause!

She was about to destroy the Xuanyuan sword!

The black Xuanyuan sword had already cracked open, and golden lightning crackled out, seemingly about to break directly.

In desperation, Luo Lin reached out and grabbed the blade of the Xuanyuan sword, smearing it with Honkai Energy as an emergency patch, and then fiercely kicked Black Jixuanyuan again.

She let go, allowing the Valkyrie to grab the damaged black Xuanyuan sword. The whole person floated lightly and flew out!

Luo Lin quickly reacted.

Black Jixuanyuan intended to use this force to escape the battlefield!

Black Jixuanyuan laughed loudly, and a blurry figure of a warhorse condensed under her feet with Honkai Energy. Its shape was unclear, but it was enough to carry Black Jixuanyuan away!

A series of bullets swept towards Black Jixuanyuan, who was running away. She just sneered disdainfully, turned into a black shadow, and disappeared after a few jumps.

"Fortunately, the seal is intact..."

Luo Lin looked at the slightly trembling black Xuanyuan sword in her hand and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Luo Lin! You need healing!"

Whitley ran back, looking at Luo Lin who grabbed the blade directly, cut her palm, and bled all over the ground, and asked softly, "The enemy has fled. Shall we pursue them with the three of us?"

"No, even if Black Jixuanyuan is seriously injured, you can't beat her." Luo Lin shook her head and said, "Let's consolidate the seal first. We'll catch the turtle in the urn when reinforcements arrive..."

"Seal? Black Jixuanyuan?"

Whitley muttered in confusion, "Has Luo Lin figured out the situation here?"

"Mostly. This sword in my hand is crucial. It..."

Before Luo Lin could finish, a loud noise came from afar!

"Bang!"

Luo Lin quickly turned her head and saw that the huge stone door that had been knocked open earlier, triggering all the traps in the cave!

Accompanied by intense fluctuations of Honkai Energy, various mechanisms in the cave began to wreak havoc!

Of course, this didn't pose a challenge to the Valkyries. After all, Whitley was the captain of the Stigmata Ruins Exploration Team. Dealing with triggered mechanisms was like a walk in the park for her. Coupled with Luo Lin's formidable strength, they easily withstood the onslaught of the activated mechanisms.

When Luo Lin and her team finally settled down, three golden lights rose from the depths of the cave, intersecting in the air, exploding into brilliant sparks.

"Buzz..."

In the faint buzzing, the activity of Honkai Energy in the cave increased rapidly, causing Luo Lin's face to change.

She slapped her thigh suddenly, "Damn, it seems there's another seal of Nian Beast stone statues over there! Black Jixuanyuan has gone to unseal another one!"

Chapter Thirty-Three: Awake, Yet Not Fully Awakened

Initially, Luo Lin thought that pinpointing "Chiyou" would take some time, ample for her to seize the opportunity to return to the Far East Branch to meet with the visiting Durandal and perhaps persuade her to come along to see the "Big Guy."

Little did she know that Senti's precise locator touch led the exploration team to uncover the ruins the very next day...

Since she was already here, Luo Lin decided to fly over to assess the situation and inspect the internal conditions of "Chiyou" — only to discover an unmentioned plot element: the "Anti-Honkai Energy Array," seemingly on the verge of collapse.

With no other viable option, the girl reluctantly entered "Chiyou" to have a look. With Senti, the "Formation Master," offering assistance, she could at least determine how long the seal could endure. If possible, Luo Lin might even patch up the seal to prolong its effectiveness.

After all, Luo Lin could ensure that she wouldn't recklessly undo the seal like the protagonist team in a game's storyline.

As it turned out, she didn't directly undo the seal because the one who actually did it was Dark Jixuanyuan, who somehow escaped from the seal.

"I knew there would be unexpected events, but I didn't expect them to occur so suddenly..."

Luo Lin smiled bitterly, holding the heavily cracked Black Xuanyuan Sword in her hand, uncertain of what to do next.

Should she pursue Dark Jixuanyuan? And how should she deal with this severely damaged Black Xuanyuan Sword, which was barely able to sustain the "Anti-Honkai Energy Array"?

Luo Lin was now using a large amount of Honkai Energy to "patch up" the Black Xuanyuan Sword, preventing its condition from deteriorating further. This activity consumed a lot of her energy.

But Luo Lin couldn't afford to abandon the rescue effort. If the "Formation" was lost and Chiyou woke up with a meow, they would have an additional enemy, making the situation even worse.

However, she couldn't pursue the enemy with this burden, could she? Luo Lin couldn't guarantee that she would win against Dark Jixuanyuan with the Black Xuanyuan Sword occupied by a large amount of Honkai Energy...

If she didn't pursue her, it was certain that Dark Jixuanyuan would continue her efforts to awaken Chiyou, probably making more commotion.

Luo Lin even suspected that if Dark Jixuanyuan caught her breath for a moment, she would directly head for the three almost disabled Xuanyuan Swords around "Chiyou."

Unable to directly attack the "Array Core," dismantling the entire array foundation was also a solution, right?

Moreover, according to Dark Jixuanyuan's words just now, besides attempting to release the seal on Chiyou, she also had the idea of possessing other humans and escaping far away from "Chiyou"...

However, "Chiyou" was located in the vast sea. Where nearby could Dark Jixuanyuan find humans to provide her with a body?

—Of course, it was the research ship floating directly above the ruins. There were Valkyries with a certain level of Honkai Energy adaptability all over the place!

What's worse, in a Valkyrie team, the captain was generally the most capable fighter. Whitley, who was the strongest, had just been using bullets to "massage" Dark Jixuanyuan...

Needless to say, other Valkyries in the exploration team couldn't pose a threat to Dark Jixuanyuan at all.

After all, the Stigmata Ruins Exploration Team didn't need to confront Honkai Beasts head-on.

During their exploration of the ruins, if they encountered problems they couldn't solve, they would directly request assistance from the nearest Schicksal Branch — A-level Valkyries stationed in the branch would come with reinforcements for the exploration team.

In the few minutes that Luo Lin was contemplating, a message came from the research ship —

Alvitr's voice sounded particularly panicked: "A high-level Honkai Energy reaction has appeared at the bottom of the sea, suspected leakage or explosion of equipment in the Stigmata Ruins, the fluctuations of Honkai Energy are continuously rising, and Honkai Beasts have been detected... There is a chain reaction, triggering the possibility of a large-scale Honkai disaster!"

Luo Lin inquired further: "Are there any other disturbances? Like underwater earthquakes or any movement?"

"O... other?" Alvitr was puzzled, "Apart from these, there are no other abnormalities for the time being..."

The dark-haired girl raised her eyebrows: "Then it seems like the situation is still okay."

Whitley shouted loudly, "Isn't this a complete disaster?!"

For Luo Lin, as long as Chiyou didn't wake up, it was very good news.

So, should she choose to deal with Dark Jixuanyuan or the "Anti-Honkai Energy Array" now?

It was a dilemma... After all, Luo Lin didn't have enough power to handle both at the same time...

...Or did she?

—Of course she did!

Senti and Helix were actively expressing their willingness in Luo Lin's mind, eager to go out and fight as soon as they received the order; while the Book of Fuxi also said something about "as a participant in the Chiyou incident, she must do something to make up for past regrets," then grabbed the "Selune's Elegy" under the banner of "ELF should also help each other";

In the system's auxiliary combat interface, the name of a certain gold-medal instructor from a parallel world was shining brightly, indicating that the cooldown was complete...

Soon, Luo Lin made a decision.

"Senti and Helix aren't very suitable to be exposed to these Valkyries. Later, I'll find a chance to secretly let you two out. I'll give Helix the role card of Elysia, and Senti can use Accipiter to evolve into Senti herself. Help me chase after Dark Jixuanyuan..."

Actually, it was unlikely for Senti to fail if she went alone, but Luo Lin thought it was more appropriate to let Helix accompany her. She could also tell what tricks Dark Jixuanyuan was going to use just by watching her raise her hand... --use her moves.

Moreover, Senti didn't understand the game plot, so if Helix followed along, she might seize some opportunities and avoid some risks...

Senti agreed, but she asked, "What if we both leave, and Dark Jixuanyuan turns the tables?"

"Isn't it still possible to directly call on Himeko?!"

Helix also said, "Think it over. If we are released, with Accipiter, Elysia, and Dark Feather, your Valkyrie lineup is already full! If Himeko is called again, she won't be able to use the body of the Vermillion Knight!"

Luo Lin had already figured out a solution: "Then we'll have to trouble Senti for a while. I'll immediately recall Accipiter and, on the spot, reorganize the team to have Himeko deploy the Vermillion Knight to the scene... As for Senti, she can possess Helix for now and follow us back together, right?"

"Will that work?" Helix still had doubts, "System, just now you mentioned remote retrieval of Accipiter, immediately switching the Valkyrie lineup to let the Vermillion Knight go into battle. Can such a thing be done?"

"This doesn't even count as 'remote.' Of course it can be done!" The system expressed itself rather proudly, "If you really want to talk about remote, at least it needs to be far enough to cross half of Shenzou, or say, the host and the character card are separated into the virtual space, the sea of quanta or something like that, then the system can't carry out the retrieval..."

"All right, let's do it."

Moreover, Luo Lin could also use resources other than her own!

Pressing the communicator, the Valkyrie said solemnly, "Alvitr, I give you emergency authorization. Immediately apply for assistance from the Far East Branch's Branch Director Theresa Apocalypse in my name..."

Luo Lin's expression was solemn as she continued, "Be sure to bring the Hyperion with you. I need it to control the situation. Also, bring the envoy from the Schicksal Headquarters, Durandal, and Fu Hua..."

As for the Big Three, they hadn't even received their Valkyrie Battlesuits yet, so it was better to let them stay in the academy for now!

When all these people were in place, it would be time to deal with Dark Jixuanyuan, Chiyou, and those "surprises" that hadn't shown up yet!

 Chapter Thirty-Four: Reinforcements

After completing the morning's practical combat training, Durandal strolled along the streets of Saint Freya, reflecting on the individuals she had sparred with during yesterday's combat class.

Kiana's combat talent needed no further explanation; it was evident in the progress she displayed during their exchanges.

As for Raiden Mei... Durandal could only say that her swordsmanship was solid, with a conventional approach to combat awareness.

Raiden Mei also possessed a unique lightning manipulation ability, demonstrating a variety of skill applications—such as using lightning to stimulate muscles, increase her speed, and enhance her sword's damage with lightning enchantments...

Of course, she could also directly launch lightning attacks against her opponents.

However, Raiden Mei's speed in condensing Honkai Energy and releasing skills was not fast enough to adapt to real combat situations.

She had to concentrate and grit her teeth to release her skills, giving Durandal enough time to shoot her several times... If her proficiency improved in the future, Raiden Mei's combat effectiveness shouldn't be a problem.

Fortunately, during yesterday's battle, Raiden Mei wasn't alone.

Bronya finally revealed her special ability to Durandal—she had a marvelous robot named "Project Bunny," which could coordinate battles with the silver-haired girl.

Bronya equipped Project Bunny with a shield, using it as a vanguard to protect Raiden Mei and herself during attacks. Project Bunny lived up to expectations, blocking several of Durandal's attacks in succession (in a friendly sparring context), and then...

And then there was no "and then."

Durandal, worthy of the title of the strongest S-rank Valkyrie, quickly discerned Project Bunny's output, immediately shooting the robot into the air, and then swiftly charging to sweep Raiden Mei and Bronya out of the arena.

Durandal actually quite admired Bronya. The silver-haired girl demonstrated excellent tactical planning and awareness in battle. After completing her studies at Saint Freya, she would definitely rise to greater heights.

Durandal remembered Bronya's face and planned to extend an olive branch to her immediately after graduating from the Valkyrie Academy. After all, command-type talents were in high demand everywhere!

As for the other two Herrscher hosts... Durandal was more concerned about Kiana—at least for now, she seemed to pose a greater threat if she lost control.

Therefore, Durandal planned to further understand Kiana and see what kind of person she really was...

Theresa had already informed her of Kiana's address in Saint Freya. Now that Kiana was temporarily absent from class due to injury, she might be spending all her time alone in her dorm, growing moss.

Durandal only needed a reason to visit her... Perhaps she could say she was visiting a patient?

The golden-haired knight stopped in her tracks, her gaze shifting to the fruit shop open on the side of the street, where she observed the plump and vibrant fruits displayed inside, lost in thought.

"Boss, I'm planning to visit a patient and buy some fruits."

The boss clapped his hands and enthusiastically recommended, "Take a look at this, this is the fruit basket we prepared for patients... It's generous in portion and guaranteed to satisfy you!"

Considering what she had seen in the cafeteria that day, Durandal cautiously extended two fingers, "Hmm, then give me two!"

"Alright!"

Durandal easily found Kiana's dormitory and, after knocking on the door, was greeted by the sight of a fluffy white head poking out. The owner of the head expressed unexpected joy upon seeing her.

"Wow, Lady Durandal! What brings you here?"

"I came to visit you..."

Durandal raised the fruit basket in her hand, "And I brought you some gifts!"

"Thank you!"

Kiana's eyes twinkled as she clearly felt the goodwill expressed by the golden-haired knight. It seemed that dealing with her would be relatively smooth!

Without hesitation, the fluffy white tuna accepted the gift, leading Durandal to sit on the sofa in the living room, chatting eagerly with her.

After a while, Raiden Mei and Bronya returned from class, surprised to find Durandal, who had sparred with them, visiting their dorm and chatting enthusiastically with Kiana.

The two quickly joined the conversation, and the four of them engaged in lively discussion.

Just then, a sharp warning sounded from Durandal's terminal.

The golden-haired knight took out her personal terminal and, upon seeing its contents, her expression changed drastically. She immediately stood up and addressed Kiana and the others, "I'm sorry, urgent business. We'll talk another time."

"Goodbye!"

Durandal hurriedly left.

Bronya pondered for a moment, then propped her chin up and asked, "What urgent situation could make the formidable S-rank Valkyrie frown?"

Kiana muttered, "I don't know, but the fruit basket Durandal brought is delicious."

Raiden Mei exclaimed, "Are you eating a fruit basket made of wood? Spit it out!"

"That's not what I meant, geez!"

----------------------------------

Now, let's rewind time a bit.

"Beep beep beep!!!"

Theresa's expression changed, and she tossed the Homu comic behind her. While the magazine was still flying through the air, she had already opened her personal terminal emitting the piercing alarm.

What caught the eyes of the school principal was a distress call from the exploration team near the coast of Shenzhou, describing the events occurring in their area, a bunch of Honkai Energy data collected by the research ships, and an audio recording with Luo Lin's personal authorization code.

Theresa was astonished, "A large-scale Honkai Eruption possibly occurring in the sea?!"

After all, most Honkai outbreaks occurred in areas with frequent human activity. While the possibility of a Honkai outbreak in the ocean was not zero, it was extremely rare compared to incidents on land.

Usually, after a Honkai Outbreak occurred, Schicksal only needed to deploy Valkyries to solve most of the problems.

But in the ocean, Schicksal couldn't deploy Valkyries as directly as on land. Almost all Valkyries had no experience fighting in water, and they were likely to be defeated by the Honkai beasts in the sea.

So, this was the time for the Hyperion to make an appearance. As a floating warship manufactured by Schicksal at a considerable cost, its firepower was sufficient to support defensive and extermination missions in a wide area.

While listening to Luo Lin's recording, Theresa gave orders to mobilize Valkyries from the Far East Branch. The war machine known as Schicksal immediately activated, organizing an elite rescue team at lightning speed, all of whom assembled on the Hyperion.

"Principal!"

Fu Hua also arrived, dressed in her Shadow Knight Valkyrie Battlesuit, looking fierce.

After receiving Theresa's message, Fu Hua realized that something was wrong.

Luo Lin had told her before leaving that she was going to Mount Taixu to explore the information about Chiyou...

Then, Fu Hua received a distress call from the exploration team, and her scalp tingled with fear.

Thanks to Luo Lin, she recalled some memories related to ancient Shenzhou, such as Fuxi and Nuwa... Although not many, they were useful.

—Could it be that Chiyou has awakened?

Thinking of this, Fu Hua immediately changed into a high-performance Shadow Knight Battlesuit and rushed to the Hyperion.

Theresa nodded at the fully armed Fu Hua, then turned her gaze to the equally uneasy Durandal.

Behind her stood Himeko, who worked at the Schicksal headquarters in this world.

The golden-haired knight said, "Let's hurry and set off to rescue the exploration team!"

"Yes!"

Ragna Lothbrok, the current captain of the Hyperion, had already taken her position. With her command, the airship loaded with Valkyries and ammunition departed from the airfield, quickly flying towards Chiyou.

Chapter Thirty-Five: You Chase Me, If You Can Catch Me

"We'll retreat from here first and head back to the Icarus!" Luo Lin, holding the Black Xuanyuan Sword, led Whitley and the two remaining Valkyries back the way they came.

They quickly returned to the cave entrance, noticing that the protective membrane isolating the seawater had dimmed significantly since they last saw it. Equipped and ready, they crossed the protective membrane and reentered the seawater.

As they swam along the cave towards the exit, just as they turned to a large bend, Luo Lin secretly summoned the two people she had been waiting for in her mind. Miss Pink Elf and Senti suddenly appeared in the seawater, opening their eyes simultaneously.

"Glug glug..."

Senti was about to speak but ended up inhaling seawater into her mouth and nose. Fortunately, she quickly recovered, grabbing the still excited Helix and swimming back to Chiyou.

Senti, with a hint of resentment, connected her thoughts to Luo Lin and Helix using her Herrschet ability, establishing a communication channel without the need for equipment. Then she asked, "Cough, cough, cough... Why didn't you summon us while we were still in the cave?"

"The path out of the cave is wide open, and Whitley and the others were keeping a close watch! We had to swim out first and find an opportunity..."

Luo Lin intended to explain further, but Helix's exuberant cheers interrupted the dark-haired girl's words.

"Woo-hoo! I'm finally born in the real world!"

Helix's first words upon arriving in the real world almost caused Luo Lin to lose her composure. She exerted great effort to control her expression and emotions, not letting the other Valkyries detect anything unusual.

"All right, let's hurry and catch up with Dark Jixuanyuan. Don't let her cause any more trouble! I'll take them back to the research ship first and study how to repair the Black Xuanyuan Sword..."

"Understood!"

Although Luo Lin couldn't see, Helix still saluted respectfully.

Without delay, the two of them set off. However, in the less than three minutes it took for Luo Lin's group to retreat and for Senti and Helix to return, the entire interior of the cave underwent drastic changes:

As Dark Jixuanyuan partially lifted the seal, the concentration of Honkai Energy within Chiyou increased rapidly. Numerous Honkai Beasts and Zombies emerged from somewhere, and Senti and Helix encountered groups of enemies every few steps they took.

Fortunately, for two output-oriented characters like them, this situation was not difficult to handle. Senti flashed a healthy smile, clenched her fists, and carried another Dominion Key she had brought down from Taixu Mountain...

Well, it looked like a gauntlet too...

It's been said that the gauntlet is a traditional weapon of the Taixu lineage, so there. jpg

But Senti didn't care about these minor details. She was busy dealing with the incoming Honkai Beasts and Zombies.

Senti relished the feeling of battle after a long absence. Although there were many enemies in front of her, their quality couldn't compare to the Abyss on Luo Lin's side. After all, in high-difficulty, high-disturbance situations, even regular enemies needed to go through several cycles of attacks and skills to be defeated, leading many Honkai Impact 3 players to feel that regular enemies were much harder than bosses...

Senti swung her arms, and the gusts created by her fists scattered the stances of the Zombies. When her fists landed on the Honkai Beasts, they were immediately dispatched.

"Landslide! Rock Shatter! Cloud Mist!"

As she fought, she muttered to herself, "Integrity, lineage, corruption, they're all absent here, what can you accomplish?!"

Wherever Senti went, Honkai Beasts and Zombies were sent flying into the sky like toys, joining their brethren who hadn't taken off yet in becoming fragments of Honkai Energy.

Watching Senti's enthusiastic battle, Helix, holding Whispers of the Past:Sonnet pulled from Elysia, repeatedly drew and relaxed the bowstring, and ended up not firing a single arrow for a long time, her expression complex.

On one hand, she was glad she didn't have to act, so she wouldn't deplete the durability of her temporary item, Whispers of the Past: Sonnet. On the other hand, after coming out, it seemed she hadn't even collected a single head of an enemy, giving her the feeling of being a bystander.

After some thought, Helix began to track Dark Jixuanyuan's trail and provided a direction for Senti, who was enjoying her battles.

"Let's go this way!"

As the two walked and fought, they quickly noticed something amiss.

"Why are there so many Honkai Beasts and Zombies? This is definitely not the quantity expected under this concentration of Honkai Energy..."

Senti casually shattered a Temple-grade Honkai Beast, placed her hands on her hips, and puzzledly scratched her head. "It's like a room meant for three healthy people to live comfortably, but instead, there are seventeen or eighteen people crammed in, causing them to not have enough to eat and become as thin as straw..."

The same principle applied to the Honkai Beasts in Chiyou. There were too many of them, resulting in each individual receiving very little Honkai Energy, thus reducing their quality. This even gave Senti the feeling of mowing down enemies effortlessly.

After experiencing such a painful blow, Senti and Helix found that the number of Honkai Beasts and Zombies they encountered afterwards had significantly decreased. However, their strength had returned to normal levels.

But after achieving a balance between strength and quantity, the enemies encountered began to have problems in their lineup:

Senti and Helix encountered batches of identical single-unit troops one after another. One moment, they were all archer Zombies; the next, they were all Knight-level Honkai Beasts running amok. This left the two of them somewhat puzzled.

Fortunately, these posed no threat to them. After eliminating a group of Chariot-class Honkai Beasts that were blocking their path, Helix stroked her chin and said, "I feel like someone is controlling the generation of Honkai Beasts, and it's a beginner who doesn't know what they're doing..."

"That's probably Dark Jixuanyuan," Senti squinted her eyes. "I bet the next batch of enemies we encounter will be more strategically composed, with a mix of ranged and melee units... I'll bet a pack of spicy strips."

Helix replied with interest, "Okay, then I'll bet a basket of xiaolongbao. She won't catch on that quickly."

The two continued to follow Dark Jixuanyuan's trail, circling a corner, only to find a row of pristine shields with purple patterns blocking their path.

It turned out to be a shield formation formed by Templar-Class Honkai Beasts. Behind them, a group of archer Zombies aimed their bows at Senti and Helix.

Next to the archers, there were also some scythe-wielding Zombies, eyeing Senti warily.

Of course, the most eye-catching figure at the back of this group was Dark Jixuanyuan, emitting a mesmerizing purple-red light, holding a purple-red stone in her arms!

"Wow, you were right."

Miss Pink Elf exclaimed, "When we get out, I'll treat you to xiaolongbao."

"I wasn't expecting you to give me xiaolongbao right now..."

Senti pursed her lips, "Such a strange stone. It has a strong Honkai Energy reaction inside... Huh? Why do I feel like this thing is a Herrscher Core...?"

"Ah?!"

Chapter Thirty-Six: I'm Very Curious

Dark Jixuanyuan stared blankly at the duo rushing out from the corner, her gaze firmly locked onto the Herrscher.

It was a face too familiar.

It was she who led Jilin onto the path of battling against the Honkai, and it was she who enabled Jilin to persevere in this dark and hopeless seal—even though, over the course of centuries, the reason for perseverance had shifted from love to hatred... But the soul had persisted, until today.

"Jingwei..."

In the perception of the Herrscher, Dark Jixuanyuan's emotions surged explosively like an explosion, and she couldn't even control her Honkai energy, forcibly blowing away two death soldiers who were too close.

Senti squinted, sensing a slight anomaly.

It was well known that Herrscher were the darlings of the Honkai, with a miraculous core inside them capable of many things.

For example, triggering Honkai, hiding the consciousness of Herrscher, acting as a chat client for Herrscher, providing Herrscher with the authority to change the world... Of course, the most important and inconspicuous function among them was to provide Honkai energy to the Herrscher.

The Herrscher's core was a singularity that connected to the imaginary space, allowing Honkai energy from the imaginary space to flow into the Herrscher's body, providing the Herrscher with almost perpetual power.

Thanks to Senti's "Fuhua face," Dark Jixuanyuan's mind was greatly shaken, unable to control the Honkai energy, which led to Sentience discovering the similarities between that purplish-red stone and the Herrscher's core:

It was also a singularity that connected to the imaginary space, continuously overflowing with Honkai energy, and even affecting the quantity and variety of Honkai beasts generated in the surrounding environment...

But Sentience concluded that this purplish-red stone did not possess that marvelous ability to change the logic of the world.

Because she was the Herrscher, she had absolute authority on this matter—how could such a huge Herrscher core be circling inside her body without Senti sensing even a hint of a similar scent from the other party.

"Helix" also seized the opportunity of Dark Jixuanyuan's Honkai energy loss, carefully sensing that the stone seemed to have a significant connection with the "earth" beneath her feet.

"Miss Pink Elf" looked solemn and said in the mind link chat room, "This thing seems to be resonating with the 'Chiyou' entity... Could it be that Dark Jixuanyuan used this stone to 'remote login' to the 'host' of 'Chiyou'?"

"Not just a remote login device!"

Senti squinted, "It's also the core of 'Chiyou'!"

In the original plot, Jixuanyuan, Fuxi, and Nuwa came to seal "Chiyou," the scientist sisters sacrificed themselves, sealing the core of a Judgment-class Honkai beast each, then Jilin took the Xuanyuan sword and went to the heart of "Chiyou," finally completing the seal...

Adding it all up, "Chiyou" should have three cores, and what Dark Jixuanyuan was holding now should be the core located in the heart.

"I thought the cores of 'Chiyou' were all very huge, at least as thick as two people hugging and four to five meters tall..."

"Just because 'Chiyou' is large doesn't mean the core has to be the same size..."

The conversation in the mind link chat room didn't take a few seconds. When Luo Lin turned to look at Dark Jixuanyuan again, she was actually startled by the latter.

"Long time no see..."

The woman spoke with a gentle tone.

Senti suddenly felt creepy, because she could still see Dark Jixuanyuan's ongoing, violent emotional fluctuations, contrasting sharply with her calm expression.

Upon this, Sentience immediately shook her head to make a statement: "You probably have the wrong person. I am not Jingwei."

"You know who I'm looking for, and you look so much like her... Ah, I'm sure you have a very close relationship between you."

Dark Jixuanyuan flashed a charming smile, "Jingwei must be your mother, right?"

"!￥@%＃（*＆）@!"

Senti immediately exploded, "I'm not in that kind of relationship with the old hag! I and her... uh..."

The relationship between the Senti and Fu Hua was complicated, indeed posing a new challenge to modern ethics...

Of course, the situation was similar in the neighboring Kaslana family, with Cecilia, Kiana, Sirin, Bianka, if we include Theresa and Kallen... Oh God, it would be even more exaggerated.

"Helix" turned her head, glanced at the sulking Sentience, and almost laughed out loud.

Dark Jixuanyuan calmly pressed the "Chiyou" core against her chest. Under the enchanting purplish-red light, she smoothly embedded the object into her body.

The next moment, a dense Honkai energy surged out from the glowing core on her chest, sweeping away the weakness on Dark Jixuanyuan's body. Even the armor-clad warhorse that had been shattered and disappeared earlier reappeared, affectionately rubbing against Dark Jixuanyuan's arm once again.

Dark Jixuanyuan touched the horse's head and, like a certain Thunder Archon next door, pulled out another "Dark Xuanyuan Sword" from the core in her chest.

Obviously, this was not the "Key of Dominion," but just a superficially similar item, probably because Dark Jixuanyuan was used to this weapon, so she casually created it with Honkai energy.

Dark Jixuanyuan's fingertips lightly touched the spine of the sword, and a Dark light, different from the golden lightning before, wrapped around the weapon.

"Jingwei, you must not know how I persisted over these years..."

At this moment, Dark Jixuanyuan completely abandoned her previous professional warrior demeanor of "able to carry people on fists and run horses on arms," instead leaning on the body of her armored warhorse, like a shy little girl from a certain family, carefully and cautiously, using the side of her face to glance at the person she cared about.

"Thinking of your voice, thinking of your fingertips, thinking of the delicacies you made for me, thinking of the techniques you taught me, thinking of the leisurely time we spent together..."

She sighed, "I miss you very much, very, very much."

"But I am not Jingwei."

Senti clenched her fists, replying forcefully.

"It doesn't matter, you have the same face as your mother... I've waited here for too long and don't want to wait anymore."

Dark Jixuanyuan shook her head with a smile, "Actually, I found out very early on that Jingwei is not as omnipotent as the legend says. She, like a mortal, has joys and sorrows... At that time, I began to feel that Jingwei is actually a lovable celestial..."

Dark Jixuanyuan mounted her horse, swung her long sword forward, and the Honkai beasts and death soldiers immediately moved, closing in on Helix and Senti.

"What would such a person look like when she cries? What would she look like when she despairs?"

Then, the smile on Dark Jixuanyuan's face gradually twisted, finally pulling out a terrifying curve.

"I'm very curious."

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Honkai Havoc, Here We Go

The words of Dark Jixuanyuan echoed in Senti's mind, giving this young Herrscher Executor a slight shock, leaving her mouth half-opened, unable to move for a moment.

"Be careful!"

Helix's shout through the mental link snapped Senti out of her shock. She noticed the fiery rain of arrows rising from the position of the zombies and archers, creating a sensation of a starry sky within the cave.

"Accept this kindness graciously!"

A pink light rose from the ground, forming a semi-transparent canopy in the air. Immediately after, an arrow shot by Helix pierced through the canopy, exploding into pink stardust, like reverse-flying meteors, intercepting the barrage of arrows from the zombies and archers.

In an instant, explosions crackled everywhere, with most of the arrows colliding in mid-air, shattering into pieces. The remaining arrows fell weakly to the ground, easily brushed aside by Senti.

The Herrscher of Sentience gazed ahead, where the shield-bearing Templar Class Honkai beasts continued to advance, resembling a wall pressing down upon them.

Behind the Templar Class beasts were some scythe-wielding zombies, strategically positioned at the edges of the shield formation.

As long as the Templar Class beasts slightly tilted their shields, the zombies could directly thrust their weapons out. If the gaps widened a bit more, they could directly charge out from within.

Dark Jixuanyuan stood at the center of the formation, surrounded by swirling Dark energy that bolstered the nearby zombies and Honkai beasts. Their eyes emitted a faint red glow, making them appear even more menacing.

"Honkai Aura skills? And controlling the Honkai beasts to form a combat formation?"

Helix raised her eyebrows as she observed the scene before her.

This was indeed a fresh sight. At least in the game storyline, there hadn't been much cooperation among the Honkai beasts; they mainly relied on instinctual combat.

Perhaps because Jixuanyuan was still the leader of a large clan, leading her people to survive on the land of Shenzhou, she not only needed to battle the Honkai beasts but also engage in conflicts with humans from other tribes.

In such a situation, in addition to personally engaging in combat, Jixuanyuan also needed to command her clan members to coordinate attacks. The marching Honkai beasts and zombies before them were the best proof of her relatively decent commanding abilities.

Senti clicked her tongue and charged towards the rapidly approaching "white wall."

The reaction of the Honkai beasts and zombies was extremely swift. They formed a V-shaped formation, attempting to flank Senti from both sides. However, even though they received reinforcement from Dark Jixuanyuan's enhancement, Senti's abilities exceeded what they could handle.

The shields of the Templar Class beasts became mere decorations in front of Senti. Her combat style was unpredictable, switching from straightforward fist fights to precise killings with long swords and short blades in the blink of an eye.

Whether it was the Honkai beasts or the zombies, they couldn't withstand more than two moves from Senti. They bore obvious wounds, then collapsed weakly to the ground, turning into purple dust.

Dark Jixuanyuan observed this situation, gesturing for the death archers to launch a covering fire. Meanwhile, she conjured many more powerful arrows behind her, aiming them at Senti for a joint attack.

Senti smiled, letting the arrows pass through her body.

"Huh?!" Dark Jixuanyuan widened her eyes. "Illusion?!"

"Correct!"

Senti's real body appeared not far away. She laughed heartily, kicking away a dual-wielding death soldier, who arched through the air and embedded into the mountain wall.

"Clang!"

On the other side, Helix pulled her longbow into a full moon shape. Standing still, she held her breath and unleashed the weapon skill of "Whispers of the Past: Sonnet" towards Dark Jixuanyuan and the distant formation of death archers.

Two crystal arrows tore through the sky. Dark Jixuanyuan intercepted both attacks with her sword, effortlessly deflecting them. Her interception was forceful, shattering the crystal arrows into pieces with the Honkai energy carried on her Dark Xuanyuan Sword.

But in the next moment, two crystal barriers bloomed in front of Dark Jixuanyuan, much to her surprise. They covered a large area around her, even affecting the formation of the death archers.

In Helix's view, all the death archers had the status of "Crystalline Seed" marked above their heads.

"?!" Dark Jixuanyuan felt something was amiss. She urged her warhorse to leave the barrier, but found herself hindered by the power of the pink domain, unable to move as if trapped in mud.

This was the weapon skill "Whispers of the Past: Sonnet" called "Crystal Seed: Aim at the enemy with the bow and arrow, causing damage upon hit, and leaving a 'Crystal Barrier' on the ground for five seconds, reducing the movement speed of enemies within the barrier."

Helix pulled her bow again and launched a rapid pursuit towards Dark Jixuanyuan.

Dark Jixuanyuan remained unfazed, her long sword creating a whirlwind, enduring the aftermath of the attack. She originally planned to let the death archers continue firing, but when she looked back, she found the archers' formation completely disarrayed.

"I clearly intercepted them..." Dark Jixuanyuan was puzzled.

This was because Helix's attacks had affixed a special status called "Crystalline Seed" to the enemies. When the weapon skill "Whispers of the Past: Sonnet" hit, it would spread the "seed" to nearby enemies. When the "Miss Pink Elf" attacked again, it would chain-react, detonating all enemies with the "seed" status.

The archers with "seeds" hanging above their heads acted as the fuse, resembling firecrackers from afar, blasting the distant death archer squad into chaos.

Helix fired two more rounds, almost obliterating the archer squad. Dark Jixuanyuan finally grasped the situation. She immediately ordered the long-range units to spread out to avoid chain casualties, while continuing their fire suppression on Helix and Senti.

Indeed, while Senti wreaked havoc in the frontlines, reducing the numbers of Templar Class and close combat zombies visibly, in a sense, she was also being held back by these monsters at the cost of their lives... even if it only delayed her for a few seconds.

Seizing this opportunity, Dark Jixuanyuan spurred her horse and charged towards the Miss Pink Elf.

"Not again, targeting the backline, huh?! Senti, help out!"

Helix grabbed her bow and ran, shooting arrows while on the move. The arrows exploded into brilliant pink crystals upon hitting Dark Jixuanyuan, significantly weakening her. Helix was sure that if she had taken this much damage before, she would have been taken down easily.

But now Dark Jixuanyuan only had a thin mist on her, and her armor had absorbed some color from the rocks, appearing even heavier.

"Stop right there!"

A spear flew from a distance, smashing straight into the armored horse's neck, deflecting Dark Jixuanyuan's charge off-course. It was Senti's spear attack, providing strong support despite not being able to reach Helix in time.

Dark Jixuanyuan glanced at Senti, her eyes flashing with strange colors.

Her core chest flashed, and a dangerous aura enveloped the blade of the Dark Xuanyuan Sword. A dark sword energy flew out, aiming straight at Helix.

The Miss Pink Elf twisted her body and flew backward, delivering a powerful counterattack that smashed into the sword energy. The collision emitted a terrifying buzzing sound!

Dark Jixuanyuan didn't pause, attacking around Helix. Dark sword energies crisscrossed, leaving exaggerated marks on the ground, with cracks spreading along these furrows.

In the next moment, the enemies rode horses and leaped out, launching a sword technique descending from the sky. The eerie light on the Dark Xuanyuan Sword shimmered, fiercely smashing into the ground!

The stony ground was engulfed in Dark mist in the blink of an eye, and Dark Jixuanyuan's armor also gained some color from the rocks, becoming even heavier!

Helix was taken aback. This was the devouring transformation ability of "Chiyou"!

"Boom!"

In the next moment, the entire ground trembled and shattered. The Miss Pink Elf staggered, stepping on a stone and falling into the depths of the Nine Hells!

The strong wind tousled Helix's hair and clothes as she launched an attack towards Dark Jixuanyuan, who was also falling!

"Ding!"

Dark Jixuanyuan took the arrow head-on, her attention not on Helix but on moving deeper.

Helix adjusted her posture and pursued downward, but the other party continued to ignore her, only focused on falling deeper.

At this point, Dark Jixuanyuan had been stabbed seven or eight times by Helix's arrows, and her armor was covered with pink crystals, appearing quite battered.

However, she had achieved her goal.

As the depth increased, Dark Jixuanyuan got closer to the core of "Chiyou," and the fluctuation of Honkai energy in her core chest became more pronounced. Finally, when she reached a certain critical point, a qualitative change occurred!

Dark Jixuanyuan's eyes narrowed, slashing forward with her sword. This sword briefly tore through the barrier of reality, opening a tiny hole leading to the imaginary space.

Under normal circumstances, such a hole would be repaired within a few seconds. After all, Dark Jixuanyuan wasn't a Herrscher of the Void and lacked the specialized Herrscher abilities to maintain the hole...

But at this moment, a familiar wave came from the other side of the imaginary space. It quickly supported the position of the hole and slowly, steadily began to expand!

"Holy shit! Its the Tree!"

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Women and Men

After an unspecified number of chapters, the Imaginary Tree finally emerged once again. It seemed to be compensating for its long absence and gradually fading presence.

As soon as this big shot appeared, it delivered a huge "surprise" to Helix:

Endless bursts of Honkai energy gushed out from the hole, forming a large number of familiar golden spheres in the air.

In the raging wind, they condensed and scattered, vaguely forming an encirclement aimed at Helix.

The Valkyrie could even feel that these golden spheres were using the surrounding Honkai energy to reconstruct their outer "shells," turning themselves into complete Imaginary Constructs.

Miss Pink Elf immediately pulled her longbow, taking advantage of these Imaginary Constructs not having fully repaired their shells yet, and directly outputted towards their core.

Soon, the crystal arrows destroyed the cores of several Imaginary Constructs. But just as Helix was about to expand her achievements, Dark sword energy slashed from the side, forcing her to exert force under her feet and leap towards the scattered rocks.

Dark Jixuanyuan brandished her long sword, one slash after another. Helix had to turn her head to deal with her attacks, dodging and maneuvering on the falling stones.

As a result, Helix's speed in eliminating the "Nihilius Seedling" slowed significantly, and she could only watch as the remaining cores transformed into familiar figures from the Memorial Arena: "Husk - Agnosis" and "Husk -Tautology".

At this moment, the Ancient Warrior surrounded by darkness was now wearing a twisted smile of success. She took a deep breath, and the abundant Honkai energy in the environment formed a small vortex, enveloping Dark Jixuanyuan and her warhorse.

"Boom!"

After a long fall, the falling rocks finally landed on the ground, raising an exaggerated dust cloud.

Helix emerged somewhat disheveled from the smoke, rolling on the ground. Behind her, a series of Dark and gold fists followed her, smashing onto the ground with a clang, kicking up a lot of debris.

Following closely behind were two "Husk - Noumenon."

These melee Imaginary Constructs bounced towards Miss Pink Elf!

Helix used her bow to shoot down one of them, then tightened her bow arm, swung her arm like swinging a baseball bat, and sent the other melee Imaginary Monster flying away.

Several enemies flew out from the smoke caused by the falling rocks. They appeared to be ranged monsters composed of several arms - "Husk - Agnosis". They immediately began to condense new arms to be used as projectiles, aiming at Helix and firing.

Miss Pink Elf held up "Whispers of the Past: Sonnet," with pink arrows resting on the bowstring. Two Signets, one pink and one gold, simultaneously appeared on the back of her hand, emitting a bright light.

The next moment, Helix released the bowstring, and the arrows flew out. Surprisingly, without Miss Pink Elf activating her ultimate, the arrows automatically split in mid-air and collided with the Dark arm projectiles!

The explosion dispersed the last traces of dust, revealing a purple cocoon-like object in Miss Pink Elf's sight.

It was the cocoon formed by Dark Jixuanyuan absorbing excessive Honkai energy.

Fine cracks gradually spread across the surface of the cocoon, and with an unsettling crackling sound, the purple shell shattered, exposing a tall figure.

It was the renewed Dark Jixuanyuan.

After being strengthened by Honkai energy, Dark Jixuanyuan was adorned in Dark and gold armor, similar to the color scheme of the Husk. Her originally exposed shoulders were now covered by thick armor. As for the "Chiyou" core previously embedded in her chest, it had now moved to the forehead guard, which had a completely different shape, extending to the cheeks and chin, forming a kind of masked helmet with sharp angles.

This exaggerated helmet, combined with the war patterns that appeared on Dark Jixuanyuan's face at some point, gave off a mighty aura as if swallowing the heavens and earth. However, Dark Jixuanyuan tilted her head as if listening to something, nodding incessantly and repeatedly uttering "yes."

"Okay, I understand..." Dark Jixuanyuan refocused her gaze on Helix. Miss Pink Elf was busy dealing with the swarming Imaginary Constructs. Thanks to the powerful stats and weapon skills of "Whispers of the Past: Sonnet," Helix had already reduced the summoned Imaginary Constructs by half.

"What are you looking at?!"

Dark Jixuanyuan calmly raised her arm, and a shield made of Dark mist condensed to intercept the sudden appearance of the Herrscher of Sentience. As soon as Helix and Dark Jixuanyuan smashed the ground, Senti immediately rushed out from the group of Honkai Beasts and Death Soldiers, directly jumping into the open hole and soon arrived at the depths.

But in just a short time, Dark Jixuanyuan's appearance changed from a light cavalry to a heavily armored cavalry, and her reaction to Honkai energy increased several times over. Senti's hurried punch couldn't even break through the opponent's defense. Dark Jixuanyuan immediately launched a counterattack, forcing the Herrscher of Sentience to retreat with fierce slashes.

With a neat backflip, the Herrscher of Sentience lightly landed next to Miss Pink Elf and casually used her whip to smash a core ejected by an Imaginary Monster. "Why are there so many Imaginary Constructs?!"

Senti looked around, taking a deep breath. "I thought I was back in the Abyss!"

Helix muttered, "Because the Imaginary Tree has come knocking on our door..."

Senti asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Quite the quick pursuit!"

Dark Jixuanyuan straightened up, lifted the Dark Xuanyuan Sword, and Dark and gold lightning spread out from her as the center, then changed direction and chopped towards Senti and Helix.

Helix and Senti immediately moved, easily dodging this attack. Helix even brushed past a temporal rupture and managed to kill two more Imaginary Constructs. Senti threw several flying swords at Dark Jixuanyuan, but the blades only sparked against the heavy armored cavalry, appearing to have a very limited effect compared to when they fought on even ground.

Dark Jixuanyuan clenched her fists, and behind her head floated a hole resembling a divine halo. This was the channel she had previously opened with her sword, leading to the Imaginary Space. The channel had now become as large as half a family car, but the rate of expansion had noticeably decreased.

A larger Imaginary core rolled out of the channel, completely different from the previous Husks, emitting a bright purple light. Immediately after, a huge figure solidified in an instant and appeared in Helix's sight.

It had the classic Dark shell and gold trim color scheme, resembling a giant ox, standing on all fours, impatiently digging pits with its hooves.

Husk - Mysticism"

"I still have tasks to do... let it play with you for a while." Dark Jixuanyuan clicked her tongue and rode away on her horse. "The seal of 'Chiyou' must be lifted!"

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Brave Bull, Fearless...

Dark Jixuanyuan's departure was swift; almost in the blink of an eye, she disappeared into the darkness of the Nine Realms.

What surprised Luo Lin even more was that the gateway to the Imaginary Space, previously opened, remained firmly suspended behind Dark Jixuanyuan, following her as if carried by her warhorse.

Helix and the Herrscher of Sentience exchanged a glance, noting seriousness on each other's faces.

At the same time, the voice of Luo Lin's main body came through the mental link: "I've taken people back to the Icarus, and we've discovered quite a few signals of Honkai Beasts outside the Nine Realms. How's the situation on your end?!"

Helix transmitted a "compressed file" to Luo Lin in a telegraphic manner. Fortunately, they were essentially the same person, so Luo Lin quickly grasped the situation.

Thus, as she climbed aboard the Icarus, still soaked from the water, Luo Lin exclaimed amidst the concerned gazes of the Valkyries, "Holy cow, the tree!"

Senti shouted through the mental link, "Stop exclaiming and think of a solution!"

Luo Lin calmly issued instructions, "First, let's go after Dark Jixuanyuan. She just caused so much trouble in a few minutes; let her go around again, and I dare not imagine what might happen!"

"The problem is that this brave bull in front of us isn't very willing to let us go after her!" Miss Miss Pink Elf's arrows exploded on the "Husk - Mysticism," crystal shards flying in the air, overturning the remaining Honkai Beasts and Zombies.

Senti waved her hand and said, "I'll deal with this guy; you go after Dark Jixuanyuan. Even if you can't catch up, you need to see clearly what she's up to!"

"Okay!"

The Herrscher of Sentience looked around and saw the wandering Honkai Beasts and Zombies, as well as the Imaginary Constructs whose style didn't quite match the Honkai Beasts and Zombies. Her eyes narrowed. Before facing the boss, it's best to take care of these small fries first!

Senti raised her hand and made several gestures in succession. A crimson wind, formed by Honkai energy, swept through the depths of the Nine Realms, drawing all the remaining Honkai Beasts, Zombies, and Imaginary Constructs to the center of the battlefield.

This move seemed quite elegant, reminiscent of "Azure Empyria," but mixed with Senti's own understanding.

Coupled with her unintentionally revealed healthy smile, the onlookers, Helix, sighed with admiration. "If this special effect were made into Azure Empyrea's skin, it would probably cost 9600 crystals."

Senti was unaware of the meaning behind Helix's strange words. She just flew forward and delivered a powerful straight punch, shattering the gathered monsters into fragments and "Imaginary Cores."

"Tsk, these Imaginary Constructs are really a pain!"

The Herrscher of Sentience clicked her tongue. She had experienced many such situations while fighting in the Abyss with these guys:

Originally, according to damage calculations, Senti's punch should have left her opponent owing her two lives.

However, the unique "shell/core" mechanism of the Imaginary Constructs allowed Senti's high single-instance damage to be fully enjoyed by the monster's shell, even if it exceeded countless damage, it was all absorbed by it.

So, when the core fell out, not even a scratch appeared on its surface, looking as smooth and pleasing as the antique walnuts some elderly people in Shenzhou enjoyed playing with.

Therefore, Senti calmly delivered two more punches, smashing the cores rolling around on the ground, attempting to escape, back into their original form of Honkai energy, reintegrating them into the world's energy cycle.

The Herrscher of Sentience efficiently dealt with these small fries, then turned her gaze towards the imposing "Husk - Mysticism" standing in the center of the battlefield.

Previously, Senti's crowd-control skills hadn't had much effect on it, and it hadn't even moved from its position in the crimson wind.

Now, the Imaginary Bull finally reacted. Its semi-transparent body gradually solidified, lowering its head and aiming its shining horns at the distant Miss Pink Elf who was fleeing.

"Don't even think about running! Your opponent is me!" The Herrscher of Sentience decisively appeared beside the "Mysticism," her fist slamming into its shell. With a huge bang, the body of the Imaginary Bull even trembled slightly, barely moving a few centimeters.

Thus, the attention of the "Mysticism" focused on Senti.

The next moment, a terrifying surge of energy erupted from the core of the Imaginary Bull's chest, instantly engulfing the Herrscher of Sentience's figure.

"Using the big guns right from the start? You have no sportsmanship!"

The real Senti appeared ethereally a few meters away. She widened her eyes, watching as the energy cannon carved a hot trace on the rock wall, even severing a few stalactites, which clattered to the ground.

The "Mysticism" shook its head, the brilliance of the Dark shell armor dimming slightly. It seemed that this sudden attack had also consumed some of its energy.

However, what was even more unsportsmanlike was yet to come.

Several familiar golden balls dropped from the core of the "Mysticism," and under the guidance of its big brother, they condensed shells, and new Imaginary Constructs surrounded them.

"Why are you still giving birth? Judging from your large horns, you should be a bull, right?!" The Herrscher of Sentience criticized sharply, then engaged in combat with the newly appeared monsters and the huge Imaginary Bull.

On the other side, the Miss Pink Elf rushed forward, leaving a trail of wind under her feet. The two Signets on the back of her hand, one pink and one golden, became even brighter. In the dim scene of the lower layer of the Nine Realms, she even left afterimages as she quickly headed towards the direction where Dark Jixuanyuan was escaping.

"Thud!"

"Ouch!"

Does it sound nice? If it does, that's a good start!

The Miss Pink Elf rubbed her head, reaching out with her hand. With the touch of her fingertips, a faint golden ripple spread out, revealing a exaggerated half-spherical barrier in Helix's eyes.

"So this area has already been sealed off by a barrier..."

The Miss Pink Elf picked up her war bow, gathering strength to shoot at the barrier.

After a dull sound, the scattered crystal shards illuminated Helix's serious face.

Senti sent a voice message through the mental link: "Helix, did you just do something? I saw an extra wound on the Imaginary Bull's body!"

The Herrscher of Sentience stared at the suddenly appeared wound on the golden bull's body. Compared to its massive body, these cracks seemed somewhat insignificant.

But the "Mysticism" also clearly felt someone at the edge of the barrier. It lowered its head and charged towards Helix like a train!

"It seems we're trapped by the barrier here. I just shot at the barrier, and the 'Mysticism' got hurt. It looks like this barrier is closely connected to it..."

"I can see that. The bull is charging towards your direction!"

Senti said as she chased after, "It seems we have to defeat this 'Mysticism' to continue. Can you continue to output damage to the barrier? Just deal as much damage as you can!"

"I'll do my best!"

Miss Pink Elf took a deep breath, pulling the bowstring towards the sky, unleashing the flawless dome of the ultimate chant, and began to output against the barrier with all her strength.

But by the time the Imaginary Bull and Senti arrived on the scene, the damage caused by Helix was only enough to leave the "Mysticism" covered in cracks.

Senti concluded that it looked fierce but didn't actually cause much damage.

"This barrier doesn't transfer much damage to the 'Mysticism'! We probably need to defeat the core to continue, right?"

Facing the aggressively charging Imaginary Bull and a bunch of imaginary minions, Miss Pink Elf pulled the bowstring of "Whispers of the Past," and two weapon skills directly hit the "Mysticism."

"Flawless Dome" and "Crystalline Seed" took effect simultaneously, slowing down the Imaginary Bull's charge, but it roared and broke free from the slowing effect, charging towards Helix again!

"Wow!" Miss Pink Elf was surprised. After all, weapon skills were related to the system, so it should have been difficult to immunize against something that directly touched the underlying rules of the world...

But upon careful thought, the "Husk - Mysticism" in front of her was a BOSS born under the Imaginary Tree, a well-known entity in the Imaginary World. It probably wasn't much different in terms of status from the Herrscher of Sentience, who had the power to change the world...

It didn't seem particularly surprising to be immune to a weapon skill.

Helix quickly adjusted her mindset and then began to output against the Imaginary Bull with her bow.

As expected, direct physical attacks were stronger than indirect damage transmitted through the barrier. With Miss Pink Elf's cooperation and the Herrscher of Sentience's attacks, they shaved off one of the "Mysticism's" horns, making the Imaginary Bull's movements become erratic.

The battle grew even more intense, with the Herrscher of Sentience and Helix fully focused on dealing with the "Mysticism's" attacks and the relentless summoning of imaginary minions, only able to spare a sentence or two in the mental link to prove the intensity of the battle.

"Why does this Bull look different from what we've seen on our battlefield before? And it's even giving birth?!"

"I'm not there!"

"Give us some help, Luo Lin!"

"I... Then I'll check on the situation with the 'Anti Honkai Energy Array'..."

Luo Lin hadn't even taken off her diving equipment yet, sitting directly on the deck of the Exploration Ship, beginning to study the "Dark Xuanyuan Sword" in her hand.

Thanks to the "Yao Guang Feather" she had dug out from the Taixuan Mountain vegetable garden earlier, Luo Lin also had some experience in manipulating the Dominion Key.

She quickly connected her spirit to the "Dark Xuanyuan Sword," and a torn and shaky net appeared in her mind. Clearly, this was the current state of the "Anti Honkai Energy Array" in the Nine Realms.

Among them, a bright signal was heading straight towards the location where Luo Lin had previously discovered a broken "Dominion Key," lighting up all the places it passed with massive bursts of Honkai energy.

This should be the Dark Jilin and that movable Imaginary Space channel. It seemed that Dark Jilin intended to directly dismantle the foundation of the "Anti Honkai Energy Array" to win.

On the other side, two huge signals were entangled, flashing on and off like popcorn about to explode.

This should be the situation with Helix and Senti, who were in the midst of intense battle with the Mysticism.

Finally, in the center of this net, there were two signals, one ancient and massive. Compared to the previous signals, they seemed somewhat dim.

However, with the increase in Honkai energy concentration in the Nine Realms, these two signals gradually brightened, even pulsating slowly like a heartbeat.

"This is..."

Luo Lin murmured, "The two 'Chi You' cores sealed by Fuxi and Nuwa..."

The Valkyrie sighed, touching the cracked ridge of the "Dark Xuanyuan Sword." She slightly increased the input of Honkai energy.

Hmm... she still had a intact "Dominion Key" on hand. Let's see if she could transfer the responsibility of the 'Reverse Honkai Energy Array' to the 'Yao Guang Feather'!

"Luo Lin! What did you do?"

"What? What?"

The Herrscher of Sentience sounded pleasantly surprised through the mental link. "Continue what you were doing just now, don't stop! The 'Mysticism' is about to take a beating!"

"?"

Chapter Forty: Just Like the Memorial Battlefield

Every Herrscher possesses an extremely unique ability, allowing them to easily change the world, turning all kinds of unthinkable and non-existent phenomena into reality.

According to the famous scientists from the previous era, Vill-V and Mobius, the Herrscher's ability can be explained by extremely delicate energy trajectories, leveraging a series of tiny reactions to leverage the rules at the internal strcuture of the world, thereby expanding the impact into reality.

So, the Herrschers actually have a peculiar sensitivity to the structure of the world's operation.

Every time Senti visits Luo Lin's system space, she has such a feeling:

It's like leaving a city full of car exhaust and arriving in the outskirts full of trees and grass, after taking a deep breath, one can truly feel the difference in the air.

And now, Senti had a similar experience in the depths of the Nine Realm.

Wait a minute, similar?

Senti quickly associated it with a certain woman surnamed Luo Lin, who not long ago said in the mental link that she was going to mess with the "Anti Honkai Energy Array"...

Could it be that she's up to something?

So Senti smoothly shifted her gaze to Helix beside her.

At this moment, the Pink Elf was exerting all her strength, arrows and explosions refracting and bouncing off the "Mysticism" and the continuously emerging imaginary minions.

With a swift movement, Senti shattered the broken shell of the Imaginary Construct's core, then asked with a subtle expression, "Helix, do you feel anything strange there?"

"Nothing feels right at all!" Helix seemed a bit frustrated. "Although I know that Bosses in reality won't rigidly stick to their moves, this one is obviously using a lot of unfamiliar moves, right?!"

As if in response, a clock-like hemisphere popped out of the "Mysticism," covering the surrounding area. In the ticking sound of the clock's hands, a terrifying shockwave exploded!

This was clearly the signature move of the "Husk - Nihilius"... oh, no, it's the "Mysticism"!

What's going on? Can the Imaginary Family's moves be borrowed from each other? Or is it because the Imaginary Tree has fallen, giving it a template of "Omniscient, Omnipotent, Astonishing Wisdom"?

"Huh? Wait... the Bull isn't giving birth anymore?"

Helix vigilantly watched the "Mysticism" not far away. Its behavior of running and dropping minions had stopped, and even after a full minute and a half, it hadn't done anything like that again.

"Could it be transitioning to another phase?"

The Pink Elf looked at the battered imaginary Bull and the scattered golden dots on its body, becoming highly alert.

It was well known that in Honkai Impact 3, many bosses would initiate a flashy phase transition process after taking a certain amount of damage, such as Kallen's Sphere Devourer, Improved Fire Extinguisher, Red Temperature Invincible Whirlwind, and Catastrophic Battle Map Dash...

During the phase transition, there would be some mechanisms for players to deal with. Successfully dealing with them would give players some buffs or weaken the boss's mechanisms for the next phase. Failing to do so would result in no buffs, and players would have to face the boss in its full form...

As for the "Husk - Mysticism," it would take off in place and enter phase transition mode when its shell's HP was depleted.

Under Helix's watchful gaze, the Imaginary Bull indeed floated up, curling up in the sky, and around it condensed a special effect scene that looked like a planet.

At this point, the Imaginary Bull would temporarily enter an invincible state, conjuring up planet-like effects in the sky and launching ranged attacks against players, interspersed with attacks that locked onto player characters.

Players needed to dodge its shots. If they triggered extreme evasion at this time, they would gain a layer of attack power buff, stacking up to three layers.

Next, just be careful not to be hit by the area damage produced when the "Mysticism" landed from the sky. This descending strike was extremely powerful and could be considered a one-hit kill move.

"It's transitioning normally!"

The Pink Elf breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought it would pull off some tricks..."

"Are you sure?" Senti asked, "Isn't it causing trouble right now?"

Helix squinted her eyes, noticing that the "Mysticism" didn't look as relaxed as it seemed. Its body trembled violently, as if trying to break free from this state.

The next moment, the Imaginary Bull gathered quite a formidable Honkai energy and deployed a clock-like stance around it. Because it was still floating in the sky, Helix and Senti could clearly see this pale spherical field unfolding.

Then, like a blown-up soap bubble, it burst with a snap, and all the Honkai energy it had gathered dissipated into thin air. This weakened the "Mysticism" a lot and made it emit a low mournful groan.

Senti and Helix: "?"

Just as the two were uncertain, a series of attacks glowing with purple and gold light descended from the sky. The Pink Elf even triggered extreme evasion, and the spatial rupture field unfolded, making the sounds of battle elongate and distort, sounding strange.

"Take this opportunity to shoot it with two arrows!" Senti shouted.

"Uh, okay."

Helix followed suit and shot the pink arrows at the imaginary Bull surrounded by nebula effects, exploding into dazzling crystal flowers.

The "Mysticism" remained unmoved, not even taking a bit of damage.

Helix had a face that said, "As expected." "It's invincible during phase transition."

"How could it... It's not even in a system space... Wait a minute... Oh, I get it now. So it wasn't continuing to summon imaginary minions earlier because it didn't want to, but because it couldn't summon them."

Senti looked subtly excited, raising her eyebrows and sighing, "Just like now, it's not really willing to fly up and transition with you... It just resisted for a moment, but the result isn't great, huh."

"Huh?" Helix blinked in confusion. "Why do you say that?"

"Judging from the performance of the Imaginary Bull just now, it didn't need to do something as laborious and thankless as this. Even if it rushed headlong, the 'Mysticism' could have dragged us along for a long, long time. Does it really need to fly up into the sky and act like a fool, just like on the Memorial Arena?"

Helix also caught a hint of flavor, but the second wave of attacks interrupted her thoughts. The Pink Elf exerted force under her feet, dodging the imaginary Bull's locked shots once again.

At this moment, something even more interesting happened.

The swirling nebula particles floating around the "Mysticism" began to rotate, and a small amount flew towards Helix and Senti's bodies, bringing them a visible boost.

"This mechanism can be called 'Exposing the Core by Extreme Evasion, Counterattacking, and Taking Away the Opponent's Energy'... Haha."

Just like on the Memorial Arena.

Senti smiled and said to Luo Lin in the mental link, "Luo Lin! What have you done?"

"What, what?"

"Keep doing what you were doing just now, don't stop! The 'Mysticism' is about to suffer!"

"I'm adjusting the 'Anti Honkai Energy Array'..."

Senti brushed off Luo Lin's bewildered voice, laughing excitedly.

"If I'm not mistaken, the rules of the world here have all been changed by her..."

Chapter 41: He never stops, creating everything!

"Change the rules? Me?" Luo Lin, who was vigorously manipulating the Honkai Energy to rub the Black Xuanyuan Sword, looked bewildered. "Do I have such an ability?"

Helix helped explain, "Just now, the Imaginary Cow could still use techniques that didn't belong to it, but after you touched the 'Anti Honkai Energy Array,' the Imaginary Cow's skills directly failed to activate, and it even suffered backlash..."

"Could it be the power of the 'Anti Honkai Energy Array'?"

"Absolutely impossible!" The Herrscher of Sentience said confidently, "I've checked that thing. It's already doing well enough to immobilize Chiyou; it doesn't have any spare energy to deal with other things!"

"Moreover, when we said 'skills that don't belong to it'... this standard was judged according to what we (emphasizing) saw in the Memorial Arena of the system, the Husk -Mysticism."

Helix emphasized, "Even earlier, we used Extreme Evasion to gain an attack boost, which is exactly the same as the rules in the Memorial Arena..."

"But I didn't do anything besides synchronizing my spirit with the 'Anti Honkai Energy Array'?"

"Maybe it's the changes brought by synchronizing the array!"

Miss Pink Elf raised her head, working hard to mobilize energy for the Husk - Mysticism, and the white clock domain condensed again.

As a result, its second attempt to use its colleague's skill ended even more disastrously: the clock domain shattered before it could even form, turning into a wisp of blue smoke and dissipating into the air.

The Mysticism stubbornly switched to another move, and four or five golden notes floated out from its core, twisting and turning in the air for a few seconds before turning into limp streaks of light under the gaze of Helix and the Herrscher of Sentience, returning to the Imaginary Cow's body.

Helix said uncertainly, "This effect... seems to be the move of the Imaginary Band's Trio, right?"

"What thing?" Senti asked.

"It's called the Imaginary Shell, a kind of imaginary attribute monster. They usually appear in groups of three, holding instruments like violins and batons to play music... They have a skill that bombards half the field with musical notes."

Helix looked at the Imaginary Cow, which stubbornly changed its move again, and after the golden light flickered, it still couldn't release its skill properly, making itself even weaker.

After experiencing dozens of different failures, the black-bordered shell of the Mysticism became semi-transparent, leaving only the purple virtual core on its chest still shining.

Finally, the Imaginary Cow realized the reality, gathered its Honkai Energy, and finally synchronized its power into the nearby star-shaped special effect.

At this moment, the purple-gold meteors launched towards Helix and Senti suddenly increased in number, and their speed also increased significantly!

Fortunately, this was not difficult for the two of them. Helix even actively launched attacks towards the meteors during the evasion process, completely shattering several of them with crystal arrows.

Finally, after going through the lengthy transitional process, the purple planet floating in the sky suddenly emitted a terrifying energy fluctuation, and then plummeted down with unmatched momentum!

"Damn it?!" Helix and Senti turned and ran.

"Luo Lin, you don't have to restore the transition kill skill so accurately!!" The Herrscher of Sentience shouted as he ran wildly, "The Honkai Energy that cow just poured in wasnt't just enough to fire a small photon cannon, the current momentum can directly blast through Chiyou!"

Luo Lin covered her head, "I can't control this! I still don't understand what I did!"

The speed of the falling meteorites was very fast, and the coverage area was extremely exaggerated. Helix and the Herrscher of Sentience couldn't run out of the kill range at all.

At the critical moment, Miss Pink Elf stretched out her arm, and a crystal shield shaped like a cross appeared in her hand. Helix supported the Herrscher of Sentience's shoulder, stepped forward, and stood in front of the Herrscher of Sentience.

Senti was shocked and angry again, "You?!"

"It's okay, I won't..."

Miss Pink Elf smiled brightly, and the whole person disappeared in the explosion of light.

The next moment, the signal representing Helix in the mental link was interrupted.

Boom!!!

The sound of the explosion came a bit late, and the Herrscher of Sentience was pushed back tens of meters by the subsequent shock wave.

She stabbed the long spear into the ground, anchoring her body, and blinked her eyes hard.

Fragments of shattered crystals floated over from a distance, staining the Senti's hair and cheeks. Like a stalled robot, she stared stiffly in the direction where she had stood before.

A pink crystal about a meter high appeared in the Herrscher of Sentience's field of vision, with a broken figure inside.

Immediately afterwards, cracks appeared on the crystal, turning into scattered points of light drifting in the wind.

"No!"

Many blurry yet familiar scenes flashed through the Senti's mind, all from Fu Hua's memory, where many people made such choices.

The Herrscher of Sentience's eyes widened, and even her heartbeat skipped a few beats.

"I said I wouldn't die!"

In her sight was Helix, looking a bit embarrassed. The Whispers of the Past longbow in her hand was broken into two pieces, and the girl could only helplessly take out the golden war bow manifested by the Key of Revelation from the warehouse.

"You..."

Helix blinked, "Miss Pink Elf has two lives, you know?"

"Intoxicated, like the lingering fragrance of a candle: when Miss Pink Elf suffers fatal damage (life zero), she will create a flawless crystal to protect herself, revive from it after restoring 100% of her health, with an extremely long cooldown."

This was clearly written on the Valkyrie's skill panel, giving Helix the confidence to step forward and block the damage.

Senti's face turned pale, and finally, she squeezed out a few words from between her teeth, "Let's deal with that damn cow first when we get back!"

[Announcement] Furious Flames, Xuanyuan Reborn | Participate in the event to receive crystal and other rewards.

[Announcement] Furious Flames, Xuanyuan Reborn | Participate in the event to receive crystal and other rewards.

From section: [Garbled]

Readers: 200,000+/Comments: 450/Likes: 1919/Favorites: 810

"Captain, something is rising from the seabed!" "That's... Chiyou!"

The event "Furious Flames, Xuanyuan Reborn" is about to begin. Complete challenges in this world of distorted fate, intercept the ancient divine beast Chiyou, and battle against the new SSS-level enemy, Jilin Hei, to defend the peace and tranquility of Shenzhou.

Participate in the event to receive 4★ event stigma "Jixuanyuan (Upper)," Crystals, Triple Crystals, Ancient Surge Memory Medals, Electrifying Arc Modification Box, Einstein's Torus, and other rewards.

[Event Details] Furious Flames, Xuanyuan Reborn

[Event Time] After X.X version update~Until X Month X Day 4:00

[Event Level] Level 30 and above

[Event Content]

1) The "Furious Flames, Xuanyuan Reborn" event will be divided into two stages: "Sea Interception" and "Abyss Dive." The two stages will be released sequentially, with specific release times as follows:

"Sea Interception": After X.X version update

"Deep Killing": X Month X Day 10:00

2) This event's tasks will be divided into main tasks, support tasks, and challenge tasks. As main tasks are completed, captains can unlock different types of "support chips."

3) After completing a certain number of main tasks in "Sea Interception," support tasks will be unlocked.

Captains can spend "Intelligence Department Dispatch Orders" to perform daily support tasks. Two "Intelligence Department Dispatch Orders" are issued daily, with a maximum accumulation of eight. Captains, please remember to use them promptly.

After support tasks end, captains can obtain corresponding quantities of "chip upgrade materials" and "feather of memories" rewards based on completion time and progress.

4) Challenge tasks will gradually unlock as main tasks are completed. In challenge tasks, clearing normal enemies within the specified time will grant bonus effects and the opportunity to challenge boss enemies. Clearing bosses within a limited time of 1 minute and 30 seconds will reward captains with corresponding "feather of memories" based on the points obtained.

[Echoing Corridor]

In the shattered "Chiyou," remnants of heroic deeds linger, like echoes that never fade away.

[Opening Time] After X.X version update~Until X Month X Day 4:00

[Opening Level] Level 25 and above

[Event Content]

Captains who participate in the "Surging Flames, Xuanyuan Reborn" event can use the "Feather of Memories" obtained to exchange for 4★ event stigma "Jilin Rongguang (Upper)," crystals, triple crystals, Reconstruction Module-Special Attack Select Box, Einsteinian Magnet, and other rewards in the "Echoing Corridor" event shop!

*Ai-Chan's Tips:

1) The quantity of "feather of memories" obtainable in this event is sufficient to exchange for all rewards in the "Echoing Corridor" event shop~

2) From X Month X Day 04:00 to X Month X Day 04:00, the "Echoing Corridor" will open crystal purchases of "feather of memories" at a price of 10 crystals/10 "feather of memories," limited to 100 purchases.

3) "Feather of memories" will be reclaimed on X Month XX Day 04:00, returning gold coins × 200 each. Captains, please remember to exchange rewards promptly~

Chapter 42: Dimensional Strike

"Do you still remember when you were searching to enter the Sea of Quanta and help Seele and Bronya meet, catching the intermediate state that came out when switching characters?"

"Of course I do!"

How could Luo Lin forget?

Thanks to the "Emotion Diffusion" skill, the Valkyrie accidentally got stuck in the intermediate state of character switching. At that time, Luo Lin thought the system had encountered another bug...

Later, Luo Lin, with the help of this miraculous intermediate state, not only found a way to help Seele enter the character's body, return to the real world, and reunite with Bronya; even the Valkyrie discovered that when stuck in this transition state, her emotions could easily transform into Honkai energy...

"Now we need to enter that state!"

"Huh?" Luo Lin was stunned for a moment. "To get stuck in the intermediate state, I have to switch characters. But now, everyone else in the Valkyrie lineup is fighting outside!"

"I'll figure something out!" The system started to tinker, and a series of pop-up prompts appeared in front of Luo Lin. The data flashed across the panel like flowing water, dazzling the Valkyrie's eyes.

After a few seconds, the prompts disappeared.

"Alright, I've set up a temporary extra character switching position for you. Clicking on it will only switch to your own entity," the system said with a slightly electronic effect. "It should meet your requirement for switching characters!"

Luo Lin looked at the upper right corner of her field of view, where the Valkyrie's lineup switching button was. In addition to the avatars of Miss Pink Elf and the Herrscher of Sentience, there was now an additional flickering blank avatar frame with garbled characters.

"Amazing, system!"

Luo Lin touched the avatar frame with her mind, and the feeling of character switching flashed by—this was exactly what she needed!

Now, at this critical moment, the Valkyrie's performance became even more heroic. What used to take multiple attempts to get stuck in the intermediate state, Luo Lin succeeded in one try!

Emotions wrapped around her like threads, suspending Luo Lin's consciousness in the boundless darkness, preventing her from falling downward.

Luo Lin found that there were many more emotions lingering around her than the last time she came here. If the emotions she discovered last time looked like balls of yarn, now they had become steel cables used to build houses.

"System?"

The voice with electronic effects transmitted to Luo Lin's consciousness: "I'm here. Now, look into the distance—"

The girl followed these emotional steel cables, which stretched infinitely into the darkness, shimmering with faint light and standing out against the darkness.

"Before, I mentioned that the account you are currently using is a pre-crossing Honkai 3 game account, which has a 'trait' conceptually linked to you," the system said, "and the intermediate state you are currently stuck in happens to allow us to observe this 'link'."

Luo Lin asked anxiously, "What should we do next?"

"Let me try," the System said.

Some data streams flowed from her in front of Luo Lin, gently falling on these emotional "steel cables."

Luo Lin stared at the data streams, but the "cables" only shook slightly and then stabilized, no longer moving.

The system said somewhat awkwardly, "With my current power, I can't exert influence along this 'link'... it seems we need to spend some crystals to continue operating, Host."

"Crystals? Can they do this?!"

"Of course they can! After all..."

Luo Lin's head was on fire, interrupting the system's words: "The situation is urgent now, we can discuss explanations later, hurry up—take whatever you need!"

"Alright!"

The shop panel quickly popped up, and under the gaze of the Valkyrie, the number marked with the blue crystal pattern began to change rapidly, like a floodgate opening, quickly dropping. Luo Lin gasped for air, feeling the pain.

"You better get things done, or... sigh, I've saved up crystals for so long..."

Accompanied by the rush of data streams, an invisible force transmitted along this link...

In a corner unknown to Luo Lin, changes quietly occurred.

...

In an unknown world, a captain opened the Honkai Forums, clicked into the announcement area of the Honkai 3 section, and saw a strange post.

"Announcement? Furious Flames, Xuanyuan Reborn... Whoa, it's the Garbled Brother again!"

---

"Boom!"

Just as Helix and the Herrscher of Sentience were fiercely fighting the Husk Mysticism, huge quantum energies suddenly appeared above their heads, rendering the entire cave bright blue.

These quantum energies flashed by and disappeared into the depths of Chiyou.

"What's happening again!?"

Dodging the Imaginary Bulls, the Herrscher of Sentience began seeking contact outside the field: "Luo Lin? Luo Lin! Help me check... Damn, why did she disconnect too?"

"Helix," said the Herrscher of Sentience, "she definitely hasn't died, or else I wouldn't be alive!"

"I know! Damn it, why is the Herrscher of Sentience's power not as reliable as punches and kicks?"

With a fierce punch, the Herrscher of Sentience sent out several bright Honkai energy balls.

"Ding ding!"

The energy balls hit the core of the "Mysticism" with a crisp collision sound.

The next moment, the ground under their feet shook violently.

The Honkai energy erupted like a volcanic eruption from the cracks caused by the battle, and the substantial purple torrents even blew the two people into the air!

"Roar—!"

A huge, terrifying roar echoed through Chiyou, making Miss Pink Elf and the Herrscher of Sentience dizzy.

"Helix" exclaimed, "Is the seal completely broken?!"

"It's absolutely broken! Chiyou has awakened!"

The Herrscher of Sentience adjusted her body and landed on a dark flying sword, while Miss Pink Elf re-manifested the crystal cross shield that was destroyed in the explosion, flying on it like a surfboard.

It's hard to say that this is not a tribute to a certain animated short film by Helix.

As for the "Mysticism," it seems a bit confused about the current situation, but due to its huge size, it couldn't avoid the Honkai energy torrents and was a bit embarrassedly tossed around, rolling on the ground.

A dozen seconds later, the erupting Honkai energy gradually weakened. At least the ground was solid enough to stand on, and Miss Pink Elf and the Herrscher of Sentience both landed back on the ground.

Then, a countdown appeared abruptly in the Herrscher of Sentience's field of view.

"1:30"

"1:29"

The Herrscher of Sentience squinted, feeling that the style of this thing was somewhat familiar.

Miss Pink Elf exclaimed, "Isn't this the countdown of the Abyss? What does it mean? Do we have to solve the Imaginary Bulls within one minute and thirty seconds?!"

"Huh?"

Chapter 43: On-site Shoot

"Continue the attack!"

"Helix" was the first to react. She shouted loudly and launched an attack on the "Husk Mysticism."

The crystal arrow pierced through the semi-transparent shell of the "Imaginary Bulls," sparking a fire on the Imaginary core.

The Pink Elf's face stiffened. The damage caused by this arrow was too weak compared to before, and it didn't even penetrate the enemy's armor!

Was it because the trial version of the "Whispers of the Past: Sonnet" she borrowed from "Elysia" broke, or was the basic panel of the bow she held with the "Revelation Key" not high enough?

Senti charged forward, her fists full of collapsing energy, smashing onto the Imaginary core, emitting a series of exaggerated muffled sounds.

After a series of combos, Senti's expression turned grim: "No! This thing's defense has increased a lot!"

Several seconds passed before the two of them managed to create two obvious cracks in the Imaginary bulls' core, but there was still a long way to go before it was completely destroyed.

"Helix shouted, "There's less than a minute left!"

The Herrscher of Sentience fell silent for a few seconds, then said through the mental link.

"This doesn't seem like a temporary enhancement using collapsing energy! It's highly likely that there was a problem when "Luo Lin" changed the rules of the world!"

"Hurry up and pull her into the channel to ask!"

Senti dodged a war stomp from the "Mysticism," then used afterimages to dodge the meteorite-like shots from the floating cannon of the "Imaginary Bulls."

She answered helplessly, "Luo Lin's consciousness is not in the real world! I can't find her... Okay, she's back now!"

The Herrscher eagerly connected to her opponent's mind and asked, "Luo Lin, what did you do!?"

"I haven't figured out what's going on."

"Luo Lin" had just returned from the intermediate state and was still a bit dazed when she heard Senti's anxious voice.

"Helix" sent another "compressed file" as a supplement, and the girl was surprised to see the countdown just like the Abyss battlefield.

But before "Luo Lin" could regain her composure, a semi-transparent prompt popped up on her face—

"Ding! System update completed! Event module unlocked!"

"Limited-time event 'Furious Flames, Xuanyuan Reborn' started. Captains, please check the details..."

"Event?"

At the same time, there was a strange fluctuation around "Helix" and Senti, who were battling the "Husk Mysticism."

The next moment, a semi-transparent figure dressed in red and white armor suddenly appeared beside them.

She tied her hair into a high ponytail, and sparkling sparks floated between her hair and cape. She raised the sword in her hand and charged straight at the "Mysticism."

Senti blinked, feeling that the figure looked very similar to someone she had seen before: "... Kiana?"

She pushed aside these thoughts and followed the fiery figure forward.

As a long-range output character, Helix needed to maintain a certain distance to deal damage, so her observation of the battlefield had to be sharper than Senti's.

The Pink Elf saw everything very clearly. Herrscher of Flamescion snapped her fingers, causing a powerful explosion, but it only damaged the core of the "Imaginary Bulls," with no effect on Senti who was nearby.

"No friendly fire?!"

Senti quickly realized this and threw herself into the flames.

Then, Kiana threw out a ring of fiery flames, attracting some gravitaional field in the air, before swinging her flaming sword at the Imaginary core.

She snapped her fingers, the weapon acted, basic attacks one, two, three, four, five, mid-air ball squeeze, continue basic attacks, and then...

"Flames --Incinerate!"

The flames burst out, leaving exaggerated slash marks that illuminated every corner of the nearby cave.

"Helix" was very familiar with this process, or rather, it was rare for Honkai 3 players who were unfamiliar with this process.

Herrscher of Flamescion had a high usage rate, almost every player had one, and many trial characters in events and stories also had her presence.

Moreover, Kiana's combo was very smooth and easy to play, and you could figure out how to operate it after just playing a few rounds.

However, the Herrscher found that Kiana's burst didn't do much damage. The core of the "Imaginary Bulls" bathed in flames still looked strong!

"So much HP!"

"Helix" calculated for a moment, frowning: "It's too late! Our damage output is not enough!"

Even with Kiana's help, their damage was not enough to deplete the Imaginary core's HP.

"Luo Lin, what did you do!"

Amidst Senti's intense complaints, the countdown slowly and decisively reached "0:00".

The next moment, when the Herrscher and Helix regained their senses, they found themselves on the other side of the "roadblock" created by the "Husk Mysticism."

Senti looked back and saw that the Mysticism's shell had been repaired and stood intact in the center of the field.

The semi-transparent Kiana had also disappeared without a trace, leaving the place empty.

Now the "Imaginary Bulls" seemed to have forgotten the existence of Senti and Helix, leisurely strolling inside the protective shield.

The Herrscher looked puzzled, "Where did that person just now go? What about the damage we dealt? What's going on?"

"Kiana is gone too... Could it be that when the countdown ended, we failed the challenge, and the whole battle 'refreshed'?"

Watching Senti's increasingly bewildered expression, "Helix" gestured twice and said, "Just like in the Abyss and Memorial Arena, after failing the challenge, we have to start over... And Kiana, maybe she was a summon for assistance?"

The Herrscher blinked, and after a few seconds, she came to her senses.

She gasped, "So that's it, Luo Lin changed the rules of this place to something she's familiar with—she really got me confused!"

"I told you this wasn't... uh... maybe this time it really has something to do with me..."

On the daily "Icarus" ship, Luo Lin opened the system panel somewhat nervously and looked at the shiny activity button.

The design of this button looked like a dragon from the neighboring Monster Hunter World, carrying a huge, volcano-like thing on its back, with thick smoke rising from the mouth.

The girl gently touched the button with her mind, and the system panel quickly expanded, playing a clear video.

————————————————————

It was an armored door with glass installed, clearly showing the constantly flashing energy channels and corridors outside the glass, each emitting the distinct style of the Schicksal.

This should be in a Schicksal facility, very similar to the loading screen when entering Honkai 3—except that everything in this picture was not as crude as game modeling, but extremely realistic, as if the camera were really placed in an elevator on a floating battleship...

Soon, the elevator reached the top floor, accompanied by the familiar "Captain on the bridge" prompt sound. Several very familiar figures dressed in Valkyrie Battlesuits appeared from behind the camera and walked out of the elevator.

A ship officer hurried over and saluted to the newcomers, "Lady Theresa! Captain Ragnar! Lady Durandal!"

The screen even had white-bordered subtitles, and then the camera automatically switched perspectives, smoothly highlighting the three Valkyries mentioned.

Theresa carried the "Oath of Judah" on her back, wearing a simple nun's robe. As for Durandal, she wore the classic "Bright Knight - Excelsis" armor, while Ragnar wore the "Scarlet Fusion" armor that originally belonged to Himeko.

Theresa nodded to the ship officer, "How long until we reach our destination?"

"Estimated one hour!"

Durandal's face was full of worry, and Ragnar patted the golden-haired knight on the shoulder gently, "Don't worry, Luo Lin's luck is much better than you think."

"Yeah... I know."

Ragnar stepped forward and sat in the captain's exclusive seat, giving brief orders to the other crew members.

Behind her were Fu Hua in "Shadow Knight" and another Valkyrie in a peculiar but recognizable Valkyrie Battlesuits...

The camera gradually pulled away, leaving the bridge of the Hyperion in the frame.

Its engines roared, leaving brilliant traces in the air.

When the camera switched, a familiar research ship appeared in the center of the screen, with most of the Valkyries on the deck looking shocked and anxious, bustling about.

Of course, there was also an out-of-place person kneeling on the deck...

She suddenly looked up and glanced in the direction of the camera.

————————————————————

In the unknown world, in the QQ group named "Number One in Chaos by Garbled Bro," there was a discussion.

XXA: Everyone! I entered Bro's server!

The group erupted into excitement.

Silent Observer: You're really lucky! I haven't been able to get in after the first time.

Longing Hoshino: Quick, let's see what the event looks like.

Crooked-mouthed Dragon King: Are you guys not trying to trick me in an RPG? Isn't Bro just a hacker, and aren't all those things he writes just for fun?

Longing Hoshino: Are you a newbie?

XXA uploaded a video to the group files.

The group fell silent, and it took two minutes for someone to cautiously speak up.

Silent Observer: How much money do you think Bro spent on this CG?!

Longing Hoshino: The modeling, the clarity, it's at least a few million, on dollars, right?

Crooked-mouthed Dragon King: Damn, I believe it now.

Gudong12345: Bro didn't spend anything, just give the money to me.

XXA: This has exceeded the scope of the power of love, hasn't it?

Xiaomi staff: Obviously, yes.

Silent Observer: @Xiaomi staff Are you sure it's not your own expansion pack that leaked?

"..."

In the MiHoYo technical department, Da Wei turned his head awkwardly, behind him was a group of stunned employees, looking at the video projected onto the big screen.

"Oh my god, what kind of technology is this?!"

"Why don't we just bring Bro over to make videos for us?"

"Can you contact him? Da Wei! Contact this person!"

The man smiled bitterly, "This is really... We've been paying attention for so long, but we didn't expect him to come up with something so amazing?"

Chapter 44: Rising Up!

Luo Lin lifted her head, gazing in the direction of the "camera" capturing the scene. However, apart from the chaotic blue quantum lightning slashing across the sea, there was nothing else visible.

"Boom!"

The once tranquil sea suddenly churned with terrifying waves, causing the Icarus to rock violently as if it were a mere toy boat dropped into a waterfall.

Fortunately, most of the personnel on the research ship were Valkyries of class B and C, predominantly from the Schicksal Outfits. Though the C-class Valkyries couldn't continue their actions, their rigorous training ensured their safety. As for the B-class Valkyries, they still had some strength left and quickly protected the non-Valkyrie civilians on board.

Captain Whitley had intended to protect the Icarus's captain and take over the helm. However, the middle-aged captain from Shenzhou stood firmly rooted to the spot as if his feet were glued there.

The middle-aged captain spoke solemnly, "With waves like these, let me steer!"

Whitley nodded, lending her support.

"We need to find a way to get out of this area. We can't linger in this environment!"

Luo Lin had already retreated into the interior of the research vessel. Although she had the strength to stand on the deck full of waves and show off, such behavior would be unproductive, and she needed to conserve her energy for the upcoming battle.

The black-haired Valkyrie quickly made her way to the bridge of the research vessel. She watched as Captain Whitley and the captain steered the Icarus together, struggling to maintain the ship's stability amidst the raging storm and giant waves.

The captain's voice trembled as he shouted, "The storm and lightning are too intense; I'm about to lose sight!"

Whitley gritted her teeth and made a decision, "Alvitr, activate the shield installed on the Icarus! If we don't do it now, we may not have another chance!"

"Yes!"

Alvitr hurriedly made her way to the other side of the bridge and pulled down the switch forcefully.

The next moment, a faint blue light spread out from the center of the research vessel, unfolding like an umbrella to form a semi-spherical protective shield. The energy pipelines installed on the Icarus began to operate at overload, emitting ominous sounds throughout the entire hull.

The shield installed on the research vessel by the equipment department was not very powerful. Its main purpose was to intercept long-range attacks from Honkai Beasts and Death Soldiers, buying time until rescue teams arrived.

Unfortunately, the current extreme environment was too extreme, causing wave after wave to crash directly onto the shield. The additional energy pipelines installed later vibrated and flickered violently, causing anxiety among the crew.

Fortunately, with this shield in place, Whitley and the captain could now see the way ahead.

"How long can it last!?"

"I don't know. The shield is already operating at overload!"

Whitley clicked her tongue irritably, "We'll have to rely on the redundant measures from the equipment department now!"

The Valkyries on the bridge exchanged anxious glances, their heartbeats accelerating once again.

As if the scene wasn't thrilling enough, Alvitr exclaimed, "Captain! Something is rising from the seabed!"

A huge black shadow broke through the sea surface, resembling a massive volcano, with bright yellow lava flowing down its sides.

These golden streams clashed with the seawater, creating exaggerated water mist that mixed with the thick smoke emanating from the volcano itself, forming a towering pillar of smoke that lingered in the air for a long time.

Even more terrifying was that the volcano was still rising, as if there was something supporting it from below.

A massive wall covered in unique purple patterns of Honkai energy gradually rose up from the sea, cracking open amidst the pounding waves. The crimson light emitting from the crack pierced through the rain and fog, reflecting in everyone's pupils.

It took Luo Lin a few seconds to realize that this thing was actually an eye!

The next moment, an even larger body emerged from the sea, lifting its head. It was the sealed Jufgement Class Honkai Beast, Chiyou!

"Hoo!!"

Whitley's expression turned solemn, "That's... Chiyou!"

Chiyou only exposed its back, carrying the volcano on its back, and its head poking out of the sea surface. Even so, the part it exposed looked extremely exaggerated.

"Large-scale Honkai event detected! Large-scale Honkai event detected!"

The Honkai energy radar installed on the Icarus began to wail, repeating the warning mixed with electronic noise.

Whitley shouted loudly, "I see it! Alvitr, turn off the alarm!"

The previously turbulent sea surface inexplicably calmed down, with the rocking of the research vessel returning to a level that even normal people could easily accept.

Luo Lin watched Chiyou, whose back was generating the pillar of smoke, gradually tilting, causing a V-shaped wave to push up on the sea surface.

She immediately said, "It's starting to move! Can you confirm the direction?"

"It's towards the Shenzhou mainland!"

The captain squinted his eyes and glanced at the radar beside him, "Its speed doesn't seem to be very fast. We should be able to surpass it, but..."

Luo Lin tilted her head and glanced at the patterns on the radar. The dense Honkai energy responses appeared on the screen, surrounding Chiyou, and it looked dizzying.

These should be Honkai beasts generated after Chiyou caused the Honkai eruption, with various types and an astonishing number!

Luo Lin even saw from a distance that many Honkai beasts had climbed onto the volcano Chiyou was carrying, and many Seraph-Class Honkai beasts were flying around the volcano's pillar of smoke. Occasionally, a few of them were struck by the blue lightning and disappeared.

The Icarus, not far from Chiyou, soon attracted the attention of these accompanying Honkai beasts, and dozens of Chariot-class Honkai beasts flew towards the research vessel.

Whitley grabbed the microphone next to her and began broadcasting, "All personnel, prepare for level one combat readiness! Repeat, all personnel, prepare for level one combat readiness! Get ready to face the imminent Honkai beast attack!"

Alvitr's voice trembled as she asked, "What do we do next?"

Whitley sighed heavily, "This is just a research vessel with not many weapon configurations. Our long-range Valkyries should prepare and go all out on the deck!"

"Don't worry, Whitley, I'm here."

A hand rested on her shoulder, and Whitley turned her head to find Luo Lin pulling out a golden-glowing assault rifle from who knows where, her expression still relaxed.

The black-haired Valkyrie smiled, "These Chariot-class Honkai beasts are nothing to me!"

Compared to the scene of Luo Lin leading the Valkyrie squad to defend the Babylon Laboratory in the system's [Second Eruption], these dozens of Chariot-class Honkai beasts were just a drop in the bucket.

"...Alright, let's go!"

Whitley and Luo Lin opened the hatch together, and the still strong sea breeze mixed with the scent of salt hit their faces. The Valkyries held their weapons and followed the two, determinedly making their way to the deck.

The Chariot-class Honk ai beasts flapped their wings and swooped down towards the Icarus!

Luo Lin pulled the trigger, and the gunfire from her assault rifle cut through the Chariot-class Honkai beast group like a hot knife through butter. Other long-range Valkyries also joined in, coordinating with the still operational shield on the Icarus, quickly eliminating the attacking Honkai beasts.

The Honkai beasts near Chiyou became restless again, splitting up and sending another batch towards the research vessel.

Whitley frowned and muttered, "It's strange. Why aren't these Honkai beasts all coming over together?"

Alvitr scratched her head, "Could it be that Chiyou still needs the help of these Honkai beasts?"

Indeed.

This matter was is also unexpected by Helix and Senti on Chiyou.

The two of them were currently hiding behind a corner in a cave, peeking out.

Spiral widened her eyes, "Wow, where did all these Quantum Shadows come from on this road? And they're fighting the Honkai beasts!"

Chapter 45: Who's Calling the Fleet?

"Where else could the Quantum Shadow come from? They're probably emerging from the Sea of Quanta," Helix raised her index finger, pointing towards the sky. "Think about the series of events that happened before; it's obvious that the Imaginary Tree has met its opposite— its old nemesis, the Sea of Quanta showing up to make its presence felt is quite normal."

Herrscher or Sentience was half-mouthed, "You're surprisingly calm about this."

Helix's expression was extremely complicated as she said with emphasis, "It's fine. You'll get used to the scenes when the two big shots fight. Trust me, after experiencing it a few times, it'll be like water off a duck's back—too much talking about it would only lead to tears."

Herrscher of Sentience: "?"

Miss Pink Elf gazed at the scene of the fierce battle not far away, where the Quantum Shadow, with their elusive flashes, gained a strong tactical advantage, holding their ground against multiple opponents without falling behind.

However, Helix and Herrscher of Sentience noticed that the Honkai in the air could quickly condense, replenishing the losses caused by the battle with many Honkai beasts and Zombies, continuing the fight against the Quantum Shadow.

The reinforcements from the sea were also present, but their efficiency was significantly weaker compared to the Honkai beasts.

Perhaps because Chiyou, as a Judgment-class Honkai beast, was a member of the Imaginary Side, it was extremely difficult for the Sea of Quanta to deploy its troops within Chiyou's body, clearly putting them at a disadvantage.

After watching for a while, Helix turned to Senti next to her and asked, "We need to find a way to bypass them."

Senti scratched her head, "Bypass them? There aren't that many monsters, let's just wipe them all out before they respawn."

"With our strength, dealing with just a few monsters is indeed no problem," Miss Pink Elf nodded, "but the problem is, once we take action, the Tree and the Sea will definitely notice us, and then things will get complicated."

"Tsk... I can try to use my authority to create some illusions and divert their attention..."

Sentience clicked her tongue, lowering her head and looking at her hands, sighing, "But I'm not sure if this will work. After all, the enemies we're facing now are related to both the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta, and they might be different from what we encountered before."

Helix spread her hands, "Just give it a try. The worst-case scenario is that we'll be discovered, and then we'll just have to escape in embarrassment."

Taking a deep breath, Herrscher of Sentience moved her fingers, and Dark-red feathers floated out from between them. Soon, they elongated into dark red threads, weaving into the shapes of Helix and herself.

Helix watched with interest as the scene unfolded before her, reaching out to poke the face of Herrscher or Sentience's illusion. As expected, her finger didn't make contact with any solid surface, passing straight through the illusion's shell.

Miss Pink Elf turned her head thoughtfully, looking at Herrscher or Sentience's face, and moved her fingers as if she wanted to pinch her cheeks.

Senti stared at Helix's mischievous hand with a subtle expression, "That's enough, now's not the time for this..."

Helix asked somewhat regretfully, "Will these illusions without physical sensation work?"

"You can't expect the illusions acting as bait to withstand the attacks of the Honkai beasts, can you? Since they'll break upon contact, whether they have physical sensation or not doesn't matter."

Herrscher of Sentience shrugged, "Besides, ordinary Honkai beasts are face blind; their target acquisition primarily relies on the fluctuations of Honkai energy on the target's body. By duplicating our Honkai energy fluctuations onto the illusions, I should be able to create better confusion..."

After explaining, Herrscher of Sentience hesitated for a moment and created a few more illusions of Honkai beasts.

"Let's just call it a stage play."

Waving her hand, the illusions of the two of them rushed out, followed closely by the illusions of the Honkai beasts, creating a scene of the two being chased by the Honkai beasts.

These illusions quickly caught the attention of the Honkai beasts and Quantum Shadow, with the vast majority of the creatures following the illusions into the depths of the Nine Hells, disappearing from Helix and Senti's view.

Now, only a few of the more ferocious, severely injured, and unable to move quickly remained on the battlefield.

Seeing this, Herrscher or Sentience scattered a handful of Dark-red feathers, which flew a few meters away and turned into stars, entangling the remaining enemies.

"Let's go!"

Grabbing Helix's hand, Herrscher or Sentience rushed straight through the center of the battlefield.

The monsters entwined with the Dark-red particle effects seemed to become blind, completely unaware of the two's actions.

Helix couldn't help but exclaim, "Senti, you're amazing!"

"Hmph, it's only natural."

Herrscher of Sentience's mouth couldn't help but curl up, but she quickly restrained her expression, coughing twice, "Let's continue forward and see what mischief Dark Jixuanyuan is up to!"

"Okay!"

...

Just now, aside from the ordinary Chariot-class Honkai beasts and Seraph-class Honkai beasts (jellyfish) flying units, several Templar-class Honkai beasts floated over from Chiyou towards the research vessel.

What surprised Luo Lin was that they were crawling with Zombiez, just like soldiers hanging on tanks during World War II.

Luo Lin decisively activated the "White Heat Mode" and threw out a semi-finished Eden Star Mimic while dragging them with a golden spherical attack, crashing them onto the sea surface crookedly.

The attacking Templar-class Honkai beasts were reduced to just two survivors on the spot, and the Zombies, labeled as "Human Bomb," were blown up completely.

The surviving two Templar-class beasts were also severely injured, and even if they could fly, they couldn't catch up to the reaserch ship.. They could only watch as the research vessel cut through the waves, quickly pulling away.

"Is this the power of an A-rank!? So amazing!"

"So strong!"

"Nice job!"

Whitley no longer wanted to guess if Luo Lin had any other cards up her sleeve.

Since the battle began, the Dark-haired Valkyrie had alternately used assault rifles, submachine guns, long swords, various types of projectiles... showing versatility in every aspect.

She even healed the Valkyrie who had been bruised and battered by the extreme weather with her peculiar powers.

Luo Lin: "After entering combat mode, the passive skill has been in effect all along, so it's just a waste not to use it."

The entire Icarus ship's airspace was dominated by Luo Lin alone, with no Honkai beasts able to approach her, only able to launch long-range attacks towards the research vessel from a distance.

Luo Lin even switched to a sniper rifle, accurately sniping at those white-shell, purple-rimmed jellyfish, effectively limiting the number of long-range enemies.

Unfortunately, the Icarus' shield was severely damaged, supporting for about ten minutes under the continuous attacks of the Honkai beasts, and finally collapsed completely, with even some energy pipelines on the ship exploding due to shield overload.

Seeing this scene, another batch of Honkai beasts gathered near the volcano of Chiyou, among them were naturally the "vehicle-type" Templar-class Honkai beasts that had been seen before, covered in Zombies.

This time, they had learned their lesson and spread out their formation very widely. Even if Luo Lin wanted to throw out another Eden Star Mimic Dark hole attack, she couldn't clear all these "vehicles" in one go.

Luo Lin sighed, reluctantly shouting, "Prepare for close combat! Injured Valkyries, report to me first!"

"Yes!"

The Valkyries tightened their grip on their weapons, watching the approaching flock of flying Honkai beasts.

The Dark-haired girl silently activated the "White Heat Mode" again. The Feather of Yao Guang pulled the surrounding Honkai energy, preparing to use the Edge of Taixuan to severely weaken the enemy's numbers...

"Hmm? What's going on..."

The Honkai beasts near the volcano suddenly became restless like never before, with more airborne units appearing from the smoke, forming a swirling storm.

Luo Lin suddenly turned her head and looked at the sea surface, where several cylindrical objects flew over, trailing long tails, diving straight into the midst of the Honkai beast swarm.

"Boom!"

—It's a missile!

The explosion instantly cleared the newly gathered wave of monsters, and the fragments of Honkai beasts rained down into the sea, intermingling with the mist formed by the high temperature, emitting a faint purple light.

Immediately after, several fire lines splashed from a distance, forcing the Chariot-class and Seraph-class Honkai beasts still hovering in the air to retreat.

To everyone on the Icarus Ship, this was simply the most beautiful scene in the world!

"Beep beep—This is the Schicksal Floating Battleship, Hyperion! I am Captain Ragnar Lothbrok! We have arrived!"

Chapter 46: Avengers, Assemble!

The Valkyries finally breathed a sigh of relief, and some even cheered:

"It's the Schicksal Floating Battleship! We're saved!"

"That's fantastic!"

It must be said that the appearance of the Hyperion was quite impressive, with its wide and sturdy hull and Battlesuit, emitting a shimmering energy shield, and cannons spraying out hot barrages, all reflecting the violent aesthetics of destiny.

As for the fierce storm and thunderstorms that had made life difficult for the research vessel, they couldn't even slow down the speed of the Schicksal Floating Battleship in the slightest.

The firepower of the floating battleship became even more intense, causing all the flying Honkai beasts that had previously attacked the research vessel to disappear in the flames.

The middle-aged captain who had steered alongside Whitley before connected the communication and said somewhat helplessly, "I am Captain Zhang Xin of the Icarus Research Vessel. Our shield has overloaded and malfunctioned. We request cover to withdraw from the combat zone."

Ragnar's tone was somewhat solemn, "Hyperion, received. I will arrange for escort boats to cover your withdrawal, but the Valkyrie exploration team on your ship needs to board the transport ship to the Hyperion. We need more firepower."

Although the Hyperion was a cutting-edge floating battleship, its size and scale were still quite small compared to the gigantic Honkai beast carrying a volcano not far away.

"Icarus, received." The middle-aged captain pressed the communicator, "Thank you very much!"

"Black Gold Exploration Team, Whitley, received."

"... Far East Branch, Luo Lin, received."

Listening to the somewhat awkward voice that appeared last on the communication channel, Durandal couldn't help but smirk.

Ragnar asked with a smile, "Are you relieved now?"

"...Yeah."

Two small boats appeared from behind the Hyperion, quickly approaching the Icarus Research Vessel.

One was a small escort boat, and the other was a transport ship. Although the engines and quality of these small boats couldn't ignore the influence of the harsh weather, their drivers' skills were extremely adept, soaring through the storm like swallows.

The escort boat circled around the research vessel, while the transport ship hovered steadily above the Icarus Research Vessel, lowering down towing ropes.

Luo Lin, with her strong capabilities, followed Whitley onto the transport ship's cabin first, then turned around to help the remaining Valkyries continue boarding.

Soon, everyone had boarded the ship, and after the driver closed the hatch, they maneuvered the airship agilely, turning back towards the Hyperion.

The remaining escort boats continued to surround the research vessel.

A few minutes later, Luo Lin and her team boarded the Hyperion, and the logistics personnel immediately brought hot drinks, energy bars, dry towels, and clothes.

Luo Lin grabbed an energy bar and gulped it down with hot drinks, then, to the astonishment of the others, steam rose from her body as she quickly dried off all the rainwater on herself in just a few seconds.

A familiar voice came from beside her, "Huh. Steaming yourself dry with Edge of Taixuan? I think you might have misunderstood the nature of Taixuan Ki..."

"Fu Hua? You're here too!"

Luo Lin turned her head in surprise, finding Fu Hua, clad in Shadow Knight Battlesuit, walking over from nearby.

"Yeah, we're too close to Shenzhou, and I have a lot of connections with it myself..."

Fu Hua subconsciously pushed her nose bridge, only to find that she wasn't wearing her disguised glasses, which was a bit embarrassing.

Luo Lin nodded and whispered, "I understand. After all, you're the Guardian of Shenzhou... Oh, by the way, I found your old friend when I went to the Taixu Mountain before—Book of Fuxi. Do you remember?"

Fu Hua was taken aback, "...It feels so familiar."

"Wow!!! The elmhead doesn't remember me!!!" Inside the system space, Book of Fuxi pounced on Selune's Elegy, wailing loudly.

Selune patted the little ancestor's shoulder, "It's okay, let Sister Senti help you with some medicine later... No, use the Authority of the Herrscher to adjust your brain gently, and it'll be all right."

"Let's not do that."

Book of Fuxi recoiled from Selune's Elegy like she had been electrocuted, sitting on a floating ball and floating away more than a meter.

Selune's Elegy tilted her head, puzzled, "But Sister Senti is really nice!"

"That's a Herrscher, don't you understand!" The little ancestor was somewhat resentful, pointing to her own head, "My database contains a large amount of information from the previous era. Just take one out at random, and it can prove how terrifying the Herrschers are. They're enemies of humanity, absolutely untrustworthy..."

"Adults, times have changed!" Selune smirked, almost making a crooked expression like Long Wang's, "And actually, the previous era had already changed..."

"Yikes! Such a strange tone and expression!" Book of Fuxi trembled, "Luo Lin! Let me out! I want to talk to the elmhead!"

Luo Lin rubbed her temples. She knew that her little ancestor in the system space would be very excited to see the scene in front of her, "Wait a minute, I'll find a place to let her out later. She might have to help with the matter of Chiyou."

"Okay."

Another person walked out from around the corner, speaking loudly, "Alright, let's catch up on the way. Captain Ragnar is eager to inquire about Luo Lin's situation."

"...Himeko?"

The newcomer answered, "Yes, it's me."

Luo Lin blinked, somewhat hesitantly saying, "You look much more mature than before."

Compared to the impression the black-haired girl had of the older sister who liked to drink and was a bit rough around the edges, this world's Murata Himeko had become quite different.

She had tied up her neat red short hair, wore Valkyrie Battlesuit that Luo Lin didn't recognize, and had a uniquely shaped sword slung diagonally across her back, the light of Honkai energy flowing on the blade, exuding an unusual calm and reliability in her every move.

"Really? It's probably because I've been teaching students these past few years, so there's been some change in my temperament. Besides, it's been a few years since we last met, so it's normal to find people different from the impression you had..."

Himeko raised her eyebrows, "What about you? You're still in the same outfit as before, without much change."

That's because Himeko had actually lived through a few years, while Luo Lin had only experienced less than a year in subjective time, swimming freely in the Sea of Quanta and fighting in other worlds.

So, Luo Lin could only offer an embarrassed yet polite smile, "Ahaha..."

"Forget it, as long as you're still alive..."

Himeko pursed her lips, took a deep breath to conceal the moisture in her eyes, and said softly, "Let's go, Captain Ragnar is still waiting."

"Yeah."

"And that lady over there, Whitley Regina of the Black Gold Team, the captain is asking for intelligence from you guys."

"Right away!"

Whitley changed into a new outfit, her hair still a bit damp. She asked Arvitr a couple of questions, "Has the data been uploaded to the Hyperion?"

Arvitr pushed her captain, "The procedures for leaving were completed when I came up, Captain, you'd better hurry!"

Whitley exclaimed, "With you here, I really feel at ease!"

"Just be at ease and don't let me go!"

"That's impossible, you have to go shine in a better place."

Whitley waved her hand and quickly caught up with Luo Lin and the others.

Luo Lin suddenly asked, "Did Lady Theresa come?"

Himeko replied, "She did. With such a big reaction of Honkai energy, she couldn't just sit idly by in the Far East Branch... By the way, the envoy sent from the Schicksal earlier was Durandal. She also came with us."

"Durandal, I wonder what she looks like now..."

The black-haired girl blinked, speculating inwardly as she looked at the very different Murata Himeko beside her.

"Lady Theresa and Lady Durandal?!" Whitley's mouth hung open, then she suddenly became excited, "With two S-rank Valkyries, capturing this Honkai beast is definitely a piece of cake!"

Himeko frowned, "It's best not to be too optimistic. Just now, the Hyperion fired a few rounds with its secondary guns, and it barely did any damage to Chiyou..."

"Chiyou? Is that its code name?"

Fu Hua sighed, "Sort of. We've been able to confirm that this is a Honkai beast sealed by ancient Shenzhou in the Primordial Era, and now it's starting to act up again."

As they spoke, Luo Lin and her team arrived at the bridge, and the armored doors opened with a mechanical hum.

The golden-haired knight standing in the center turned around, somewhat surprised to see Luo Lin.

"Luo Lin, teacher..."

"You see, she doesn't even have a scratch on her. Luo Lin, come over!"

Ragnar waved to Luo Lin casually, "I've noticed that wherever you go, something always happens. Your luck is really something!"

Chapter 47: Let's Discuss

Luo Lin looked at the familiar figures not far away, feeling a wave of emotion.

Ragnar had already donned the [Scarlet Fusion], and seated in the captain's designated command chair. Several holographic screens floated around her, displaying various data and images, dazzling the onlookers.

As for the other esteemed guest, Bianka Durandal Ataegina, her appearance was quite familiar to Luo Lin:

The [Bright Knight - Excelsis] blue and white armored suit emitted a slightly matte fluorescent glow, complemented by her golden, naturally curly hair. She resembled a knight straight out of legend, emanating a heroic aura.

However, it seemed that Bianka had been staring at her intently for a while now, which made Luo Lin feel somewhat uneasy.

What could she be thinking?

The golden-haired knight seemed to realize something was amiss. She nodded slightly, raised her hand, and smoothed her bangs, drawing Luo Lin's attention to the golden circular device on her wrist.

—This is the [Moon Ring]!

Bianka had already begun using it so quickly; Otto's efficiency was truly impressive!

Next was the head of the Far East Branch, the wise and valiant Valkyrie, Judah... uh, Theresa Apocalypse.

Since Theresa was engrossed in reading the data on the holographic screen with her back to the door, the first thing Luo Lin noticed was the very noticeable golden cross, almost overshadowing the school principal.

Theresa seemed to sense something and quickly turned around.

"Luo Lin, you're here!"

She was clad in a Dark and gold-trimmed nun's habit, which looked somewhat out of place compared to the fully armed or uniformed Valkyries on the bridge.

Luo Lin quickly strode to the center of the bridge and nodded to them, "Captain, Lady Durandal, Lady Theresa..."

The school principal gestured, "Alright, Luo Lin, tell us what exactly happened here—preferably from the beginning, as you didn't provide much detail in the additional report you gave me."

Theresa glanced at the screen and said, "Currently, [Chiyou]'s status is still relatively stable, so we have a few minutes to spare."

"Yeah, Captain Ragnar gave me some clues about the ancient Shenzhou relic, [Chiyou]. I went to investigate the relics of the Celestial on Mount Taixu..."

When the Dark-haired girl said this, Fu Hua next to her instinctively touched her nose again.

—Uh, are they already using the term "relics" to describe my old home?

Luo Lin quickly glossed over the process of finding clues (getting distracted) on Mount Taixu and briefly mentioned the existence of the Anti-Honkai Energy Array, laying the groundwork for the discovery of the array in [Chiyou].

Ragnar was taken aback, "There's still an Anti-Honkai Energy Array left by the Celestial Jingwei on Mount Taixu? How did you find it?"

Luo Lin spread out her hands, and the translucent energy gathered in her palm, "I know the Edge of Taixuan passed down by Jingwei. With this technique, I can find many hidden things on Mount Taixu."

Theresa nodded and recorded this information on her personal terminal, "This is an interesting piece of news. We can send someone to investigate further, and if there's a way to replicate it, even better... Continue."

The girl nodded and detailed her actions after arriving near the coast of Shenzhou, finding three poorly conditioned golden swords, judging the unstable seal of [Chiyou], and entering to investigate the situation...

Whitley also occasionally supplemented some details she saw, allowing the people on the Hyperion to understand the situation better.

After that, Dark Jixuanyuan broke out of the seal and fought with the team. Dark Jixuanyuan attempted to destroy the Dark Xuanyuan Sword to break the seal but was kicked by Luo Lin and had the long sword snatched away. She took advantage of this opportunity to quickly escape...

Ragnar was shocked, "Jixuanyuan? Is she the warrior mentioned in the ancient books, who fought against [Chiyou] in ancient times... Is she still alive?"

"I can't say for sure whether her condition counts as alive, but she does seem lively—and her hostility is very obvious. She has a clear intention to lift the seal of [Chiyou]."

As Luo Lin said this, she glanced at Fu Hua deliberately—Jingwei's gaze was complex, and her aura gradually condensed, causing Himeko standing beside her to unconsciously shift her feet.

"But, Jixuanyuan showed some abnormal behavior during our battle."

Recalling her previous experience, the girl propped her chin and said, "I weakened her during the battle, and before she fled, Jixuanyuan briefly lost control, slapped herself, and told me to hurry up and kill her..."

Theresa made a bewildered sound, "Huh? Does that mean she still has a conscience?"

Luo Lin shrugged and said, "Maybe this is the key clue to defeating her... Oh, and this is the Dark Xuanyuan Sword I snatched away."

The Dark-haired Valkyrie took out the broken Divine Key, looking a bit helpless, "After the Anti-Honkai Energy Array was destroyed, it was also damaged."

"This sword... Wait a moment... This is a Divine Key!"

Theresa, the holder of the Divine Key [Oath of Judah], immediately noticed that the material of this sword was unusual.

As she touched it and inputted a bit of Honkai energy, she confirmed that it was Soulium. Moreover, there was a very obvious neural feedback link. However, because the sword was damaged, the linking function was completely broken, leaving only a slight sensation.

But this sensation was very familiar, allowing Theresa to immediately confirm the identity of the Dark Xuanyuan Sword.

Bianka, Ragnar, Himeko, and Whitley all had their expressions change instantly.

The Valkyries naturally knew what the famous Divine Keys were, and Bianka even wielded [Creation Key - Dark Abyss White Flower]. Like Theresa, they were well aware of the power of the Divine Keys.

The school principal's face turned unusually pale, holding the broken sword as if she had lost her soul: "The Divine Key... is broken."

In Theresa's impression, whether it was [Dark Abyss White Flower], [Judgement of Shamash], [Oath of Judah], or even [Void Archives] in Otto's hands (Theresa had been taken to see this by her grandfather)...

Divine Keys were very sturdy and durable. They should be fine even after a confrontation with the Herrscher of Thunder or the Herrscher of the Void.

"Increase the danger level of [Chiyou] and this [Dark Jixuanyuan] you mentioned. A Honkai Beast capable of destroying Divine Keys cannot be underestimated!"

Theresa immediately issued the command, then held the broken Dark Xuanyuan Sword with a despondent look, murmuring, "I don't know which Divine Key this is. Sigh, I'll take it back and let Grandpa see if it can be repaired..."

Luo Lin and Fu Hua exchanged a glance, momentarily unsure of what to say.

Both of them were users of the [Dominion Keys] and knew that as "mass-produced" items, their quality was far inferior to the other Divine Keys.

Moreover, they were extremely fragile when not successfully "matched" to the corresponding user. Even a collision with a more powerful Honkai Beast could cause damage.

Fu Hua leaned in and whispered, "Did you get the sword?"

Luo Lin tapped her hand back, and a slightly metallic sound reached Jingwei's ears: "I got it. I can use it, but it turned into a sleeve."

Fu Hua: "?"

Although Fu Hua wasn't sure what Luo Lin meant by "sleeve," she understood that Luo Lin had obtained a [Key of Dominion] and successfully completed the "matching," transforming it into the form she needed.

Finally, Fu Hua stepped forward and explained to the others with a serious expression.

"Oh... " Theresa's eyes flickered, quickly realizing something. "The Anti-Honkai Energy Array is formed by the Divine Keys, so there should also be [Dominion Keys] on Mount Taixu! We need to seize the opportunity to collect them all!"

Fu Hua coughed, "Uh, this matter needs to be discussed with Archbishop Otto. As far as I know, Otto has cooperated with the Jingwei... It's not good to just take away everything left by people."

The school principal looked at Fu Hua with amazed eyes, "You know a lot. No wonder you're a Valkyrie directly under Otto! Luo Lin too... Well, what happened next?"

"Next..." Luo Lin hesitated, seeing the difficulty on her face, Ragnar pondered.

After a while, she snapped her fingers, instructing Himeko and Whitley, "Himeko, take Whitley to rest first. Luo Lin, stay here. We have more questions."

Himeko was a little surprised, noticing the old captain wink at her, understanding, and then led Whitley out of the bridge.

Ragnar looked around, fingers tapping, and a layer of glass-like shield quickly rose, enveloping the group, isolating the noisy sounds and gazes on the bridge.

The old captain spoke leisurely, "Alright, Luo Lin, now everyone here has the authority. Can you tell us more?"

"Impressive, Captain." Luo Lin couldn't help but admire Ragnar's keen perception in dealing with people. She turned to Fu Hua and asked, "Do you have any concerns, I'll explain. Is it ok?"

"...?" Everyone's gaze focused on Fu Hua, looking somewhat puzzled.

Fu Hua squinted, "You mean?"

"Identity and the like." Luo Lin gestured, "After all, some things require verification from Book of Fuxi."

Fu Hua pondered for a while about the agreement she had reached with Otto a long time ago— The Archbishop of Schicksal did not restrict her from revealing her true identity.

However, because of the name Jingwei, a little effort in investigation could reveal unclear connections with the previous era... and many of the current technologies of Schicksal, apart from Otto's own efforts, were also "gifts" from the previous era.

If other people found out that Fu Hua was someone who had lived since the previous era, who knows what they might do... Research, spar, inquire, it would be troublesome to think about.

Fu Hua knew that she didn't like being "researched," but she couldn't remember the specific reasons.

Ask Otto? He had openly researched it a long time ago.

Moreover, the Overseer still held the database of pre-era technology, [Void Archivez], containing the fusion warrior technology on Fu Hua, so there was no need to bother the Jingwei.

What he needed more was Fu Hua's combat power and friendship.

Fu Hua blinked, "... No, go ahead."

"Good." Luo Lin nodded and addressed the others, "After Dark Jixuanyuan escaped, I asked the Herrscher of Sentience to track her down..."

Just as Fu Hua, who had just prepared to reveal her identity, stumbled and almost fall in the ground.

Bianka Durandal made a strange sound, turning into a dumbfounded goose, "What?"

Theresa's mouth fell open, "Huh?"

Ragnar covered her head, sucking in a breath of cold air, "You... "

Chapter 48 Sweep Yours

"Because my teammates and I were delayed for a while, when the Herrscher or Sentience caught up, they found that Dark Jixuanyuan had successfully undergone the strengthening of the [Chiyou] core, and her strength soared... Wait a moment..."

Luo Lin tilted her head, somewhat puzzled, and asked, "Why does everyone have strange expressions?"

"Is it possible that they find it a bit far-fetched for you to ask the Herrscher or Sentience to chase after the enemy?" The original stealth listener, Senti, calmly pointed out the problem in the girl's words.

"Oh, this..." Luo Lin suddenly realized that the Three Herrschers were still hiding in St. Freya Academy, and they hadn't had the chance to establish a good bond with these Valkyries who fought against Honkai.

The impression of the Herrschers on Durandal and others was also from textbooks, portraying them as "Humanity's Nemesis" and "Messengers of Honkai"...

This also made Luo Lin's words sound somewhat sensational.

In fact, these impressions were not entirely wrong, but after a certain pink elf voluntarily returned to the origin and played a big self-destructive move, everything changed.

Who would have thought that in a few years, the main force against Honkai would actually become the Herrschers...

Theresa jumped up abruptly, "You let the Herrschers, who should have been carefully guarded, run away?!"

"I didn't run, nor do I intend to. There's no need to have such deep hostility towards me..."

Senti's lazy voice echoed in the minds of the group, murmuring, "Humans can provide me with cola, fried chicken, and snacks, can Honkai? It only tells me to kill humans, destroy the entire world, and then find a place to live out my lonely old age... There's not even anyone to chat with, I'd be crazy to clean up all humans, right?"

Except for Luo Lin, the other Valkyries couldn't help but show expressions of "being greatly shocked" — especially Fu Hua. Her current appearance, which was close to expressionless most of the time, had a great contrast, adding a bit of a funny atmosphere.

Theresa acted decisively, throwing the golden cross on her back to the ground, "Oath of Judah—"

Senti hurriedly exclaimed, "Ah, ah, Lady Theresa, calm down, calm down. I'm reporting the situation to you from within [Chiyou], isn't it bad to hang up directly?"

"..."

Theresa grabbed the chain of [Oath of Judah] that was itching to move and fell into contemplation.

The school principal glanced at Luo Lin again, took a deep breath, and wrapped the chain back around the golden cross, "For your sake... Alright, Luo Lin, continue."

"... After Dark Jixuanyuan underwent the strengthening of the [Chiyou] core, she opened a rift leading to the imaginary space."

Luo Lin sighed, "Normally, such a rift would be repaired by the world's own power within a few seconds, but it expanded abnormally, forming a relatively stable passage — obviously, something on the side of the imaginary space was providing energy."

It's the tree of imaginary numbers.jpg

At this moment, Senti broadcasted the scene to the Valkyries inside the bridge, and then they saw a bunch of strange and bizarre monsters, which they had never seen before, coming to reality through the imaginary passage.

What's even more terrifying is the appearance of the [Husk · Mysticism]. Just by seeing the image sent by Senti, the Valkyries felt immense pressure.

Luo Lin noticed that Senti cleverly removed Miss Pink Elf [Helix] from the image. Apart from the pink crystal effects exploding everywhere, there was no shadow to be seen.

Luo Lin continued to explain using the images sent by Senti.

Dark Jixuanyuan escaped while carrying the imaginary passage and fought against the imaginary cow...

And then came the intervention of the azure quantum lightning, and the second big shot officially entered the battlefield, directly shattering the anti-Honkai energy seal, starting a chaotic battle inside [Chiyou].

Durandal looked at the quantum monsters running rampant in the image, hesitatingly said, "I know what this is — Bishop Otto once told me that these are monsters born in the Sea of Quanta."

"Sea of Quanta? Imaginary space..."

Theresa couldn't help but tighten the chain of [Judah], causing a slight collision sound, "Hiss, logically speaking, only when the space is extremely unstable would there be a chance for these two terms to appear... What exactly happened?"

The school principal now regretted not bringing the scientists doing research in the Far East branch.

Senti coughed, "Ahem, there's one more thing."

"One more!?"

"The physical rules of the world inside [Chiyou] have changed, and it's different from the normal world." Senti said very seriously, "If you must say... Have you ever played video games? It's very similar to that, it's become more 'gamified'."

The Valkyries looked puzzled, "?"

"Gamified..."

Fu Hua thought of something, recalling her strange experience in Nagazora City before. She turned her head and looked at Luo Lin, "Is it related to you?"

The black-haired girl smiled bitterly, "Probably."

The school principal suddenly spoke up, "... This, Senti, right?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

Theresa's expression became serious, pondered her words for a moment, "Based on your recent actions, I temporarily believe that you don't have much hostility towards us, and you have indeed cooperated with Luo Lin... I hope we can maintain this kind of relationship."

"Of course, Luo Lin, you talk to them first, I'll continue to figure out how to sneak into the depths..."

"Okay, got it."

Luo Lin nodded, realizing that the eyes of the other Valkyries were all focused on her. She chuckled dryly, "Um, Senti is actually quite easy to communicate with, right?"

Theresa, with an expressionless face, slapped the surface of the golden cross and sternly said, "Judah, go!"

With a loud sound, the Divine Key opened, and with two swooshes, Luo Lin was wrapped up like a caterpillar, feeling the Honkai energy inside her body quickly solidify, turning into a stagnant pool.

Theresa walked up to Luo Lin angrily, staring into the girl's eyes, "I seriously suspect that you've been brainwashed by Sentience! Give me a way to prove its not?"

"Uh, how about letting Fu Hua come? She has the [Key of Sentience · Fenghuang Down], which can see if there's anything wrong with my brain..."

Theresa suddenly turned her head and saw Fu Hua take off a piece of golden-red feather from her forehead, emitting the classic aura of the Divine Key.

"Principal?"

"A novelty... You come."

Theresa stepped aside, sighing, "After coming here, I've seen more new species of Divine Keys in the past ten years than before..."

Fu Hua grabbed the [Fenghuang Down], waved it around Luo Lin's head a few times, and finally said, "There's no phenomenon of the Herrschers brainwashing."

"Test me too, and have the others come over."

"Principal?" Fu Hua was a little surprised.

"Just test it." She waved her hand, "I'm just afraid that... just in case..."

"Okay."

Fu Hua swept the golden feather across Durandal and Ragnar's foreheads, and finally stopped at Theresa.

"What's wrong?" Theresa asked.

Luo Lin's expression was subtle, and she whispered, "Oh dear..."

Remember the carpet bombing by Otto against Cecilia and Siegfried during the second Honkai Eruption?

After that, Theresa specifically went to argue with her grandfather, and then she was hit by Otto's [Void Archive] in the form of [Fenghuang Down], forgetting many things...

Jingwei wrinkled her brow, "Lady Theresa, your memory seems to be a bit off..."

This is going to be fun.

Chapter 49: Local Specialties Brought Back

"Is there really a problem? And it's me?" Theresa raised her eyebrows in surprise, murmuring incredulously, "Just now, when we were communicating, I felt she was quite honest... It turns out Herrschers aren't good people..."

"Don't slander me. I couldn't be bothered to tamper with your brain, which only contains Homu apart from anything else!"

Within two seconds, Senti retorted immediately, even revealing someone's interests directly.

Theresa nearly stumbled, "How did you know... Wait, you're the Herrscher of Sentience, did you read my mind?!"

Senti smirked, "Do I even need to read minds? I've been wandering around St. Freya Academy, and out of ten times I visited your office, nine times were to look at Homu comics! And your room is filled with Homu merchandise. Anyone can tell how much you like it..."

"You, you, you, you!!"

The school principal's face turned red as she looked around at her colleagues within the soundproof shield, "Don't tell anyone!"

Durandal showed a subtle smile, "Everyone has their own hobbies, I actually quite like Homu too..."

"Sure, sure, I won't say anything."

Ragnar muttered a few words vaguely, remaining remarkably calm— with her methods, she'd known about Theresa's little hobby for ages and always pretended not to notice when visiting the principal's office.

As for Fu Hua? She looked like an honest person, she definitely wouldn't spill the beans.

"Ha ha..."

Luo Lin couldn't help but burst into laughter.

The reactions of the Valkyries around her, especially Luo Lin's, immediately darkened Theresa's face. The golden glow emanated from [Oath of Judah] beside her, and the constraint field expanded slightly, turning Senti's "phone" into a series of distorted noises.

In the depths of the Ninth Abyss, the Herrscher of Sentience angrily kicked a stone on the ground, "She cut off my phone call?!"

Beside her, Helix consoled, "Well, well, you expressed your attitude, that's enough..."

"Sigh... you're right, I need to stay calm." Senti drew a half-circle in front of her with her hand, "I won't argue with children like her."

Miss Pink Elf hesitated to speak again—just based on their recent performances, you two are actually quite similar...

Returning her gaze to the bridge of the Hyperion, Theresa tightly gripped the chain of Oath of Judah, and the blush on her face seemed less noticeable now.

—It's not like adults liking Homu is something shameful, if others know, then so be it!

The school principal repeated this sentence in her mind many times, finally stabilizing her mindset.

Then, Theresa coughed twice and said seriously, "Fu Hua, can you help me resolve the memory issue?"

Fu Hua appeared very cautious, "Hard to say, we need to conduct a more detailed examination first..."

The school principal knew that haste makes waste in this matter, "Will it take long?"

"Not sure, it depends on the nature of your memory problem. The Key of Sentience isn't omnipotent; there are some things it can't help with."

Fu Hua's mood sank. She had considerable authority in this matter and was the only one in the world who constantly "burned" her brain with Fenghuang Down. Even without the special blessing of the Herrscher, the Herrscher of Sentience couldn't match Fu Hua in this regard.

"Let's begin now," Theresa said.

"Alright, but before that..."

Fu Hua, the honest one, pointed to the glowing [Oath of Judah], "Could you please retract [Judah's] anti-Honkai field first? I can't examine you while it's active."

"Sorry..." The school principal silently deactivated the field generated by the Divine Key and leaned her head towards Fu Hua's hand.

Fu Hua raised the golden-red Fenghuang Down, and the gentle glow of the Divine Key enveloped the nun.

As the examination progressed, Fu Hua felt a strangely familiar sensation. She even couldn't help but stop her movements and straightened her body.

Theresa naturally noticed Fu Hua's obvious reaction and asked, "What's wrong?"

Fu Hua hesitated rare, "I think... this shouldn't be the work of the Herrscher... I recognize this technique."

Theresa was puzzled, "You recognize it? Who is it?"

Fu Hua's voice was somewhat dry, "It's Otto, Otto Apocalypse."

Ragnar and Durandal exchanged a glance, "Otto?!"

"I don't believe it! How could my grandfather use those kinds of methods on me?" Theresa widened her eyes, "And how did you confirm it was the Overseer's doing?"

Fu Hua smiled bitterly, "Bishop Otto once consulted me about the usage of the Key of Sentience · Fenghuang Down. I taught him personally how to use the Divine Key... just like what I'm seeing now."

The school principal was dumbfounded, "..."

Theresa felt like a fish out of water, gaping, feeling like she couldn't get oxygen from the air.

After hesitating for a moment, Fu Hua continued, "However, [Fenghuang Down] has always been in my possession. Even if Otto borrowed it, I never let it out of my sight... How did he use the Divine Key to modify your memory?"

Ragnar proposed a hypothesis, "Is it possible that the bishop hypnotized you immediately after obtaining [Fenghuang Down], and then took care of Theresa..."

Fu Hua answered decisively, "Absolutely impossible! I have 'trained' myself with the Divine Key, and I have a high resistance to memory and consciousness modifications. Even if Otto is a genius, he couldn't control me right after getting his hands on the Divine Key!"

"This..." The old captain scratched her head.

Just then, Luo Lin spoke up:

"Bishop Otto possesses the [Key of Revelation · Void Archive], which is made from the core of the former era's Herrscher of Reason, capable of simulating everything... It's not surprising for him to create a replica of [Fenghuang Down] from it."

Fu Hua was shocked, but then she felt like she suddenly understood something, "The [Void Archive] is in Otto's hands?! No wonder... No wonder he could use so much pre-era technology, and Theresa's situation can be explained too... Wait, how do you know about this?"

All eyes focused on Luo Lin.

The black-haired girl was still entangled by the golden chain on her head, hanging in mid-air, making the scene a bit comical.

"Explain, explain... give me a thorough explanation!" Theresa numbly tapped [Judah's], and the chain loosened, disappearing into the air.

"Well... you see, I fell into a rift torn by the Herrscher of Void before, connecting to the Sea of Quanta there."

Luo Lin landed lightly on the ground, rubbing her wrist, "I swam in the Sea of Quanta and accidentally reached other parallel worlds on the Imaginary Tree. That's how I found out about this..."

The black-haired girl bombarded everyone with a string of strange terms, leaving them with more questions, their faces full of confusion and surprise.

"Parallel worlds

?!" Theresa grabbed her bangs.

"Imaginary Tree?!" Ragnar pondered.

"Sea of Quanta?!" Bianka's eyes gleamed as she touched the "ornament" hanging from her waist, adorned with a hexagram pattern.

"And I also brought back some local specialties from the parallel world..."

Luo Lin took off the golden hairpin from her head, and the [Key of Revelation] transformed into a translucent golden cube, shimmering with a captivating light before everyone.

The black-haired girl showed an innocent smile, "See, this is the [Key of Revelation] from the parallel world..."

Chapter 50: Everyone's Involved, Except You

"????"

As they gazed upon the semi-transparent cube hovering in Luo Lin's hand, a uniform expression of bafflement adorned the faces of everyone present.

After a brief moment of chaos, Theresa managed to reboot her brain and began to analyze the situation anew.

"Hold on."

She lowered her hand from her bangs to support her head, "According to what you're saying, shouldn't this thing be in my grandfather's... in the parallel world grandfather's hands? How did it end up in yours?"

The eyes of the big white-haired loli gradually turned dangerous.

"I didn't harm Otto at all!" Luo Lin quickly waved her hand, "In fact, in a sense, I even saved his life! This should be considered the reward I received after saving him!"

Theresa didn't believe her at all, "Are you joking? What could endanger Grandfather?"

Luo Lin spread her hands, "The Imaginary Tree."

"What is that?!"

"Well, let me think... According to Bishop Otto's original words..."

Luo Lin changed her tone and imitated the bishop's leisurely voice, explaining:

"There is a giant tree, its tip cannot be seen, and its branches cover the sky. Under the tree is a vast sea, its depth cannot be measured, and its boundaries cannot be touched. Between heaven and earth, there is only one tree and one sea, so they began an endless struggle."

Bianca Durandal understood, "Is this the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta?!"

Luo Lin nodded and continued in the bishop's tone, "The sea constantly expands and accumulates, while the tree continues to grow roots. One side wants to submerge the other, while the other wants to absorb it. Under the sea's immersion, the tree has spent countless years, branching out into myriad forms and bearing its flowers and leaves..."

"It is in this endless process that, in a trivial corner, between a new sprout of leaves—human civilization, named, was born."

Theresa and Ragnar, familiar with Otto, exchanged a glance, as if seeing the figure of a certain golden-haired bishop talking eloquently on Luo Lin's body. Both shivered involuntarily.

"Imagine! The Imaginary is the starting point of humanity, the beginning of civilization, where time flows on the trunk of the Imaginary Tree, branching out like a crown, spawning infinite worlds... Each branch is a form of civilization. Each flower and leaf is the present and past they leave behind in the dimension of time."

"However, the development of the world requires constraints. In the competition with the Sea of Quanta, the direction of the growth of the branches is constantly subjected to a mechanism of selection and correction."

Luo Lin paused here and looked around, "A naturally formed mechanism, one derived from the Imaginary, one nurturing and nourishing, one baptizing and eliminating... For humanity, it is called the Catastrophe of Honkai."

The eyes of the people around instantly became solemn.

After all, Valkyries only need to fight against the various disasters caused by Honkai, and they basically don't need to understand the theory of Honkai.

Whether it was Theresa, Bianka, Ragnar, or Fu Hua, they all heard such an explanation for the first time.

"Yes, humanity can never escape Honkai."

The black-haired Valkyrie shrugged and continued, "Humanity can only move forward, because the Imaginary Tree must grow. Otherwise, we will eventually wither away like those failed worlds and become another bubble in the Sea of Quanta."

Bianca Durandal's reaction was even greater now, "Is the bishop talking about Bubble Worlds?!"

"Yes."

Luo Lin looked at Theresa, whose brain was overloaded, her eyes tending to turn in two different directions, almost becoming Theresa stupid.

The girl was shocked, so Luo Lin briefly returned to her own tone and explained, "Bubble Worlds appear in the Sea of Quanta, lasting for varying lengths of time, like illusions... So they are called Bubble Worlds."

Bianca Durandal nodded, "A few years ago, the bishop arranged for me to complete an experiment, using the Gnius device to observe a Bubble World in the Sea of Quanta... I didn't expect it to be a remnant of a world. No wonder that world felt so similar to ours, but also gave a sense of incompleteness."

Theresa muttered and gave up thinking, "Luo Lin, continue."

"...If humanity wants to achieve permanent peace, they must return to the starting point of civilization, back to the Imaginary. And the answers I seek must exist within the Imaginary Tree—"

Luo Lin ended the imitation show of Otto and returned to her own tone, "And then the bishop went to climb the Imaginary Tree... I accidentally helped him, and then I got the [Key of Revelation] as a reward."

Ragnar said in an admiring tone, "Bishop Otto is truly great! Thinking so much for the sake of human civilization!"

"Well, even if you say so."

The expression of the black-haired girl was somewhat subtle.

In fact, what Otto wanted most was to save Kallen. It's just that without the help of human civilization, he couldn't implement his plan, so he had to give a helping hand to human civilization...

The black-haired Valkyrie pushed the pseudo-Divine key with her hand, letting it float beside her, and then skillfully mobilized Honkai energy to condense a large spear with a faint golden glow, which was very familiar to everyone present—

Durandal exclaimed, "Abyssal Flower!?"

"This is the mimicry function of the [Key of Revelation], it can even simulate other Divine Keys... but the effect is not as strong as the original—"

Luo Lin directly handed the pseudo-Divine key to the golden-haired knight, "I think, it should be enough for Durandal, who has already inherited the genuine [Key of Creation · Abyssal Flower], to test the functionality of this pseudo-Divine key and prove that the [Key of Revelation] in my hand is not a counterfeit."

Bianca Durandal took the faint golden spear, feeling its weight, which was no different from the Abyssal Flower. With a thought, she skillfully linked her consciousness to the pseudo-Divine key.

A few seconds later, Durandal successfully activated the mimicry function of the Abyssal Flower, but she soon frowned—the efficiency of Honkai energy in the pseudo-Divine key was not high, giving her a somewhat sluggish feeling.

The golden-haired knight waved the spear, and the healing light sprinkled on everyone, bringing a warm and relaxed feeling to the Valkyries, as if soaking in a warm spring.

Then, Durandal tightened her grip on the spear handle, and the healing atmosphere on it suddenly reversed, turning the pseudo-Divine key into a devourer full of destruction.

She pondered for two seconds and came to a conclusion, "Luo Lin is right. Compared to the genuine product, it does have a significant gap. But it does indeed simulate the essence of the Abyssal Flower... creation and destruction."

Ragnar took a breath, "So, does this mean that Luo Lin indeed has a Divine Key?"

"Yes."

Bianka handed the pseudo-Divine spear to Theresa, and, as a courtesy, the principal held the weapon, swinging it twice as if it were taller than her entire body.

—In fact, Theresa didn't know how to use the [Abyssal Flower], she just confirmed the degree of simulation of this thing.

Fu Hua also reached out to touch it, but as Cecilias's good friend, she had also come into contact with the genuine [Abyssal Flower], so she had some understanding of this pseudo-Divine key.

Fu Hua frowned and asked, "Only about thirty percent of the power of the original... With this level of simulation, even if Otto manages to create a mimicry [Feather Dust], he won't be able to modify Theresa's memories as I detected?"

"The [Key of Revelation] I have now is different from the version in Bishop Otto's hands, this one is severely damaged and not fully functional... I can only manually operate and select its functions."

Luo Lin sighed, "Can you understand that Bishop Otto's [Void Archive] is like a device filled with all kinds of auxiliary instruments, even with an AI terminal, while mine is a machine that can only run programs by coding it myself..."

Theresa grumbled, "Being damaged like this, no wonder he gave it to you. I thought my parallel world grandfather's mind was messed up... No, if all the Divine Keys are given out, then he should have really gone crazy!"

"Can't you say that he kindly supports the power of the parallel world to resist the Honkai?"

Fu Hua sighed, "Do you think what you said is possible? This is not at all like Otto's style..."

"Well."

The corner of Luo Lin's mouth twitched—strictly speaking, Otto did not actively give a reward, but the "spirit" [Void Archive] sent itself to Luo Lin...

"Oh, I forgot to release Book of Fuxi."

She slapped her forehead and pulled the little ancestor out of the system space.

The Book of Fuxi sat on the soulium levitator, and rushed towards Fu Hua directly, "Jingwei!!! I miss you so much!! Wuu wuu wuu..."

Former Captain Ragnar thought she could take a break for a while, just took a sip of water, and then almost spit it out, "Wait a minute? What's going on? Jingwei?!"

"Cough..."

Fu Hua caught the armed puppet with a little embarrassment, "Sorry, I may have forgotten many things..."

The Book of Fuxi patted its chest, "It's okay, let's start over! This time I have plenty of time!"

Ragnar rubbed her ears, looked around, and felt out of place.

—Everyone's involved in something weird, why aren't I as well?