The essence of Eminence (Shenyun) lies in the transformation anextension of Honkai energy. Those who master it can extend their manipulated Honkai energy into the realm of Authority.
Since everyone's area of expertise differs, the style of the Edge of Taixuan (Taixuan Sword God) is virtually impossible to replicate.
For example, if Kiana were to learn Eminence, it would inevitably extend to the spatial dimension. In Bronya's case, it goes without saying; it would be 100% in the direction of the Herrscher of Reason.
As for Fu Hua, holding Fenghuang Down, her focus is on the mind, consciousness, and soul.
The reason the unleashed Edge of Taixuan causes physical destruction stems from its scale exceeding the capacity of the mental realm, causing part of the energy to spill over the boundaries and erode the material world where humans exist.
This is also why Shuhu was traumatized. As a product of Honkai energy combined with human collective consciousness, the race of 'Gods' was fundamentally countered by Fu Hua's Edge of Taixuan from the moment of their birth.
In the previous loop, Shuhu's defeat was so hasty precisely because of this. Had she not encountered the Herrscher of Sentience, who controlled the same Taixuan Eminence as Fu Hua, she would have had plenty of leeway to retreat unscathed even against other high-ranking existences.
The current Shuhu, however, didn't know just how unlucky 'she' was. Her bright eyes were fixed on the World Bubble battlefield.
Noticing the Edge of Taixuan gradually taking shape in Fu Hua's hand, she let out a bell-like laugh.
Genghis Khan's mausoleum was built eight hundred years ago. At that time, the Celestial of Empyrea was still invincible under heaven.
Considering the possibility that this big shot might come to cause trouble, Shuhu had, out of spite, set up some 'fun stuff' in the mausoleum.
"Urgh!"
"How dare you!"
In the heat of battle, 'Genghis Khan' and Siegfried suddenly felt a chill run down their spines. Their clashing greatsword and war spear sprang apart, and in an instant, both retreated hundreds of meters. Weapons raised, they assumed flawless defensive stances and gazed at the sky.
It wasn't just them. Even Fuli, standing beside Fu Hua, froze for a second.
Looking at the massive divine sword in the sky pointing precisely at him, the boy said dumbly, "Cousin, do you not want me anymore?"
"NO—IT'S—NOT—!"
As the unleasher of Taixuan Eminence, Fu Hua gritted her teeth so hard they nearly shattered, forcing the words through the gaps.
She didn't understand. The attack was clearly aimed at 'Genghis Khan', so why were everyone present, including herself, locked onto by the Sword God?
Yes, this was the little trick Shuhu had set up.
Double it.
God is the extreme of change, the profound word for all things, formless and unquestionable.
Having no form and needing no form, this sword fills space; this sword is space.
Simply put: Unstoppable + Guaranteed Hit.
Since no method could stop it anyway, Shuhu simply expanded this divine technique, distributing the doubled number of slashes equally to everyone present.
Yes, right now, hanging high in the sky were a total of fourEdge of Taixuan strikes.
One for 'Genghis Khan', one for Siegfried.
One for Fuli, and one for the caster herself, Fu Hua.
In the eyes of the Shuhu from back then, killing the Celestial was impossible; this degree of attack would at most disgust her.
The problem was, the current Fu Hua had declined to the lowest point in history.
"AAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
The taste of iron spread in her mouth; she didn't even notice her nails digging into her palms.
The girl's eyes were as red as blood. Her usual temperament, cool as the moonlight, was swallowed by madness. Her ink-black hair danced like a waterfall breaking free from its restraints, tearing her dust-free, immortal appearance to shreds.
Yet, no matter how hard she tried, the indestructible divine sword in the sky still tore through the clouds, slowly descending.
The blade hadn't even arrived, but the earth beneath her feet was already screaming under the unbearable burden.
Without a doubt, she would die.
Even though she instinctively cut off the energy flow amidst the warning signs of life and death, the residual Honkai energy was still enough to cause a lethal crisis for both her and Fuli.
This was no exaggeration. Imagine, back then, even the Super-Invincible-Mega Sirin, who controlled six Authorities—Reason, Void, Thunder, Wind, Death, and Flame—was nearly one-shot. How could two lowly ants, not even at critical mass, survive under the Celestial of Empyrea's Taixuan Divine Sword?
"Run... quickly...?"
Just then, the bone-eroding, heart-piercing backlash of Fenghuang Down's First Rated Power struck suddenly.
Memories scattered like burnt feathers. The girl's consciousness was instantly drained. Severe pain hammered her temples like a chisel; she was so bewildered she didn't even know why she was stubbornly standing there.
The unbridled Edge of Taixuan crashed down. The torrent of light that annihilated everything tore through the sky, pointing straight at the dazed Fu Hua below—the caster herself.
Fortunately, at this moment, a tall figure tore through the sword's glare and stepped forward.
Like a boulder cutting through a turbulent current, he stood between her and destruction.
"So, it wasn't that you didn't want me."
Fuli stood with his sword, a relieved smile appearing on his lips.
Not everyone can simultaneously act as your elder, mentor, savior, comrade, 'White Moonlight', and dream date. If Cousin Hua had 'abandoned' him, he would have been truly heartbroken.
"Sorry, Cousin. Please excuse the intrusion."
Before his voice fell, the boy didn't hesitate to capture the girl's bewildered, slightly parted lips.
Outer Path Power: Temporarily plundering others' abilities for one's own use until depleted.
This derived technique of the Human Immortal Path, evaluated by Durandal as maintaining a chance of victory regardless of the enemy, was racing against time to devour the Eminence power within the girl's body.
"Mmph!"
Perhaps past intimacy had eroded her defenses, or perhaps her memory had degraded too severely.
Fu Hua, whose mind was blank (physically), offered only symbolic resistance, allowing Fuli to skillfully conquer territory, swiftly plundering the Honkai energy with Eminence properties from her body.
Having achieved his goal, Fuli released the stunned, pitiable girl. turning around again, he pointed his long sword straight at the sky.
The world believes the Edge of Taixuan is unstoppable and unavoidable. In reality, this is a fallacy.
The 'Will of Honkai' once blocked the Edge of Taixuan for the Second Herrscher. And in the battle at Kolosten, Li Sushang's Sword God was similarly neutralized by Fu Hua.
And Fuli chose to counter Eminence with Eminence—first using the Eminence power plundered from Fu Hua to break the paradoxical property of the Edge of Taixuan being immune to physical interference, and then countering it with a slash of equal scale.
This was difficult.
The Sword God released by burning memories could one-shot even a six-core Herrscher, and it was buffed by the field set up by Shuhu.
Even though Fu Hua had tried her best to recall some of the Honkai energy, the remainder was enough to heavily injure any S-Rank Valkyrie other than Rita (Tower-neesan).
Fuli took out a badge engraved with the large head of a cute silver-haired girl from his chest pocket.
Oath of Octavia, a gift from Theresa.
After injecting critical-level Honkai energy into the badge, the holder could unfold the Reality Distortion Field stored within, achieving effects akin to 'Words of Power' to a certain extent—such as reversing day and night, turning back time on enemies, or even turning them directly into nothingness.
The Honkai energy had been injected before coming to Shenzhou; Fuli just needed to activate it directly.
The invisible field unfolded silently. The sound of devout prayers echoed in the air.
The boy raised his hand and reprimanded the falling divine sword in a low voice:
"Weaken!"
"Weaken!"
"Weaken!"
After three commands, the badge's light dimmed.
The stronger the target, the weaker the effect of the Words of Power.
Although theoretically capable of killing a standard critical-level entity or heavily injuring a powerhouse near the peak of critical mass, against the indestructible and ever-victorious Taixuan Divine Sword, the Honkai energy stored in the Oath of Octavia was exhausted. It would not only need recharging but also a 72-hour cooldown before it could be used again.
As a price, the Sword God was no longer as incomparably sharp as before.
Thus, Fuli drew his sword.
"Setsuna Blade: Heaven's Ash Abyss!" (Tian Wu Jin Yuan!)
Boundless light and heat shot into the sky, colliding with the thrice-betrayed Sword God.
The atmosphere at the point of impact was torn into pale, spiderweb-like cracks. Turbulent energy scattered wildly, branding scorching black sword scars like ionization onto the twilight-colored dome.
Heaven's Ash Abyss—created by Fuli, combining the destructive maximization of Judgment of Shamash: Unsheathed, Kiana's Flamescion, and the purification properties of the Acalanatha Fire Realm Mantra.
It was the Flame Form of the Setsuna Blade, imitating a supernova explosion, reproducing the terrifying power of a dying sun—a supreme violence with instantaneous output comparable to the Zeroth Rated Power of the Key of Destruction.
This was why Fuli had stared blankly in the direction of the Judgment of Shamash earlier. He was just one step away from this move, and Siegfried had essentially handed him the pillow when he wanted to sleep.
As the price for extreme destruction, Heaven's Ash Abyss not only consumed enormous energy but, like Shamash Unsheathed, brought unspeakable backlash to the user.
Fuli could use it normally thanks to the properties of the Sun Wheel Armor. Lol, how could the Sun God be burned to death by fire?
Because the release of Eminence was interrupted early, the memories Fu Hua lost this time weren't too many.
Sitting slumped on the ground, the girl stared blankly as the Sword God, which should have fallen on her head, dispersed unwillingly under the impact of the Ashless Kalpas Flame. She rubbed her aching temples and gave a low, bitter laugh. "Saved by you, Cousin."
It's different from Li Xue's time. That's good.
The girl stood up, intending to reach out to Fuli in front of her.
Another divine sword fell from the sky, casually shattering the big boy who was smiling at her into pieces.
"...Cousin?"
This was normal.
Every moment Fuli spent exerting his full strength was dedicated to intercepting the Edge of Taixuan slashing towards Fu Hua.
He seemed completely oblivious to the killing intent surging around himself.
Did he really not see it?
Fu Hua's fingernails dug into her bloodstained palm—she knew too well. Her cousin understood the price better than anyone.
But the boy did it anyway. Resolutely, with all his might, sparing no cost, just to let her escape death.
"Because of me, another person..."
A rusty, iron-like sweetness welled up in her throat. She looked at the spot where Fuli had stood.
After a long silence, a deeply suppressed whimper resonated in the air.
...
Let us tell of two matters, splitting a single branch.
While Fu Hua had Fuli to conquer the heavens by half a step, Siegfried was suffering immensely.
Seeing the Edge of Taixuan falling, he unleashed a badass attack without a second word.
The calamity flames of Shamash Unsheathed soared into the sky, joyfully penetrating the phantom of the divine sword and flying off into some unknown corner.
Without Eminence power plundered via Outer Path methods, even something as strong as the Key of Destruction couldn't forcefully interfere through physical means.
Siegfried was dumbfounded on the spot. Is this hacking? How did the GM balance this game?
Little did he know this was already the result after countless nerfs. Every version has its god, but every version nerfs the Celestial.
Fortunately, he wasn't the only one facing this move. 'Genghis Khan' was also allocated one.
He planned to run.
Fills space, you say? Ever-victorious, you say? In that case, wouldn't it be fine if I just leave this World Bubble?
As an admin dog, 'Genghis Khan' could freely shuttle between the various World Bubbles/Imaginary Spaces that made up the mausoleum. No matter how strong the Edge of Taixuan was, it only permeated one area. I'll pack up and run; let's see where you can chase me to! Chase me again if you have the guts!
Setting aside whether Eminence could track across worlds, Siegfried, realizing what the enemy intended to do as his body turned incorporeal, wouldn't give him the chance to experiment.
"Don't even think about running!"
We agreed to get struck by lightning together, and now you're trying to sneak away alone? Is that reasonable? Don't run, dammit! Eat my 'Cleave Mount Hua'!
Thus, the entangled brothers in hardship were hit simultaneously.
Siegfried was heavily injured on the spot, kneeling on one knee while leaning on his greatsword. 'Genghis Khan' was even worse off, barely breathing.
Panting heavily, the former was just about to deliver the finishing blow when he saw the latter's utterly decayed aura recovering rapidly, visible to the naked eye.
The man growled word by word: "Stigmata... of Death!"
Natural Stigmata are essentially Imaginary databases created to mimic Herrscher Cores, recording vast amounts of genetic information.
As a top-tier Serial Stigmata, the regeneration speed of the Stigmata of Death wouldn't be much inferior to the Black Abyss White Flower.
Even so, the battered 'Genghis Khan' was far weaker than his peak state.
The only minor drawback was that the current Siegfried was in even worse shape than him. Even an A-Rank Valkyrie could easily finish him off in a few moves.
"Damn it..."
Facing the Mongol Emperor walking towards him step by step, Siegfried's face was incredibly grim.
However, an invisible wave of air lifted him up at that moment, whisking him away into the distance at high speed.
It was Fu Hua.
The girl manipulating the air currents looked cold and desolate, exuding an aura of widowhood as if her husband had just died.
To be honest, Fu Hua's initial impression of Fuli was quite poor.
That manner of calling her 'Cousin' with every breath was just like the "creepy guys" circulating on the internet—seemingly enthusiastic, but actually only causing annoyance to the person involved.
It was thanks to Fuli's remarkably handsome face, combined with the accidental help in covering up many lies, the girl's own introverted personality, and her interest in the origin of Peerless Movement, that no major conflict arose.
Fu Hua's opinion of her little cousin first changed when she had to establish a connection with the duo on the moon and was 'forced' to sleep in the same bed.
She had prepared herself mentally to be taken advantage of, but when she got into bed, she found Fuli sound asleep. Clearly, he did it on purpose so she wouldn't feel awkward. She had to admit, that scored him major points.
The girl didn't know what those girls who liked bad boys were after, but she still preferred the type with a good heart.
Viewing those so-called "creepy behaviors" on this basis, she no longer rejected them as before. Moreover, she quickly realized that his enthusiasm wasn't fake at all; it was the kind of goodness where he would truly pour his heart out to you.
Regarding this, Fu Hua's mindset was one of trepidation.
First, she didn't know why Fuli treated her this way.
Second, she was afraid—afraid that Fuli would become the next Cheng Lixue.
Fuxi, Nuwa, Ji Lin, Su Yi... For five thousand years, which of the people who stayed by her side had a good ending?
A few days after that, when she learned that the source of Peerless Movement was the memory construct of the Celestial of Empyrea located on Maluyazi Island, Fu Hua understood the answer to the first question, but simultaneously felt more guilt towards the boy.
That was, after all, a sin of her own making. With Fuli's talent, even without encountering the memory construct, he could surely have become a powerhouse with ease.
So the girl made up her mind: she must solve the problem of Peerless Movement. She absolutely could not watch him be reduced to a beast devoid of reason.
Regrettably, before that day could arrive, the boy had already died, body and soul destroyed.
Yes, just like that child, Lixue.
To protect her...
Five thousand years of wind and frost destined Fu Hua not to be hysterical like a little girl. Time had worn down her tear ducts, making it difficult for the girl to shed tears anymore.
Thus, she simply clenched her fists, grabbing the equally heavily injured Siegfried and retreating rapidly.
As long as the green hills remain, there is no fear of running out of firewood.
She would not wallow in self-pity. She could not die here.
She wanted to kill—no, she wanted to personally slaughter the mastermind behind the Edge of Taixuan's rampage to avenge her cousin.
In the name of Hua, in the name of Vicissitude, in the name of the Celestial of Empyrea, in the name of Fu Hua, in the name of Fuli's Cousin, she swore it!
...