"Bzz!"
A buzzing sound, like that of a mosquito, reached Chen Li's ears. He executed a roll, dodging a shadowy attack that nearly sliced off his arm.
"Heh." A cold sneer came from the Herrscher of the Void, who looked a bit disheveled but was largely unharmed.
Chen Li glanced warily at the Assault-class Honkai Beast (the mosquito-like one) that had quickly retreated after its failed strike. His gaze then shifted to the Herrscher of the Void, who was now pulling the body of another Assault-class beast into the air, finally coming to rest atop a Chariot-class Honkai Beast.
Chen Li had not managed to kill the Herrscher of the Void in that short time.
Because he had suddenly realized he'd overlooked a problem.
The Herrscher of the Void was not skilled in hand-to-hand combat, and her fighting experience was inferior to the trained Chen Li. However, her body had been strengthened by Honkai energy, making her physically powerful, incredibly strong, and quick to react.
She was like a Valkyrie with no formal training, but her raw physical stats were undeniable.
The moment a human becomes a Herrscher, their very species undergoes a metamorphosis.
No ordinary human could survive in a vacuum, after all.
The fact that Chen Li could inflict a few minor cuts on her was already a testament to his modest combat skills.
Moreover, the moment the Herrscher of the Void realized that only her Herrscher authority over space was sealed—not her ability to use Honkai energy—it became Chen Li's turn to be on guard.
Although a Herrscher's Honkai energy resides in imaginary space and requires a Herrscher Core to access it, the Core itself still contains a small reserve of that energy.
The Herrscher of the Void had lost her authority, but she wasn't crippled.
However, by the time she registered this fact, her Honkai Beasts had already arrived, so she couldn't be bothered to fight him herself anymore.
"Human, I was waiting for my lesser Honkai Beasts to arrive. What were you waiting for?" the Herrscher of the Void sneered, looking down on Chen Li from above.
"I was waiting for…"
"Were you waiting for me?" A pleasant, melodious voice reached Chen Li's ears, and a graceful figure, as dazzling as a scattering of flower petals, entered his field of vision.
Gorgeous crystal arrows rained down, pinning the Honkai Beasts that were closing in on Chen Li to the ground one by one.
"Hi, young man. Need a hand?" The pink-haired beauty strolled to Chen Li's side, much to the gnashing teeth of the Herrscher of the Void.
"…" Chen Li was momentarily stunned.
Well, what do you know. The time I arrived really was on the eve of their big fight.
"I may be a little late, but it seems I'm not too late," Elysia said confidently.
"No, you are too late." Chen Li shook his head.
Because the Herrscher of the Void had already started flying again after putting some distance between herself and Chen Li.
"Hm? Why can she fly again?" Elysia asked, a little curious.
"That's not important. What's important is that it looks like she's about to run," Chen Li said, looking at the Herrscher, who wore a wary expression and seemed poised to flee.
"That would be troublesome." Elysia frowned.
Elysia was confident she could defeat the Herrscher of the Void, but she wasn't confident she could catch her.
The Herrscher's abilities were extremely convenient for escaping.
"Ah, I have a plan." Chen Li held up a single index finger.
"Oh?"
---o---
Floating in the air once more, the Herrscher of the Void hesitated.
If the two were separated, she feared neither of them.
She didn't believe Elysia could kill her, and Chen Li's attacks were feeble.
But if one of them suppressed her abilities while the other attacked, she would be finished.
Logically, she should flee now. But the Herrscher of the Void was extremely uneasy about Chen Li, the person who could suppress her powers.
"Plan failed! Split up and retreat!" Just as the Herrscher hesitated, she heard the two, who had been huddled together, shout before instantly fleeing in opposite directions.
"Hm?" The Herrscher of the Void was baffled.
It was true that once she was a certain distance from Chen Li, he could no longer suppress her abilities, and they would lose their chance to kill her. But wasn't retreating so decisively a bit rash?
Though she had many doubts, her murderous intent toward Chen Li won out. She directed the majority of the Honkai Beasts in the city to pursue Elysia, while she personally led over a hundred beasts to hunt down Chen Li.
She had seen plenty of humans, but this was the only human she had ever met who could counter her abilities.
Now that he was separated from his companion, it was the perfect opportunity to kill him.
The Herrscher of the Void wouldn't be able to sleep until this person was dead!
And a hundred Honkai Beasts were more than enough to crush him.
Chen Li didn't run very fast, so he was quickly surrounded.
But even surrounded, Chen Li showed no signs of panic.
"You asked what I was waiting for, right? I was waiting for my cooldown!" Chen Li looked up at the Herrscher of the Void in the sky.
Countless massive shadows fell over Chen Li!
But when the Herrscher commanded the beasts to disperse and see if Chen Li had been successfully killed, the sight that greeted her was Chen Li, securely protected within a circular barrier about five meters in diameter.
In front of him rested a hammer and a forging platform.
[Miracle Forging Table]
"Phew…" Chen Li let out a sigh of relief.
After accumulating enough Miracle Power from his chase with the Herrscher, Chen Li, as a Curio Forger, could finally forge a Curio.
But he had also been waiting to accumulate more Spacetime energy (Star Stones).
He had discovered that when he performed actions that deviated from the original timeline's destiny (like beating up the Herrscher), his Star Stones also replenished quickly.
This barrier was a protective shield meant to prevent a forger from being disturbed while forging a Curio. It was the same type of shield the "Miracle" pixie had used to trap him.
The miracle shield would not break unless the attack power surpassed a certain upper limit.
At the very least, the Herrscher and the Honkai Beasts before him were incapable of breaking it.
Ignoring the enraged Herrscher of the Void, Chen Li took out the only two Relics he possessed.
[The Call Conveyed Afar] and [The Knight's Broken Sword].
Although the difference in worldviews had greatly diminished the effects of these two Relics, they were still excellent materials.
His first true Curio forging… began!
While simply placing two items together, adding a suitable amount of Miracle Power, and hammering them could also form a Curio, the result would not be as controllable as with a more refined forging process.
Therefore, Chen Li chose to do it manually.
Two blue crystals appeared in Chen Li's hand—these were crystallized Miracle Power.
There was a reason he called them "Crystals."
The two Crystals were tossed into an inlet next to the forging platform. The previously smooth surface of the platform suddenly erupted in the Flames of Miracle.
Chen Li threw both Relics into the flames. As time passed, the two items gradually dimmed. A moment later, countless characters of varying brightness rose from the fire.
[Knight], [Call], [Forced Transaction], [Justice], [Price], [Communication], [Heroic Spirit], [Return]…
These were the Source Characters representing the essence of the two Relics.
Now, they awaited Chen Li's selection. Only the characters he chose would be forged into [Entries]. The unselected ones, not deemed worthy of being manifested with Miracle Power, would end up in the forging table's recycling bin.
Refining Entries was essentially the process of using "Miracle Power" to push these Source Characters toward the domain of universal rules, which was why it required the Flames of Miracle.
The effects of these [Entries] could be positive, negative, or neutral, and the brightness of a character represented its priority.
The most obvious example was that there were differences even between one "sure-hit" and another. Some were absolutely guaranteed to connect, while others could be dodged with enough luck and skill… isn't that right, Cú Chulainn?
The brightness of an Entry was determined by two factors: the quality of the carrier that provided it, and the significance bestowed upon it by time and fate.
The dimmer an Entry, the weaker its effect. While the Flames of Miracle could be used to enhance its brightness, the cost was extremely high.
Chen Li's job now was to select the appropriate Entries, combine them, and forge an Item of Wonder.
His Crystals were not abundant, but the good news was that these two Relics already possessed a degree of rule-based power, so they only needed some modification to be usable, which would consume far less of the Flames of Miracle.
This was the other major source of consumption for the Flames of Miracle, aside from adjusting Entry brightness.
In summary, the poorer the quality of the forging material carrier, the higher the price of creating a "miracle."
A miracle is never free.
As for the carrier, Chen Li chose the somewhat decayed [Knight's Broken Sword].
Having already decided how he would forge this Curio, Chen Li quickly gathered the needed Entries, then raised the Hammer of Miracle and began to "forge," hammering these Source Characters into true Entries and embedding them into the carrier.
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
The melodious, pleasant sound of hammering echoed throughout the ruins.