"Great Herta! Save me!" Seeing that the Aeon of Equilibrium had seemingly run out of patience and decided to strike, Chen Li immediately pulled the Great Herta in front of him as a shield.
"Holy crap!" The Great Herta instantly broke free from Chen Li's grasp and scrambled behind him.
"Great Herta, didn't you say you wouldn't shy away from His presence?"
"If it were just an Aeon appearing, I certainly wouldn't shy away, but this is completely wrong!" The Great Herta, hiding behind Chen Li, shook her head frantically.
Because this wasn't just an appearance!
The Aeon of Equilibrium had long since merged Itself with the universe. In other words, the influence the Aeon exerted on the world was on a macro level.
For instance, HooH had once noticed the Interastral Peace Corporation's monopoly on interstellar trade. The Corporation had become the de facto ruler behind the scenes in many galaxies, and the balance between rich and poor was lost, ultimately triggering the "Frontier Trade War."
To maintain balance, HooH had interfered with the IPC in some way.
It was nearly impossible for mortals to observe the Aeon of Equilibrium, and the current situation was clearly an excellent opportunity.
But the problem was that this was not normal.
Under normal circumstances, an Aeon's glance was just a glance; it wouldn't result in a heavy-handed punch like this.
Furthermore, an Aeon's glance was typically only felt by the Pathstrider themselves and wouldn't involve others.
An Emanator of Erudition would have no problem resisting the pressure that came with an Aeon's appearance, but withstanding an Aeon's wrathful strike was asking too much.
"Useless."
"In any case, Aeon of Equilibrium, if you hit Chen Li, you can't hit me. I have nothing to do with him." The Great Herta's head peeked out from behind Chen Li, trying to commit the magnificent figure of the Aeon to memory.
The Great Herta wasn't afraid of death; she just wanted to take the opportunity to observe the Aeon of Equilibrium and gather more data.
What if she died? The worst that could happen was Little Herta or Chen Li watching some ads to resurrect her.
"O, great and omniscient existence, I ask you… why can't destroying equilibrium be considered another form of equilibrium?" Faced with the Aeon that was about to punch him, Chen Li played a Miracle Card right off the bat.
Seeing the Aeon of Equilibrium frozen in place for two seconds, a triumphant smile appeared on Chen Li's face.
"Before you figure out that question… have a taste of the friendship and bonds between me and my dear friends! Go! Friends Circle!" Chen Li forcefully threw a small golden ball, formed by countless rapidly spinning metal rings, towards the paused fist that was larger than the entire Herta Space Station.
Although the main body of the Friends Circle was currently suspending Elysia in the sky to serve as the Xianzhou's sun, Chen Li could still project another one.
The golden Friends Circle was hurled towards the Aeon of Equilibrium at extreme speed. The moment it made contact, it instantly expanded, becoming a colossal object even larger than the Aeon, "protecting" It within.
The figure of the Aeon continued its downward plunge within the "glance," but its form shrank continuously as the Friends Circle contracted.
By the time the fist finally landed in front of Chen Li, the Friends Circle, along with the "glance" of the Aeon of Equilibrium it contained, had shrunk to the size of a ping-pong ball.
"Everyone says the Aeon of Equilibrium is invincible in this era, but I think he's just so-so." The Great Herta slowly walked out from behind Chen Li.
"…" Chen Li looked at the Great Herta, speechless.
So high and mighty of you. You use me as a shield, and then jump out to taunt the enemy after I've won the fight, is that it? And when you look at the final stats, Herta, who only did the final taunt, gets the MVP!
"This is just a glance. Your taunts are useless. Though, from this action, I can tell the Aeon of Equilibrium really wants to beat me up," Chen Li sighed.
"Emmm, but I feel like something is off. Attacking you through a glance seems to break common sense, doesn't it?" The Great Herta adjusted the large, pointed hat on her head.
"Who cares? Why not eat food that's served right to you?" Chen Li shook his head, then tossed the golden ping-pong ball into his mouth and simultaneously canceled the Friends Circle projection.
Both the Friends Circle and the Gourmet Cells were 1-star Curios; the abilities granted by the Gourmet Cells weren't strong enough to digest the Friends Circle itself. But after the Friends Circle vanished, only the Aeon's glance remained in his mouth.
The power of the Aeon of Equilibrium was instantly digested. Chen Li felt his stats increase dramatically, and at the same time…
"Wait! Something's wrong! Something's very wrong!" Chen Li suddenly felt a strange sensation.
"What's wrong? Did the shrunken Aeon get into your stomach and start punching you from the inside?" The Great Herta asked curiously.
She wasn't worried about Chen Li. After all, the worst that could happen was death, and once you're dead, there are no more side effects.
Although the Great Herta felt that it was a bit too arrogant to treat her life so carelessly before she had even collected a single Revival Card, especially after the "Revival Games" appeared.
But what kind of genius doesn't use the tools at their disposal?
It's like someone who has a gun but insists on using kung fu. How can they be considered a grandmaster?
"I did tell you that chatting with the members in the Curio group chat has its benefits, but you shouldn't learn everything. What I mean by 'wrong' is that this power was digested so smoothly that…"
"That what?"
"I became an Emanator of Equilibrium?"
"Huh? Are you okay? Is your brain fried? Do you want me to kill you now so you can revive yourself after watching 30 minutes of ads?" The Great Herta asked with concern.
"I'm not kidding. I think I really became an Emanator of Equilibrium."
"…Are you sure?"
"I'm sure."
"So your Gourmet Cells are that strong, Chen Li? By devouring more of an Aeon, you can surpass their authority and mobilize the power of the Path to become an Emanator? How about you let me borrow it?" The Great Herta's eyes lit up.
The Great Herta said this because the power of an Emanator was not something one should be able to obtain just by devouring an Aeon. Although no one had ever managed such a feat before, and likely no one ever would, the power of an Emanator was more like a qualification or a form of authority.
When the Aeon of a Path was inactive, the further you walked along that Path, the more likely you were to become an Emanator.
But when the Aeon of the Path had not fallen and was still active, it was the Aeon who decided who became an Emanator. The Aeon granted the Emanator authority, and the Emanator used it to draw power from the Path…
"You're overthinking it. Neither the Gourmet Cells nor the God of Cookery Miracle Card would make me an Emanator just by eating a piece of an Aeon," Chen Li shook his head.
Eating an Aeon with his Gourmet Cells would grant him a large number of stat points and resistance to Aeons. He could even simulate the Aeon's deliciousness, which was to say, mobilize the power of the Path like an Aeon.
The effect of the [God of Cookery], on the other hand, was to let him acquire some of the Aeon's characteristics…
Both could make him something similar to an Emanator, but not an actual Emanator.
Which meant…
"Which means, after you forged this Curio, not only did the Aeon of Equilibrium not want to kill you, but he even tipped you with the authority of an Emanator of Equilibrium?" The Great Herta didn't understand, but she was greatly shocked.
A literal beat-down tip.
If you can take it, it's a tip. If you can't, it's a beating.
"Equilibrium is in all things." That sticky whisper echoed in Chen Li's ear once more.
"I maintain equilibrium, and you destroy equilibrium. This, too, is a form of equilibrium."
"Though your actions constantly disrupt the equilibrium, I can see that you are also striving to curb further disequilibrium, attempting to guide the universe towards a better path, avoiding the calamity of its destruction. In that case, let me see your limits."
The first sentence confirmed his identity. The second answered Chen Li's "question." The third explained his purpose.
"Wait a minute? What does He mean?" After the Aeon of Equilibrium spoke these three sentences and fell silent, Chen Li was even more confused about His intentions.
[In layman's terms: Although your actions constantly disrupt the equilibrium, I can see that you are also striving to curb further disequilibrium, attempting to guide the universe towards a better path without letting it be destroyed by the broken balance. In that case, let me see your limits.]
"???" Chen Li tilted his head.
Theoretically, the Aeon of Equilibrium was right.
Chen Li forging Curios was, in itself, disrupting the equilibrium that the Aeon maintained. But Chen Li just felt that this kind of equilibrium was different from the equilibrium he envisioned, so he changed it a little.
The operational logic of the Miracle System in The Guide to Forging Curios was, at its core, to save worlds.
And after receiving the final gift, the system didn't demand that Chen Li sacrifice himself to save worlds, but at the very least, he wouldn't go around destroying them.
Therefore, when forging Curios, Chen Li had to consider not only making them effective but also preventing the world from descending into chaos and destruction due to their appearance.
Otherwise, after creating the Revival Games Curio, he could have just used a meme to make everyone forward the link, approve all resurrection applications without any review, and the Star Rail world would absolutely be finished within three years.
"But the problem is… I don't know how to be a referee. Aeon of Equilibrium, I can't live without you, Aeon of Equilibrium… Can we discuss this again? Don't go!"
When Chen Li said he greatly respected the Aeon of Equilibrium, he wasn't joking; he was serious.
Because if the worlds the Miracle System had previously visited had an existence like the Aeon of Equilibrium, it wouldn't have ended up destroying countless worlds and becoming a world-destroyer itself.
Chen Li had no desire to destroy worlds. He just wanted to pursue another kind of equilibrium—one where the good are rewarded with fortune, and the wicked are repaid with disaster.
To create more positive miracles without pushing the world to the brink of destruction.
"So what now?" Chen Li turned to look at the Great Herta.
"What do you mean, 'what now'?"
"I'm an Emanator of Equilibrium. Is that even reasonable?"
"Emmm… theoretically, it's not reasonable. But as an outlander, aren't you here in this world to break the rules?"
"When did I ever say I came to this world to break rules? Aren't I here to create miracles?"
"Exactly. The person who breaks the equilibrium becomes the Emanator of Equilibrium. Tell me that's not a miracle," the Great Herta said, clapping her hands together.
"…"
"Come on, it's just an Emanator. Who isn't one? Let's just check out the specific effects of the Curio that angered the Aeon of Equilibrium enough to punch you. By the way, what's the name of this Curio?" Herta asked curiously.
"…[Mengyin Shen]."
"What the hell kind of name is that?"