[Old residential building stairwell, Dusk]
The sound-activated lights clicked on one after another with Tendo's footsteps.
Under the warm yellow light, the paint on the walls on both sides of the corridor flaked and crumbled, revealing the patchy red bricks underneath.
The old mailboxes at the corner of the stairs were plastered with yellowed small advertisements. The corner of the top sheet, for 'Home Appliance Repair,' curled up from the wind, revealing the words 'Moving Service' beneath it.
With the ultra-high definition of the theatrical version, the dimensional audience felt a strange sensation of being transported back to the '1990s.'
Inside the stairwell, Tendo walked toward the floor of Room 302, speaking to himself.
"The so-called Frost God is essentially nothing more than a compilation of countless specific beliefs."
"And whether it's belief or a dream, they are all just an emotional projection of humanity onto a certain unrealistic fantasy."
Tendo's voice was not loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet stairwell.
He seemed to be talking to himself, yet also appeared to be delivering some 'intelligence' to the dimensional audience through the screen.
As he spoke, Tendo stopped in front of the doorplate for Room 302.
The numbers, made of tin, were rusty. The bottom right corner of the '3' was chipped off, broken by a typhoon some year.
Tendo looked at the mottled doorplate, a profound depth in his childlike black eyes.
"...Therefore, this ritual was never meant to fail from the start."
"Because Liuli, who can weave dreams, can naturally also weave a faith that is nearly real."
"The only difference is whether the entity leading this beautiful dream is Liuli or some god."
At this, Tendo couldn't help but chuckle softly, as if he had thought of something amusing.
His laugh immediately caused the sound-activated lights in the stairwell to flicker twice, as if startled by his words.
At the same time, this 'soliloquy' not only explained his reason for letting Shuang Mo Bing and the others go.
It also made the dimensional audience understand what kind of 'cheat' belonged to Jing Liuli.
After all, for a long time, the power-scaling enthusiasts were full of various doubts about Liuli's No. 3 ranking.
No matter how they looked at it, the naive Jing Liuli, whose Star Source was merely 'dreaming,' did not seem like a 'master' in any sense, but rather like a 'klutz' who would trip while walking.
At the same time, there was the undisputed power of No. 1, Tendo. Not only was this guy a stats monster, he was also a mechanics monster, undeniably strong.
While No. 2, Chen Xing, didn't make many moves, each time he did, it was almost always a crushing victory, and he had the clear setting of the Demonic Blade, which suggested powerful hidden mechanics.
As for No. 4, Caroline, Tendo explicitly stated that she was hiding her strength.
And with the revelation of her identity as the Doctor's daughter, Caroline's fans had already started placing her at the No. 3 position.
They swore that if Caroline wasn't so low-key, the No. 3 or even No. 2 spot would undoubtedly belong to her.
Looking at it this way, among the top four Children of the Stars, only Jing Liuli seemed truly undeserving of her rank, with 'flaws' everywhere.
But after hearing Tendo's words, some power-scaling enthusiasts changed their minds.
'Seriously, bro, so Tendo just let the Star Frost Faction work for Liuli!'
'Based on previous intelligence, the Star Frost Faction wanted the will of the Frost God to influence Liuli's will to a certain extent, but what if everything was reversed?'
'Holy cow, I feel like this is the real truth! After all, Liuli's daydreams have a similar ability to materialization, and if she can control the phantom of a god, couldn't she materialize a god's phantom anytime and anywhere?'
'Are you serious, bro? It can be played like this? Materialization of faith, the incarnation of a god on earth—Liuli's cheat is pretty fierce!'
Tendo looked at the bullet comments on the dimensional screen, his expression becoming somewhat odd.
He had to admit that these veterans who watched anime and TV shows for years indeed had a very keen intuition about the plot settings.
Because what Liuli was about to do was precisely this.
An ability similar to the 'Star-Cluster version of Susanoo,' or perhaps the 'Star-Cluster version of a Warrior of Light Incarnation.'
Facing such a Liuli, even Tendo would find it somewhat tricky, let alone others.
After all, don't let his casual demeanor fool you when he dealt with the High Priest Ivan of the Machine God Cult, and the 'God Descent' of the brothers Shuang Yuan and Shuang Hang.
It wasn't that the 'god phantoms' were too weak, but that the god vessels like Ivan and the Shuang brothers were too weak.
This meant Tendo didn't need to put much effort into dealing with the two god phantoms; he could easily solve them simply by severing their connection with the gods.
But when the person performing the God Descent is replaced by Jing Liuli, the result will be different.
Because if Jing Liuli's awakening ritual is completed.
Then she will not be performing a God Descent, because she herself... will be the God walking among humans.
The two seem similar, but their essence is fundamentally incomparable.
However, even if Liuli could achieve this step, her desire to commit insubordination and challenge him would be a pipe dream.
After all, his methods were far from as simple as they currently seemed.
'Vector Sealing' was a special Star Source effect Tendo gained after his perfect Level 3 Awakening.
And the function of this effect was far more than just condensing a giant 'Vector Sword.'
Its effect far exceeded what most people could imagine.
With these thoughts, Tendo knocked on the door in front of him.
"Grandma, I'm home."
"Coming, coming!"
Soon after Tendo knocked, his grandmother's voice came from inside, accompanied by the 'tap-tap' sound of slippers, and the door opened.
In the entryway, his grandmother was wearing a faded blue apron and holding a white porcelain bowl printed with small daisies.
The bowl was full of creamy white soup, with two pieces of soft, stewed pork ribs and a section of corn floating on top, steaming hot, with tiny water droplets condensing on the rim.
"You're back so soon? Hurry and wash your hands. The soup was just served; it's still hot!"
Grandma smiled and pulled Tendo into the house, not even asking what he had been doing outside.
As soon as Tendo entered the room, he felt a gentle tug on the corner of his clothing.
Looking down, little Liuli was looking up at him with her small face, clutching a round grape in her hand.
Water droplets still clung to the grape skin, obviously just taken out of the refrigerator.
She hesitated for a moment, then held the grape out to him, saying in a sweet, childish voice, "Brother, have a grape! It's sweet!"
She had been holding this grape in her hand for a long time, and her fingertips were a little cold, but she still couldn't bear to eat it, insisting on saving it for Tendo.
Tendo looked at her bright, sparkling eyes, smiled, and reached out to take the grape.
"Thank you, Liuli."
He tossed the grape into his mouth. The sweet and sour juice spread on his tongue, tasting sweeter than any grape he usually ate.
Seeing Tendo's bad habit of eating before washing his hands, his grandmother gave him a gentle, exasperated pat on the back and pointed to the kitchen. "How many times have I told you, wash your hands before you eat! I just turned on the faucet; the water isn't cold. Go wash up quickly, then come eat."
Hearing this, Tendo nodded with a smile and walked towards the kitchen with little Liuli.
The old-style faucet was slightly crooked, and the water flow was thin. Little Liuli stood on her toes, reaching for a long time, but couldn't reach it, so she tugged at Tendo's sleeve for help.
Tendo smiled helplessly in response, then moved a small stool from the side, letting her stand on it.
"Be careful, don't fall."
Little Liuli nodded obediently and began to seriously wash her hands.
After applying a little hand soap, her small hands quickly lathered up many bubbles, and she smiled so wide her eyes narrowed into crescent moons.
In the stream, if the audience ignored the distant city skyline ablaze in the fire outside the kitchen and the occasional roar of Star Beasts,
The dimensional audience might even think this was not a city overrun by a beast tide, but just an ordinary, warm family daily life.
And this scene once again proved a certain 'meme' that only circulated among the Children of the Stars.
When danger appears, Tendo is the greatest protector for everyone.
But when there is no danger, Tendo is the greatest 'danger' to everyone.
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