"Having received the Mandate from Heaven, may (the Emperor) lead a long and prosperous life..."
With a trace of dream-like trance, Fu Xuan's fingertips were drawn by an invisible magnetic force to touch the gold-inlaid jade seal that carried the weight of a millennium of imperial power.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Nothing happened.
Just as Bronya was secretly puzzled, Fu Xuan slowly raised her head. In those originally cool golden eyes, a nearly tangible majesty was now burning.
"Did Zhen just bow to you commoners?"
"DANGER!!!"
Fuli's shout exploded almost simultaneously with a sudden burst of destructive energy.
Endless light erupted from Fu Xuan's body. Violent Honkai energy transformed into visible shockwaves spreading out from the girl as the center, like a star breaking free from its restraints.
The torn air emitted a piercing shriek. The sturdy alloy walls disintegrated like paper paste. The entire conference room was razed to the ground within a thousandth of a second.
Holy crap! My newly renovated house!
Sent flying by a force akin to Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push), Fuli wailed inwardly, but his mouth moved without delay: "Kallen!"
"Coming, coming!"
Snap!
The response was a crisp snap of fingers. In the blink of an eye, the descended Superstring Space spread out, preventing the destruction from extending further while overwriting the space around everyone, creating a vast battlefield most suitable for slaughter.
"Tsk, what exactly happened?"
Bronya reacted extremely quickly. Light flowed around her body as she switched into the tall and slender combat form of Silverwing: N-EX.
The Project Bunny: Truth Form transformed into falcon wings hovering behind her. Thirty-six large-caliber particle cannons materialized from the void, quickly locking onto the figure standing proudly in the center of the storm.
"Two possibilities. One, her initial humility was just to trick us into letting her touch the Seal. Two, the Seal itself triggered some trait hidden deep within her."
Mei, who had unfolded her Thunderbolt Realm, looked calm. Six blazing wings of light floated behind her. "Combining the intel, I think the latter possibility is higher."
"No, wait, I touched that thing before, and it didn't make such a huge commotion back then!" Fuli stepped on a lotus flower condensed from the void via Instant Transmission, the Plasma Kagehide already gripped in his hand. "We're all Shenzhou people here. Is it discriminating against me for living abroad all the time?"
"There are also two possibilities for that." Mei held up two slender fingers. "One, you didn't meet the specific conditions to activate the Seal. Two, that rock has already completely submitted to you and simply can't generate any thought of causing trouble."
"I think it's the second point—okay, just kidding." Fuli had enough self-awareness. "Then where do General Miao Jian and I differ?"
"The answer is in what you just said, Little Brother Fuli!"
Qingque's voice came over, sounding dejected. She and Kiana arrived hurriedly, nearly fainting at the sight before them.
What happened to the peaceful trade? How did you start demolishing the house in the blink of an eye?!
"In what I said?"
Fuli was a smart person. Recalling his words, he immediately realized where the problem lay.
—General. Or rather, Status.
No matter how you spun it, Fuli was just the leader of a small Hyperion, stumbling even when applying for a Medium-sized Organization promotion.
What about Fu Xuan?
She controlled a large World Bubble comparable to an independent nation, covering millions of square kilometers. She held both military and political power in her hands. One could say she was the Emperor of the Luofu.
Such a person was undoubtedly more suited to wield the Heirloom Seal of the Realm, and easier to resonate with this Epic-tier item!
While they were talking, the light around Fu Xuan that swallowed everything finally slowly dissipated.
Fuli, who had already activated Moonlight of the Cold River, looked up immediately, fixing his gaze on the divine figure high in the air.
The Emperor does not descend from the sky, nor is she hideously angry.
"To withstand a casual strike from Zhen? Heh, you do have some skill."
The girl stood proudly in the void. The Eye of the Matrix on her forehead flowed with starlight that could pierce through all things. Her yellow robe, condensed from Honkai energy, moved without wind, the hem flapping like a dragon's tail.
"In that case, Zhen shall grant some of you an opportunity to offer your loyalty."
She looked down with hands clasped behind her back, her voice cold as ice striking jade.
Her fingertip, carrying a trace of rosy light, moved through the air and pointed seemingly casually at Fuli.
"You."
"Me?"
The person in question pointed at himself.
"A fellow who knows no etiquette. No matter." Fu Xuan shook her head slightly. "Zhen commands you to immediately slay everyone here except yourself. If you succeed, Zhen will allow you to follow by my side and conquer the Heavens and Myriad Worlds!"
What Heavens and Myriad Worlds? You mean the Sea of Quanta and Imaginary Space.
Fuli roasted her internally but didn't respond immediately. Instead, he looked at Mei again.
Data streams flashed rapidly through the girl's eyes. She said in a deep voice, "It's not a personality replacement. The Seal has merely amplified the 'Imperial' aspect of her personality to the extreme, making her thought patterns closer to an ancient emperor."
"Even an emperor wouldn't tell people to kill each other right off the bat, right?" Kiana, who had arrived holding guns and a bat in each hand, couldn't help muttering. "Normally, shouldn't she subdue all of us to be her subordinates? This is clearly wasting her future staff!"
Normally, that would be the case.
Qingque scratched her head.
Only she, who had followed Fu Xuan constantly, knew the deeper reason for her General's loss of composure.
The Heirloom Seal of the Realm indeed had a natural attraction to Shenzhou people in high positions.
The higher the status, the greater the attraction.
However, Fu Xuan wasn't an ordinary person. With her mental cultivation, touching it for just a moment shouldn't have caused her to lose control to this extent.
As expected... when you were peeking into the future, did you insert yourself into it, Old Lady?
Looking up at the slightly impatient Fu Xuan in mid-air, Qingque felt bitterness in her heart.
During the deduction, compared to the Little Sparrow who hastily wrapped up work after completing the task, the stubborn Fu Xuan went a step further, probing the possibility where Fuli did not step into the Honkai Side.
This was extremely dangerous because Fu Xuan's life in that route was too happy. As the person involved, it was very easy to immerse oneself in it—or to use more apt words, the sense of substitution was extremely strong.
For example, there was a Diviner surnamed Li in the Yuque nicknamed "Red Dragon" (Red Center tile in Mahjong). He once got too immersed and eventually confused dream with reality, to the point of wailing to his mother who came to persuade him: "Mom! I can't tell them apart! I really can't tell them apart!"
This is one of the reasons why many Diviners won't calculate intel related to themselves. The other reason is that the job is insanely difficult.
If it were just substitution, it would be fine. Fu Xuan had been immersed in this Dao for who knows how many years; distinguishing reality from illusion was basic for her.
The fatal part was that in that "If" route, she had a super cute precious daughter.
Now that was a huge problem.
As long as one is a normal woman, there is no one who doesn't care about their child.
That little girl sweetly calling "Mama" directly became an anchor for memory, making it impossible for Fu Xuan to completely forget those images. It even made her develop an inexplicable expectation toward the child's father without realizing it herself.
Insisting on coming to the Hyperion was partly due to her past experiences, but this factor also existed.
To summarize, the reason for the current situation was that Fu Xuan, whose state of mind was already incomplete, touched the Heirloom Seal which had a "Super Effective" bonus against high-ranking Shenzhou officials.
As the saying goes: Countering is greater than the sky, Special Attack calls you Immortal.
Coincidences piled upon coincidences. The domineering aspect of the girl's emotions was amplified, ultimately pushing her into this current state.
While Qingque was lost in thought, Fuli breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Mei's judgment.
"Oh, as long as it's not a second personality."
If the enemy could easily occupy even an S-Rank body, there would be no need to fight this battle. Just pack up and—
Okay, can't run away. This is my house.
He looked helplessly at Qingque. The latter understood and, biting the bullet, shouted, "Lord General!"
"Call Zhen Your Majesty!" Fu Xuan's cold eyes swept over. "Also, Qingque! You're fired!"
"That good? Then I'll go process the resignation—cough, cough!"
Little Sparrow's eyes instantly lit up with gold, but under the gazes of Fuli and the others saying "I beg you to act like a human being," she forcibly choked back the second half of her sentence.
Right!
The situation is so critical, how can I abandon the General and run away alone!
Fu Xuan, however, seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. "Resignation? What resignation?"
Qingque blinked. "Didn't you just say I was fired?"
"Joke! Who told you that being fired equals resigning and leaving?"
Fu Xuan said as a matter of course, "Zhen is simply stopping your wages. You are not allowed to do one less task than before!"
"T-Then what if I do less?"
"Execute your nine generations!"
"Mommy! Is this the style of an Emperor?!"
Kiana was dumbfounded.
"Why do you think the ancients called ministers 'shepherds for the Son of Heaven'?"
Fuli curled his lips. "Herding cattle, herding horses... the word 'herd' corresponds to livestock. In other words, in the eyes of the emperors at the apex of feudal society, the common people were nothing but livestock to be molded at will, not much different from pigs and dogs."
"Do you pay wages to cattle and sheep? It's good enough if they don't find an excuse every few days to kill a few to satisfy their appetite."
A certain lamb (Ganyu) who already has a death wish silently gave a thumbs-up from the Nine Springs.
"Just that? Then this Emperor might as well be me!"
Kiana put her hands on her hips, unconvinced. "If This Lady were to become Emperor, I would definitely make everyone work only eight hours a day, provide three meals plus snacks daily. Not only milk in the morning, but also an hour nap at noon. Bonuses three times a year plus two months of annual leave. A raise every four months, triple pay for overtime with no deductions allowed, and weekly psychological counseling must not be missed!"
Hearing this, Fuli suddenly felt that his previous act of stopping this guy from going to Mount Tai for the Fengshan Sacrifices was a heinous crime.
It felt as if over a billion workers in parallel space-times were holding steel forks, fiercely stabbing his pure and unstained heart of a great capitalist.
"Cough!"
He forcibly suppressed the urge to follow her, took a step forward, and unleashed his Pure-Blood Dragon Might without reason.
A nearly tangible wave of aura shot into the sky, crashing fiercely against the overwhelming Imperial Pressure.
Black lightning formed at the junction of the two forces. Just from the aftershocks of the aura collision, the thick clouds in the dome were split in two.
Matching her strength, Fuli looked at Fu Xuan sitting high in the heavens. "Anyway, it is impossible for me to agree to Your Majesty's request. My sword will never be stained with the blood of my companions."
"Then you can use a saber."
"...No, do you have to be pedantic about this?"
"Hmph."
The General gave a light snort, seemingly in a somewhat good mood.
Amplifying domineering emotions didn't mean other aspects ceased to exist. She was obviously testing whether Fuli would submit to her.
Qingque, who also saw through this, twitched the corner of her mouth.
What is this? A unique blind date?
"So we still have to fight in the end!"
Kiana shook her head carelessly, leaping up with the Galaxy Baseball Bat transformed from the Greatsword of Surtr (flamescion) in hand. "The novels This Lady reads all write it like this: when facing a berserk companion, you must beat them up soundly. Once you beat them unconscious, they'll return to normal."
"Crude words, but logical reasoning."
Before her voice faded, the Realm of Truth behind Bronya erupted with a flood of ice-blue particles. Endless armaments transformed into a winged array of halos, propelling her like a meteor toward the enemy.
Fuli had already stepped into the Limit-Breaker realm; how could the two A-Rank Limit-Breakers be willing to lag behind?
Just as the bat and the particle sword were about to touch the corner of Fu Xuan's clothes—
"Eight Gates, Transport!"
A soft shout echoed between heaven and earth. Space rippled like water, and Bronya and Kiana vanished without a trace.
Not only them, but Mei and Qingque beside Fuli also disappeared as if erased by an eraser.
In the vast space, only two people remained facing each other from a distance.
"The Eight-Aspect World."
Fuli said solemnly, "Evolving eight illusionary worlds like scroll paintings through one's own power, possessing the eight different natures of Heaven, Earth, Water, Fire, Thunder, Mountain, Wind, and Lake."
"You do have some knowledge."
Fu Xuan clapped gently. "The Eight Aspects evolved by Zhen are already close to real World Bubbles. Trapping those juniors for a few hours will not be a problem."
It was more than "not a problem." Once the caster traps the enemy in the Eight-Aspect World, they can not only cause damage to the enemy relying on the powerful energy and shockwaves generated by the collision of different worlds, but unless all Eight Aspects are shattered at once, even destroying a single world will result in it being quickly repaired by the power of the remaining seven worlds.
This is the technique of Qimen Dunjia, the "Divine Plate" technique among the four styles of Heaven, Earth, God, and Human.
If it were those with shallow cultivation, they might have to find the corresponding position to cast it.
Fu Xuan's attainments had long reached the realm of "I am the direction, I am the fortune and misfortune." Just like in the later stages of Naruto where clapping hands gets you whatever you want, it highlighted a complete lack of taboos.
"Planning to defeat us separately?"
Fuli slightly raised the hand gripping the long saber. A blue-white beast resembling both dragon and fox roared into existence.
Jizo Mitama 0st Output · Heart Beast Manifestation: Consuming Honkai energy to summon a Heart Beast equivalent to one's own strength to assist in battle.
At B-Rank and A-Rank, Fuli rarely used this skill.
The reason was simple: it was too fragile.
The Heart Beast wasn't like him, covered in Stigmata from head to toe, nor did it have the 90% damage reduction of the invincible Gold Cloth.
Fuli's combat opponents were mostly insanely tricky; an A-Rank's strength was just waiting to be one-shot.
Now it was different. He was a Limit-Breaker.
A Limit-Breaker level Heart Beast should at least provide some help, right?
"A beast summoned from a different dimension?"
Fu Xuan used her next technique to tell him: Hard to say.
Her jade hands formed a seal, her clear voice thundering: "Mandated by Heaven, Ascend to the Nine Palaces, Hundred Gods in Place, Attendant Deity Dukes... [Chanting Taoist Exorcism Mantra]... Imperial Order—Seize!"
Many people on the Honkai Side possess the skill of compressing chants. The girl ranked as General was a leader among them.
A dazzling pillar of light descended from the sky, accurately enveloping the Eclipse Moon Heart Beast.
"Awoo?"
The Heart Beast only had time to let out a confused whimper before its massive body twisted and faded in the light, directly deported back to its own dimension.
Supreme Emperor's Bedchamber God-Destroying Ghost-Expelling Curse: The top-tier transcendence curse, an A-Rank spell specialized in deporting interdimensional creatures. Furthermore, once the summoned creature is successfully deported, it cannot be summoned back within several hours.
"Whatever other tricks you have, use them all." Fu Xuan opened her lips slightly, speaking with an unquestionable imperial tone. "If not, then it is Zhen's turn."
The mountains on her chest that made people salivate trembled ceaselessly, but they could not affect a sliver of Fuli's mind.
"This is a bit tricky."
Facing the aggressively approaching General Miao Jian, a drop of sweat rolled down his forehead.