Not even half a day after being released from the police station, Fuli was once again "invited" back.
This time, it wasn't for public indecency, but to help solve a case.
Inside the office, Yanqing, disguised as Jing—I mean, a police officer—had a strange expression on his face.
"Are you saying he was already in pieces when he came in?"
"Yeah." Fuli pointed to the bloated corpse fragments on the ground. "I fished him up piece by piece."
After a person dies, the bacteria inside their body, no longer controlled by the immune system, multiply wildly. They produce large amounts of foul, greenish gas that fills the body, causing the entire corpse to swell up like a giant. This phenomenon is known as "giant's view."
Fu Hua stood to the side, pressing a hand to her forehead. She had just bailed Fuli out this morning, and the guy had immediately run off to the lake to have fun again.
In the end, he didn't catch any fish, but he did catch a whole bunch of pieces of a person.
Yanqing's mouth twitched. He was suddenly reminded of an old internet meme.
Murderer: No one will ever find the body if I dump it here.
Fisherman: Hey, bros, let me tell you about this great, secluded spot I found yesterday!
So you fishermen can really catch anything but fish, huh?
"In any case, thank you for your enthusiastic assistance, Mr. Fuli." After instructing his subordinates to take the body away for investigation, the current Sword Champion tipped his police cap. "If there's nothing else."
The intention to see them out was crystal clear.
"Don't let us keep you."
Fu Hua quickly grabbed her trouble-making, trouble-fearing little cousin and left. The latter glanced at the swollen head on the table, looking like he wanted to say something but held his tongue.
Honkai-compatible individuals always have some special abilities. Even though the body was bloated beyond recognition, he could still tell at a glance:
The victim was the "skilled woman" who had previously barged into his room, boasting that she would have a thrilling battle with his family of three.
The boy considered whether to report this, but then he remembered that the man opposite him was one of the Seven Swords of Taixuan. He gave up the struggle with a shrug and let his cousin lead him out by the scruff of his neck like a kitten.
That's right, Fuli had seen through Yanqing's supposedly seamless disguise in an instant.
The reason wasn't complicated. In the previous cycle, after Yanqing had been killed by an external foe, his friend, the contemporary Baiye, Yunli, had issued a bounty, seeking capable individuals to join her in slaying the enemy.
The title of "Baiye" [T/N: lit. "Hundred Forges"] was legendary on the Honkai side of the world, a unique title reserved for the top blacksmiths of the Taixu Frontline. Any weapon that came from her hands was never below A-rank; she was a veritable wholesaler of divine armaments.
Even so, very few answered the call.
Even the curious who dared to accept the bounty would immediately get scared and cancel the mission after learning the details.
Because the one who had killed Yanqing was Shuhu.
As it is said in the Zhuangzi: "The emperor of the South Sea was named Shu, the emperor of the North Sea was named Hu, and the emperor of the Center was named Hundun."
They were the oldest Divine Authorities in Shenzhou, the Grand Sequence Authority of the Emperors Shu and Hu, symbolizing Yang and Yin, motion and stillness.
Though called two emperors, they were in fact a single combined entity, so the world called them Shuhu.
The words "Grand Sequence Authority" alone were enough to deter even the most audacious.
Normally, even if the opponent was a Grand Sequence Authority, the Taixu Frontline would definitely demand an explanation for killing a future Sword Master with limitless potential like Yanqing, rather than letting Yunli issue a bounty on her own.
Not to mention, it wasn't the first time Shuhu had been an enemy of Shenzhou. Last time, it took Baiheng of the High-Cloud Quintet dragging a gravitation black hole formed by a quantum collapse bomb to take her down with her (though Shuhu survived). The aftershocks of that war had directly destroyed a world bubble with a surface area close to that of a province.
However, unfortunately, the current Taixu Frontline was in a delicate "cooperative" relationship with Shuhu.
The Taixu Frontline was, in essence, a massive alliance led by Shenzhou, involving multiple world bubbles.
Due to their late development in the modern era, when Shenzhou finally got its own house in order and looked around, they discovered that the world was already divided between Schicksal and Anti-Entropy.
Even with Fu Hua mediating, as the only two superpowers in the world, they would never allow someone to truly climb to their level.
So how did the Taixu Frontline come to be?
Answer: by developing the Sea of Quanta.
Compared to the almost primitive American continent in the Previous Era, the land of Shenzhou had the most ruins from the previous civilization. This was officially confirmed information.
The people of Shenzhou relied on archaeological research to continuously restore technologies like Ether Anchors and Eyes of the Deep, using them to build trans-dimensional gates to the Sea of Quanta, thus bypassing the overt and covert blockades of Schicksal and Anti-Entropy.
And the Taixu Frontline was formed by Shenzhou uniting with certain world bubbles in the Sea of Quanta that were more culturally aligned with China, or rather, were simply alternate "what-if" timelines of Chinese civilization.
The Luofu, like the Tang Dynasty; the Yaoqing, like the Han Dynasty; the Zhuming, like the Ming Dynasty; Fanghu, Xuling, Yuque...
With these six large world bubbles floating in the Sea of Quanta as flagships, and with Shenzhou as the central hub, and with Shuhu's "help," the Taixu Frontline finally broke into the ranks of the superpowers.
What help?
Mara-stricken.
The Mara-stricken state, universally recognized as the strongest group blessing (curse) in this world.
People like Yanqing and Yunli, born in the world bubbles under the Taixu Frontline, were born with this curse.
They would develop healthily until adulthood, at which point their growth would stop, maintaining a youthful body until the sixty-year limit, and then, at some uncertain moment, they would fall into the Mara-stricken state.
Their minds would be twisted, their humanity lost.
And this was why the Taixu Frontline had turned a blind eye to the future Sword Master Yanqing's death at Shuhu's hands.
The Mara-stricken state was both a curse and a blessing. Whether it was fighting against Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, and various other factions, or dealing with threats from the depths of the Sea of Quanta and various alien races, as long as it existed, the Taixu Frontline could maintain a large military force at all times.
If Shuhu were killed and the Mara curse lifted, they would lose a large number of soldiers in their prime. Not only would they have to find a way to accommodate them and deal with the series of problems that would follow, but with the recent Great Honkai Eruptions becoming more frequent and intense, what would the Taixu Frontline use to face the coming chaotic era and the invincible Herrscher of Finality?
And this was why the Taixu Frontline's attitude toward Yunli's crusade against Shuhu was ambiguous.
In the end, Shuhu deserved to die, but not at this time.
One day in the future, they would avenge Yanqing, but not now.
The Yunli of the previous cycle didn't care about that. In Fuli's words, the girl was not only stubborn but also unyielding. To put it more bluntly, she was hot-tempered and so obstinate that she wouldn't turn back even if she crashed through a wall.
While everyone remained silent for the sake of the "bigger picture," she was the only one putting up a bounty and recruiting people.
Fuli signed up.
He was the only one who still chose to sign up after reading the mission details.
Firstly, the reward Yunli promised—the all-terrain combat weapon "Luminous Lapis Sword Souls"—was too tempting. A complete set of twenty-four A-rank sword-type armaments. In theory, each sword could unleash a powerful attack equivalent to a critical blow.
Together, they could form the Luminous Sword Formation to seal off space and forcibly suppress the operation of all Honkai energy of the same level and below within its domain.
For the then A-rank Fuli, the temptation was no less than Kiana and Cousin Hua lying naked in bed, with him in the middle, under the same blanket.
As for the Plasma Kagehide that Mei had given him after the lap pillow a while ago?
Don't ask. It was a past love.
Secondly, the boy at that time still possessed some of the passion that came from being a Kaslana.
After learning the truth of her solitude from Yunli, he had immediately started shouting things like "They call adults' compromises 'sensible' and children's compromises 'unreasonable'!" and "Leave it to me, I'll screw it all up for them!" In front of the girl's dazed eyes, he had pressed a bloody handprint, symbolizing his unwavering commitment.
Looking back on it now, it was so embarrassing he wanted to bang his head against a wall, but that was another story.
After the team was formed, the two of them worked hard for a while, and after a series of amusing little incidents, they finally managed to track down Shuhu, albeit looking rather disheveled.
Then the problem became apparent. Fuli was an exceptional A-rank, while Yunli was a standard S-rank.
Even if Fuli's combat power with his new weapon was comparable to a top-tier S-rank, trying to fight a Sequence Grand Authority with such a lineup was basically what happens when Zhao Kuangyin becomes emperor—after the Tang dynasty comes the Song (sòng), which is a homophone for "to send" yourself to your death. [T/N: A Chinese pun. 唐完了 (táng wán le - Tang is over) sounds like 躺完了 (tǎng wán le - done lying down). 就宋 (jiù sòng) sounds like 就送 (jiù sòng - just send), which implies sending oneself to death.]
Fortunately, if Yunli dared to come, she naturally had her own ace in the hole.
The greatsword that had been with her since childhood, a rough-looking blade that looked like a dirty sword blank, had been forged into a simple, unadorned, and yet masterful god-slaying weapon after countless trials, just like its master.
[Name: Hegemon's Barrier]
[Level: EX]
[Category: Weapon/Long Blade]
[Effect: Also known as the Molten Iron Sword Remnant, this weapon possesses a toughness that will never bend, deform, or break. It can greatly enhance the user's physical abilities and resistance to damage in all aspects, and it has extremely strong resistance to mental, elemental, and psionic abilities.
The more the user's will is in sync with Hegemon's Barrier, the greater its power. At its peak, it is enough to slice a continent of the prime world in two.]
[Remark ①: This sword: straight, it has no front; raised, it has no top; pressed, it has no bottom; swung, it has no sides. Above, it cuts the floating clouds; below, it severs the earth.]
[Remark ②: I love you.]
At that time, Fuli had not yet obtained the Key of Corruption and could not view the remarks of various items through the third rated power of a Divine Key.
Even so, he had still caught a certain resolve in the eyes of the girl who had traveled with him all this way.
Unfortunately, before the boy could say anything, just like in those cheesy romance dramas, a heavy blow to the back of his head made him stagger and fall unconscious into the arms of Yunli, who had knocked him out.
An unknown amount of time passed before Fuli was awakened by a warm liquid dripping onto his face.
It was Yunli's...
...head.
The girl's eyes had lost their former liveliness, her lifeless gaze like a night sky devoid of stars.
Shuhu, in the form of a white-haired fox woman, was bathed in blood, laughing wildly. She provocatively held the head in her hand and brought it close to the boy, giving him Yunli's one and only, and also her last, kiss.
It tasted of blood.
Fuli closed his eyes, said nothing, raised his hand, and tightly gripped the Hegemon's Barrier that had appeared in his palm.
When forging the sword, the Baiye girl had secretly programmed it to only be wielded by the two of them.
She had originally planned to give this treasure to the boy as a betrothal gift after everything was over, even choosing the long blade form that he was more skilled with instead of the greatsword she was more familiar with.
And now, this sword had still come into Fuli's hands.
'Luminous Lapis Sword Souls? What trash is that? Big sis has something better for you!'
In another way.
"SHUHU!!! I'LL F*CKING KILL YOU!!!"
Intermission,
OVER!
Second round,
BEGIN!
As usual,
TO THE DEATH!
The scale of a world bubble was already inferior to that of the prime world, and it had just been through a great battle between Yunli and Shuhu.
A 'creaking' sound of shattering swept through the world. It was the pained groan of the spatial barrier, unable to bear the load.
The enraged Fuli had long forgotten pain and time. Before he knew it, the tides of the Sea of Quanta had already submerged his ankles, eroding everything below his calves.
He didn't care. He activated the Peerless Nine Revolutions to repair his body.
The super-mutated organ "King Garuda," simulated from his Cousin Hua, gave him a regeneration ability on the level of bringing the dead back to life. It was just a missing right arm and a left leg; they could be restored in an instant.
—Wait? Right arm?
Crap!
Fuli quickly looked up and saw that his right arm, which had been holding the sword, had been swallowed by the tides of the Sea of Quanta, disappearing into the endless beyond of multiple dimensions.
"Hahahahaha!!!"
Along with it came Shuhu's wild laughter.
An EX-rank weapon known for its toughness, even she, a Grand Sequence Authority, could not physically destroy it.
But she knew that destruction was only one option. She could always find a way to banish it.
Without Hegemon's Barrier, Fuli, a mere exceptional A-rank fodder, had finally lost the ability to resist.
He had indeed never lost to someone of the same rank, but the problem was that his opponent was not only of a higher rank but also especially good at playing dirty tricks.
'Is this the end?'
The boy wanted to struggle some more.
Fearing that he would cause more trouble, Shuhu raised her hand, and countless ribbons with sealing effects wrapped around him.
She then summoned a torrent of time that would turn everything to nothing, intending to crush him, along with matter, energy, and even concepts.
'This is really the end.' Fuli thought. He didn't regret going on this journey with Yunli, just a little bit of a pity.
And it was strange. Where was the life flashing before his eyes that was supposed to happen before death? Why wasn't it coming?
Soon, he knew why.
"Bullying my little Li? Who gave you the gall?!"
White hair and red eyes, cloaked in flames, walking on air...
That was... an immortal of Taixuan!
"SOAR! EMBERS! VOID! SPIRIT!"
A sharp cry came from his ear, and then, Fuli's vision was covered by a dazzling flame.
A crimson phoenix with a trail of fire fell to the earth, like a meteor falling from space, rubbing against the atmosphere, accumulating all its anger to a peak, and roaring like a celestial punishment!
With that small figure as the center, a crimson-gold shockwave madly spread to the horizon. Under this world-destroying blow, all of Shuhu's minions within a hundred-mile radius were annihilated, without even letting out a single cry!
"Who?"
The severely injured and dying boy struggled to lift his eyelids. His almost shattered pupils looked blurrily, but he couldn't see the slender figure in the center of the impact.
He could only hear curses and cries of pain from the center of the battlefield. In front of that strange and terrifyingly strong Sequence Grand Authority, Shuhu, who had been through two fierce battles, could only take a beating.
An unknown amount of time passed until the final, unwilling roar of "HERRSCHER OF SENTIENCE!!!" echoed, and the Divine Authority that had cursed an entire race with her power alone finally met her unceremonious end.
Soon, Fuli felt something rushing toward him.
The sealing effect of Shuhu hadn't faded that quickly. With his regeneration ability restricted, his vision was blurry. He could only rely on the voice he had faintly heard just now and subconsciously called out, "Herrscher of Sentience?"
The rushing footsteps stopped, and the smile on 'Fu Hua's' face suddenly vanished.
"It's me, little Li. Your Cousin Hua."
She softened her voice as much as she could, her tone unprecedentedly gentle, yet tinged with a hint of longing and helplessness.
Since her birth within Fu Hua, the Herrscher of Sentience had first caused a ruckus at Schicksal's Third Airport, beating up Durandal, and then broken into World Serpent to fight Kevin Kaslana.
The series of events during that time had already made her realize that she might not really be Fu Hua, but her stubborn and maverick nature made it impossible for her to give up.
It was at this time that the confused Herrscher of Sentience had sensed that Fuli was in danger.
After a series of travels, she had finally appeared before her little cousin in the nick of time.
'Little Li will definitely be able to recognize me as his Cousin Hua at a glance!'
With this belief, the Herrscher girl, whose combat power was comparable to the Phoenix in her prime, had happily beaten the already weakened Shuhu with a combination of Taixuan's Form of Soul, Inch-Heart Fist, the Authority of Sentience, and Divine Keys.
She then rushed to Fuli's side, joyfully waiting for him to say the words she had longed to hear, looking just like a puppy eagerly waiting for its master's praise.
Unfortunately—
"Herrscher of Sentience?"
The strange reaction from the figure in front of him suddenly raised Fuli's guard. In his memory, whether it was on Maluyazi Island or during their travels afterward, his cousin had never spoken to him in such a gentle tone.
'The Herrscher of Sentience is a Herrscher who manipulates brain signals and the mind. If it's her, it's not impossible for her to create a scene that I long for.'
Having figured this out, the boy scoffed, "Don't try to fool me, you're not Fu Hua at all!"
Either way, he was going to die when facing a Herrscher. He might as well be tough, at least he wouldn't have any regrets.
However, to his surprise, danger did not come after his frank words.
A few flashes of sword light, and the sealing bandages that bound him were neatly cut.
The boy, who had quickly regenerated his eyes, looked around, but saw nothing.
And then, he returned to the prime world.
Sometime later, he heard that the Far East Branch of Schicksal, now affiliated with Anti-Entropy, had announced that they had "defeated" the Herrscher of Sentience on Mount Taixu in Shenzhou.
Rarely, despite it being on their own turf, the Shenzhou side had turned a blind eye to this.
With Shuhu dead, the lifting of the Mara-stricken curse had directly caused the major world bubbles under the Taixu Frontline to become extremely busy. Even the mainland of Shenzhou in the prime world could not stay out of it, ultimately causing it to be absent from almost all major events.
As for Fuli, after sorting out his complicated feelings and setting up a cenotaph for the deceased Yunli, he once again embarked on the path of leveling up.
Time could not be turned back. He still had to become stronger.
As long as he was strong enough, he could definitely do more.
But not long after, just as Fuli felt that he was about to take another step forward to the S-rank threshold, a sharp pain in the back of his head made his vision go black.
When the boy woke up in a place that no detector could find, what appeared before him were the jeering, bizarrely dressed that bitch Dominance Herrschers.