With everything settled, the Small World had transformed into something entirely new.
Beyond the various plants mutated under Baixuan's world's spiritual energy, and the Berry resources purchased from the Pokémon World, Marvel World flora had also taken root in the Small World.
These were byproducts of the Marvel World laws that the world had chosen to accept.
Beyond this, Baixuan was also contemplating whether the World Tree could be developed into something else — say, something resembling the Celestial Blade or the Celestial Computation Array from the Kings franchise.
It was not an impossible idea.
The World Tree was now bound to the Small World, serving as its central pillar. The two had formed a relationship of mutual existence.
Should he steer the World Tree along a scientific path, the computational power it could provide would be beyond imagination.
In the scientific dimension, overwhelming computational capacity could even be viewed as a gauge of a god's strength.
Consider, for instance, the battle between Orbital King Hezi and Angel Yan in the Kings.
Hezi had said that a single分身 of hers could defeat eight Angel Yans.
At the time, Angel Yan was already a Third Generation God. Though Hezi possessed a Fourth Generation Divine Body, her avatars would not exceed a Third Generation God's physical tier.
Was Hezi joking?
Of course not.
Had Angel Yan not connected to Celestial Blade Seven, she could scarcely have turned the tables.
And she only succeeded because Hezi, at that moment, was not linked to the Celestial Computation Array.
There was no question, then, of how powerfully a celestial supercomputer augmented a technology god.
Was Sacred Kai'Sa so formidable because of her Sacred Divine Body?
Was Death God Karla so mighty because of his Illusory Form?
Was Morgana so powerful because of her Space-Time Body?
Though the Fourth Generation Divine Body was the foremost technology in the cosmos — the true source of their strength was computational power.
Sacred Kai'Sa's Sacred Treasury.
Death God Karla's Great Clock.
Morgana's Demon No. 1.
The battles of technology gods were battles of computing power. Battles of information.
Baixuan could borrow the World Will's power to analyze, to calculate — but that was never truly his own strength.
The Small World, however, was different. The Small World belonged exclusively to Baixuan.
Baixuan could draw upon the computational power provided by the Small World even while in other worlds, using it to parse and analyze all manner of things.
It was, admittedly, a long-term undertaking. Even with Zixin's assistance, it would require no small amount of time. But fortunately, it was one resource they had in abundance: time.
Though the idea of building a mystical version of the Computation Array had never occurred to him before, Zixin already had a direction.
At a certain level, the boundary between the mystical and the scientific blurred considerably.
Zixin had even returned to ask Hezi for portions of the Sacred Treasury's architecture.
Hezi, as理所当然, had given them — without so much as a word to Kai'Sa.
Sacred Kai'Sa: "…"
Meanwhile, as Baixuan and Zixin worked on transforming the World Tree—
In the Imperial Capital, at the General Spiritual Energy Bureau.
"A summoner for the Black Rhino Armor has appeared?"
"Isn't that a good thing?"
Skyler Quinn said coolly.
He didn't know the other party's esper talents, but anyone who had earned the Black Rhino Armor's recognition — whatever their天赋 — would be capable of power no less than First Sequence once manifested.
Even if they weren't as formidable as Skyler and his peers, they were still far beyond the Second Sequence.
No one understood the Five Element Armors' power amplification better than Skyler Quinn.
Even Xi Zhao — the young Snow Mastiff Armor summoner, still in training — could unleash utterly overwhelming strength the moment he transformed.
"This is certainly a good thing."
"But the person shares a very similar personality with Bei Miao, the Black Rhino Armor's original summoner from the tokusatsu series."
Liu Suifeng sighed, rubbing his temples.
"Bei Miao? You mean the competitive, ambitious type?"
Skyler found it strange but saw no real problem.
Being competitive was hardly a flaw. In an era of spiritual revival, the world needed strong people with that drive.
Such temperaments would push them to protect more cities, safeguard more people, slay more mutant creatures — to surpass their peers and measure themselves against stronger opponents.
"Competitive and ambitious?"
"Something like that."
"Most importantly — he wants to become one of the Four Emperors."
Liu Suifeng愣了一下 at Skyler's words, then explained with a苦涩 smile.
"He considers himself Baixuan's equal as someone recognized by the Five Element Armors."
"First Sequence is a lofty ranking, but merely being First Sequence — he feels you've been holding him down. And it's not just you."
"He wants the title of Four Emperors."
"Hm?"
Skyler looked at Liu Suifeng with some confusion. The Four Emperors' title, though acknowledged, had originally been no more than a name the public gave them.
Among the Four themselves, only Baixuan received the formal 白帝尊 — no one addressed Skyler, Firewing, or Chen Bing as Dragon Emperor, Flame Emperor, or Ice Emperor in any official capacity.
So what was this Black Rhino Armor's summoner thinking?
Did he want to replace one of them?
"How's his talent?"
"Beast-type esper ability: Water Qilin. His strength sits comfortably in First Sequence, and with the Black Rhino Armor's amplification, a bit of arrogance is to be expected."
"Though I didn't expect him to set his sights on you three."
Liu Suifeng answered Skyler's inquiry.
"What do the higher-ups say?"
Skyler nodded, then pressed further.
"If this were all, you wouldn't have come to me."
"The nation has no shortage of First Sequence fighters cultivated at the state level."
"Some among them believe they're our equals."
"The Black Rhino Armor summoner is just the opening move. The higher-ups must have something else in mind, right?"
Upon hearing Skyler's question, Liu Suifeng couldn't help but sigh.
"At the end of the day, it's all about利益."
"The声望 and benefits you four have accumulated from that title — it's only natural that some people eye it enviously and want a share."
"Before, there simply wasn't a suitable candidate on their side."
"Now…"
The rest of his words went unspoken. He merely shook his head and steered the conversation elsewhere.
"When people grow old, the things they're unwilling to let go of naturally multiply."
"And this is a specially unusual era."
"Without talent, without ability — no matter how old, how experienced — none of it matters."
"They naturally want to scheme out more benefits for their descendants while they still can."
"Practice. Heart-cultivation."
"Young people find it hard to still their minds. They feel endless curiosity toward the unknown, struggle to确定the path they would dedicate their lives to and hold fast to forever."
"The elderly have weathered years of storms. Their memories of the distant past may have faded, yet their first youthful悸动 remains刻骨铭心 — they know what they want, know what they would devote themselves to."
"The path of cultivation stretches before them, yet they迟迟未踏入it."
"It's only because once they cross the threshold of cultivation — once they clarify their hearts — those acts that benefit themselves while harming the greater whole become impossible to justify as they once did."
(End of Chapter)
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