GA: Chapter 279 Reality is always unfair, some things are unavoidable
Bai Xuan is special, both to Huaxia and to this world.
The world always shows favoritism towards certain individuals; we thought Qin Tian, Chen Bing, and others were the pinnacle, but it turns out Bai Xuan is the one most favored by the world.
However, every gift of destiny comes with a price already marked in the shadows.
He always felt that Bai Xuan might have paid something.
His future seems to be intertwined with Earth.
But then again, aren't they all?
What he found hardest to imagine, though, was that items like Devil Fruits, Clow Cards, Five Elements Armor, and Imperial Arms, which shouldn't exist in reality, were actually created by Bai Xuan.
Possessing the Sword Clow Card, he understood its power better than anyone.
The Blazing Dragon Armor even gave Qin Tian overwhelming strength against other First Sequence members, second only to Bai Xuan.
Devil Fruits, moreover, have created a large number of powerful warriors, some of whom grow increasingly stronger as their abilities are developed.
Reality is different from anime.
The people in One Piece were limited by lifespan and knowledge, so their ability development wasn't deep, but reality doesn't have that flaw.
"Bai Xuan? He's a freak, don't compare yourself to him."
Hearing Chu Han's bitter laugh, Huo Yu waved her hand and said directly.
Among everyone present, she was the one most severely affected by Bai Xuan's impact.
Because she had the most contact with Bai Xuan and understood him the most.
The more she understood, the more she realized how powerful Bai Xuan was.
It could be said that all of humanity on Earth combined would not be Bai Xuan's match.
Because humans are merely a part of nature, Bai Xuan's [Authority over Nature] also encompasses various elements, plants, beasts, and even technology; he possesses the power of the entire Earth.
Even if it's just a part, that's already unimaginably powerful.
Furthermore, given Earth's favoritism towards Bai Xuan, who knows when that part might become the whole.
Pursing her lips, Huo Yu held the compass and looked around.
Although it was called a compass, it looked more like an energy detector, or perhaps a combination of both.
But...
"This can only be used to find Clow Cards, right?"
"It can't even mark the Clow Cards' abilities, can it? How are we supposed to find ones that suit us?"
"That's why we brought him."
Ye Feng patted Zhang Hai's shoulder.
"Leave a spatial imprint. If you find a Clow Card and it hasn't awakened, retrieve it directly; if it has awakened, observe its revealed ability and choose to retrieve it or contact others."
"Although it's a bit troublesome, it's better for an ability to be compatible with oneself."
"Not only is it easier to subjugate, but the power that can be unleashed is also stronger."
Otherwise, if Qin Tian and Huo Yu, who have fire attributes, used a water-attribute Clow Card, while the power might still be strong, it would likely be completely different from when Chen Bing uses it.
"Once we take it, it's ours, right? We shouldn't have to hand it over, should we?"
"Of course."
Huo Yu's mood brightened considerably after receiving a positive answer; if they had to hand over the Clow Cards after retrieving them, it would be utterly meaningless.
While she wouldn't be angry, she would certainly be displeased.
But if they were hers, it would be a completely different feeling.
"Actually, at first, some people at the top proposed that we be responsible for retrieving them, and then find people from the Second and Third Sequences whose abilities were compatible with the Clow Cards, to make them stronger, even recognized as First Sequence like Chu Han."
"But Clow Cards aren't like Devil Fruits that can be traded; without enough power, you can't suppress a Clow Card."
Ye Feng said calmly, with his hands clasped behind his head.
"Finding compatible people? Easy to say."
"I'm afraid those people have some connections with them."
Chen Changsheng's eyes showed a hint of disdain.
They knew full well what those people were thinking; they merely wanted to cultivate their own descendants.
They actually wanted them to subjugate the cards, and then have others reap the benefits?
If the higher-ups agreed, they truly would have nothing to say.
Just a bit displeased.
But how could the higher-ups agree to such terms?!
Isn't this clearly squandering their goodwill towards the country?
Is it worth it?
Of course not.
As for letting those Second and Third Sequence members who wanted them search and subjugate them themselves?
Then they would inevitably face the risk of death.
In the anime, an underage girl could subjugate Clow Cards, but that was anime.
And this is reality!
Reality is far more cruel than anime.
Chu Han was directly designated as First Sequence by virtue of a single Sword Clow Card; the amplification of Clow Cards is unimaginable.
If the Four Elements Clow Cards were to go out of control, it would also be a disaster for nearby humans.
Moreover, Clow Cards only acknowledge the person who subjugates them; this can be seen from the anime.
They are not like Devil Fruits, which can be freely traded.
Rather than risking death by having Second and Third Sequence individuals search and subjugate them, it's better to have them act directly.
While avoiding risks, those Clow Cards would still be a part of Huaxia's strength.
"Some things can't be avoided."
"People, after all, have their favorites. Who can truly be impartial?"
"Even Bai Xuan, isn't he very partial to us?"
Ye Feng shrugged, saying nonchalantly.
How could a country have only one voice? That's absolutely impossible.
"Partial?"
Chu Han looked at Ye Feng with some confusion upon hearing his words.
"Yes, partial."
"On the surface, the Devil Fruits, Imperial Arms, Five Elements Armor, Divine Beast Weapons, and Clow Cards he created are available to all countries and civilizations globally."
"But in reality, we in Huaxia received the most."
"Just look at the distribution of Clow Cards, and you'll know. Out of a total of fifty-two Clow Cards, how many did Huaxia get?"
"Thirty-two! Plus the Sword Clow Card, that's thirty-three."
"More than half."
"Like us, almost everyone has one: Qin Tian's Blazing Dragon Armor, Ye Feng's Imperial Arm 'Crown of Life,' Chen Bing's Imperial Arm 'Demon God Manifestation: Essence of the Devil,' Wang Ming's Imperial Arm 'God's Hand,' my Flame-Flame Fruit, your Clow Card, Ning Guang's Smoke-Smoke Fruit."
"Look at other countries, which one has this kind of treatment?"
Huo Yu said as a matter of course, then looked at Zhang Hai and Chen Changsheng with some confusion, finally turning her gaze to Chen Changsheng.
"How come I haven't heard that you have one?"
"I never had one to begin with."
Chen Changsheng said, somewhat speechless.
"Besides, my ability doesn't need these things."
His ability was [Longevity], which allowed him to live several times longer than humans. Normally, he could live for ten thousand years without issue, and he could also transfer this lifespan to others.
Of course, that was all in the past.
During the second spiritual energy surge, his ability also underwent a metamorphosis, evolving into a new ability, [Eternal Life], which was even more powerful than the original!
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GA: Chapter 280: What is the use of human faith? Will the immortal gods in mythology come?
Not only was his lifespan greatly extended, but he could even strip other creatures of their lifespan, converting it to a certain extent, and then bestowing it upon other creatures.
In other words, if he wanted to, he could make every human immortal.
After all, in this era of spiritual energy resurgence, the hatching and growth rates of mutated beasts are unimaginably fast, otherwise there wouldn't be large-scale beast tides every time.
Of course, his deprivation only targets creatures weaker than him; if they are stronger than him, the other party must not resist during the deprivation, otherwise it will fail.
But this is not difficult for Chen Changsheng; he just needs to have people beat them half to death, and then have ability users specializing in control and beast taming forcibly make them agree.
Because of this ability, Chen Changsheng's status in China is ridiculously high now.
If it weren't for the fact that this Clow Card mission involved the strongest experts in China, and Chen Changsheng could also use this opportunity to acquire a few Clow Cards to increase his strength and avoid easily dying when encountering a crisis, they would absolutely not let Chen Changsheng come out.
His life is too precious.
"It seems so."
Huoyu nodded thoughtfully. There are indeed items that align with lifespan-related abilities, such as the Soul-Soul Fruit, Vampire Fruit, and Ope-Ope Fruit, but lifespan is only one of the secondary abilities of these items; their primary abilities are not this.
There must be people or other creatures in this world that are more compatible with them.
"But they actually let you out?"
"Aren't they worried something might happen to you?"
"Afraid, of course, they're afraid. →"
"That's why they let me follow him."
"Zhang Hai and A Bao are also with us."
Ye Feng pouted. Although he is the strongest support and his life is also quite valuable, he is still somewhat inferior compared to Chen Changsheng.
"Stop it."
Chen Changsheng gave him a speechless look, as if Ye Feng was jealous of him.
Although he is more important in the hearts of the higher-ups due to his ability, it doesn't mean that Ye Feng and the others' status is lower than his.
For China today, the role of Ye Feng and the others is far more important than his.
"By the way, why isn't Wang Ming here?"
Given Wang Ming's curiosity about these things, he shouldn't miss it.
"He's still researching Devil Fruits."
"But he's probably going to give up, after all, these aren't real Devil Fruits."
Ning Guang said casually.
These Devil Fruits were created by Bai Xuan, they aren't real Devil Fruits from the world of Pirates. He didn't know why Wang Ming was so obsessed with researching these things. Even if he wanted to research, wasn't the original technology or spiritual energy technology good enough?
"His ability is clearly related to machinery, wouldn't it be better to just research machinery properly?"
"When the Devil Fruits weren't sent over, he didn't research anything from his own Imperial Arm God's Hand. →"
"These things cannot be analyzed by current science."
Shaking his head slightly, although they were all national personnel, Wang Ming was not in their department; he was a genius in the research department.
His obsession with science was something they couldn't understand.
For them, it didn't matter whether the future era was technology or mystery; instead of thinking about the future, it was better to live in the present.
"What do you think was Bai Xuan's purpose in creating these things?"
"Devil Fruits give ordinary people the possibility to become stronger, and also make already strong people even stronger; Imperial Arms are the same."
"Five Elements Armor, Kamen Rider transformation devices, Clow Cards."
"Is his sole purpose in creating these things just to improve our strength?"
"Although it's not entirely accurate to say it that way, after all, besides us, mutated creatures are also among the chosen ones; it should be said that it's to enhance the strength of civilization."
"The progress of civilization will also make him stronger."
"But is there any other reason? Like harvesting the faith of living beings or something?"
Ning Guang stroked the fur of the Flame Beast Lion, his tone somewhat uncertain.
Then, Chu Han and Zhang Hai showed confused expressions, as they didn't know as much information as Huoyu and others; and besides the two of them, Huoyu, Qin Tian, and others all looked at Ning Guang strangely.
"What's wrong? Is my question stupid?"
"You're looking at me like I'm an idiot."
Ning Guang looked at them a bit helplessly. Even if he wasn't a psychologist, there was no way he wouldn't understand that look.
"I thought you'd come up with some kind of speculation, but it turns out to be such an unreliable one."
Huoyu rolled her eyes and said irritably.
"Why don't you tell me, what's the use of human faith?"
"If faith was really useful, angels and God would have descended long before the spiritual energy resurgence, given how many followers they have."
"Our country's dragons wouldn't still exist only in myths and legends; no one has truly seen them except in the news."
"You've read too many novels, haven't you?"
"Even if it's useful, it's definitely not as useful as spiritual energy, since when there was no spiritual energy, not a single hair could be seen."
Ning Guang also fell silent, then gave a bitter smile.
Indeed, he had read too many novels. Faith might be useful, but its usefulness was definitely not as great as he imagined.
Otherwise, no gods would have appeared before the spiritual energy resurgence.
"Not necessarily."
Qin Tian suddenly spoke.
"The concept of spiritual energy, wasn't it originally only mentioned in novels?"
"Cultivation techniques let us know that the 'Dao' of various sects exists, so those immortal gods who are worshipped may not necessarily not exist."
"Perhaps it's just that the current concentration of spiritual energy is not yet enough for them to descend."
"In the future, with the arrival of more and more spiritual energy tides, they might truly appear."
"But compared to them existing inherently, I lean more towards them being born from myths and legends."
"If human faith and incense offerings were truly useful, then their usefulness shouldn't be so small that they couldn't survive without spiritual energy."
Not now, but very likely in the future.
After all, before the spiritual energy resurgence, no one ever thought that one day spiritual energy would descend and Earth would enter the spiritual energy era.
But if those immortal gods from myths truly appeared, Qin Tian believed they would be born from human faith, rather than existing inherently.
Otherwise, why didn't they appear before the spiritual energy resurgence?
Since they need faith and incense offerings, their survival conditions should prioritize faith and incense offerings. Not being able to survive normally without spiritual energy or something similar would be too pathetic.
"I still think the possibility is small."
Huoyu objected to Qin Tian's idea.
"Did you forget Bai Xuan?"
"If faith is truly useful, then faith should belong to Bai Xuan."
"After all, faith is born from humans, humans belong to nature, nature belongs to Bai Xuan, so by extension, faith belongs to Bai Xuan."
"If they want to emerge from myths, they also need to have that ability."