"How infuriating! Dr. Mobius actually thinks getting rid of me is more important than solving the Honkai problem?" Elysia fumed, having been dragged away from Mobius's lab by Chen Li.
"Why do you say that?" Chen Li asked casually.
"Because Dr. Mobius never even mentioned asking for your help in finding animals or plants that can absorb Honkai energy," Elysia said.
"Didn't Mobius ask me to help her collect biological samples? That's enough. The Honkai: Star Rail universe is vast, with many special life forms; there should be no shortage of creatures that can absorb a limited amount of harmful energy. Besides, and most importantly, the Honkai doesn't necessarily need to be eliminated. It can also be utilized," Chen Li said, glancing at the Holy Grail in his inventory, which was filled to the brim with All the World's Evil.
Chen Li still hadn't given up on the idea of putting the Cocoon of Finality into the Holy Grail as a prize. Hold a Holy Grail War, and whoever wins gets to be the Herrscher of Finality. Oh, no, perhaps it would be a Stand Battle.
And the Cocoon of Finality's opinion? It didn't deserve to have an opinion.
Therefore, with the life seeds, Mobius only needed to cultivate ones that could increase humanity's Honkai resistance. With the ability to see cultivation probabilities, an ample library of biological samples, and sufficient financial support, Mobius could absolutely cultivate plant fruits that would increase everyone's resistance to Honkai energy. Just like that Spicy Crayfish Instant Noodle Flavored Bread Tree.
Honkai energy, the "Honkai is omnipotent" energy. Logically speaking, since the people of the Xianzhou could each live for a thousand years and could even stitch their heads back on after being decapitated to continue fighting from the Southern Heavenly Gate to the Northern Heavenly Gate, it shouldn't be too much for Chen Li to slightly enhance the physical constitution of the people from the Previous Era, right?
The Xianzhou people used the power of Abundance, so Earth would use Honkai energy. Aside from being a little life-consuming, Honkai energy had no drawbacks.
Perhaps... this was the result after Equilibrium. Everything has a price; that was perfectly reasonable. And Miracles could ignore that price; that was also perfectly reasonable.
Beep beep beep!
Chen Li's Friends Circle terminal began to vibrate frantically.
"Why the rush? Eager to reincarnate? Alright, it really is a rush to reincarnate." Chen Li glanced at the terminal and was visibly stunned for a moment.
"What's wrong?" Elysia asked curiously.
"It's a message from Dan Shu, the Master of the Alchemy Commission, also known as the leader of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus," Chen Li said.
"The leader of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus?"
"Didn't I tell you? Besides being the General's honored guest and the new intern Diviner at the Divination Commission, I also have the identity of a Divine Emissary of Abundance on the Xianzhou. Theoretically speaking, I'm currently the highest authority in the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, though it seems no one really cares about me," Chen Li said.
Theory was theory, and practice was practice. Chen Li did indeed hold the truth, but not many had seen this truth. Most of the Disciples, upon hearing the news of his emissary status, just thought of him as a new figurehead for their organization.
"Then was it your instruction for Mobius to be recruited by the Disciples?"
"Mobius got in on her own merit; it had nothing to do with me. It's also possible that the Alchemy Commission knew Mobius was an honored guest on the Xianzhou and tried to turn her, only to discover she was more of a 'Sanctus Medicus' than the Disciples themselves, so they accepted her wholeheartedly," Chen Li said with a shrug.
In the eyes of the Disciples, Mobius was indeed quite a character. And to be valued by them and even gain access to the roots of the Ambrosial Arbor within a single day, Mobius was indeed quite a character. The threat posed by that group of "small fry" was nothing compared to Mobius. It was like a wolf king hiding among a pack of huskies.
"Then what do you mean by 'eager to reincarnate'?"
"For the sake of convenience and a bit of fun, I sent Dan Shu a Revival Card link yesterday, and she managed to assemble a full card today. The message she just sent was to ask me to find the 'Curio Forger' and request to pull some strings to get her application approved early," Chen Li explained.
"She got the link yesterday and completed it today? The average drop rate is 1/3000, which means she's been watching ads non-stop since she got the link?" Elysia was astonished.
"She was relatively lucky and completed it in 23 hours, but based on the timeline, she really has been watching it without sleep from the moment she got the link until now. That's some serious dedication."
How could someone who wasn't dedicated stare at ads for a full 24 hours? Ruan Mei and the others weren't as desperate because they knew Chen Li wasn't going anywhere, so they watched the ads at a more relaxed pace. Dan Shu was different; she had nearly gone mad from watching them.
"This Dan Shu must be trying to revive a dear friend or a beloved family member," Elysia remarked with feeling.
"She is. I'm going to approve it now and then go watch the match. Wait for me here for a bit," Chen Li nodded.
After using a Revival Card, both the user and the organizer were allowed to enter the Friends and Family Section of the Revival Games, and they could both invite others to join. This was one of the card's user-friendly features—the person you wanted to revive might not win the match, but you could at least have a brief, 30-second reunion with them before it began.
"Mhm," Elysia nodded.
"Don't wander off, okay?"
"Mhm," Elysia continued to nod.
"...I'll trust you this one time." Although he was a bit worried, Chen Li considered that Elysia wasn't a child anymore. He waved goodbye to her and entered the Revival Games.
"Yufei!"
"Dan Shu!"
"Yufei!"
"Dan Shu!"
"Can you two stop crying and hugging? The match is about to start." After entering the arena and walking from the audience stands to the Friends and Family Section, Chen Li saw two women clinging to each other and crying. From their section, he could see that the system was currently matching an opponent for Yufei.
"My lord," Dan Shu quickly stood up upon hearing Chen Li's voice.
"And you are?" A vibrant-looking young woman looked at Chen Li.
"My... superior. And the one who gave me the Revival Card link," Dan Shu said after a moment's hesitation. Only after truly seeing her dear friend again and feeling that nostalgic touch did Dan Shu slowly calm down. It was then that she remembered that Yufei was still the same Xianzhou girl who believed in the Divine Archer, while she was now the head of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus. Chen Li was even more of a heavyweight; he was a Divine Emissary of Abundance.
"Hello," Yufei greeted Chen Li warmly.
"Hello."
"Our Dan Shu must have grown into an outstanding alchemist by now, right?" Yufei said proudly.
"Indeed. She's even become the Master of the Alchemy Commission," Chen Li nodded.
"I knew it since we were little, our Dan Shu was destined for greatness! Hey, wait, the Master of the Alchemy Commission's superior... could it be that you are the new Seat of the Divine Crucible for the Alchemy Commission?" Yufei froze.
"Something like that. Anyway, the match is about to start," Chen Li reminded them.
"Yufei, who's your opponent? Can you win?" Dan Shu asked worriedly. The leader of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus was the Sky-Dew Prajna, but Dan Shu was blind. To prevent her friend from discovering her identity and causing an unpleasant scene, she was still in disguise.
"This... I'll win!" Yufei glanced at the shorty who appeared opposite her and nodded.
"I have my doubts. Maybe you two should use these 30 seconds to catch up," Chen Li suggested. The 30-second countdown only began after the opponent was selected.
"Don't look down on me just because I'm not burly and am just a physician. I can fight pretty well," Yufei said unconvinced, flexing her biceps, which weren't very big.
"Well... good luck then!" Chen Li glanced at the short alien opposite Yufei. If he wasn't mistaken, that was Frieza. Frieza from Dragon Ball, the one whose power level of 530,000 was just his first form.
And just as Chen Li had guessed, after the countdown ended, Yufei charged forward, and Yufei typed "GG"...
Fate was just that unpredictable, and so were the Revival Games. However, the event wasn't over, because the friends and family hadn't all left their seats yet.
"Whew..." After Yufei disappeared, Dan Shu, instead of becoming hysterical, seemed to let out a sigh of relief.
"What? You don't want to revive your friend anymore?" Chen Li asked.
"No, it's just that I haven't figured out how to explain things to her yet," Dan Shu said, troubled. After all, right now, Dan Shu was the criminal, and Yufei was the soldier.
"So what do you plan to do?"
"Continue collecting Revival Cards. But I hope her revival happens after everything is over. Right now... I can't go back. After everything is finished, whether it's a success or a failure, we'll have enough time to face it," Dan Shu said. As the leader of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, she had long since committed the Ten Abominations; even if she performed meritorious service, there was no room for redemption, because she was the one who had founded the new Disciples. It made no difference whether she turned herself in or not; her sentence was long enough to keep her in prison until she died.
"As long as you've thought it through." Chen Li turned to leave.
"My lord!" Dan Shu suddenly called out to him.
"What is it?"
"Actually... the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus have already made a deal with Phantylia," Dan Shu said, suddenly kneeling on the ground before Chen Li.
"So you're saying I, the Divine Emissary, am the last to know?"
"No, currently, I am the only one who knows of this. I speak now only to ask if you, Lord Emissary, wish to interfere with the plan. Everything will be decided by your will," Dan Shu said.
"Do whatever you want. I'm not interested in your plans. I'm only interested in Phantylia. All I need is for her to come to the Xianzhou. If I have to say something... then have the Disciples lay low for a while. Act as if you're on your last legs. Remember, the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus are not important. Phantylia is important," Chen Li said, his eyes narrowing.
The grand show Chen Li had prepared for Phantylia couldn't be missing its star. At the same time, this would minimize the Disciples' impact on the Xianzhou. Rounding up, it was as if Chen Li had already solved the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus problem.
"Could it be that you intend to...! I understand! Your will is my will!" Dan Shu's voice seemed to tremble with shock. She then nodded heavily and disappeared on the spot.
"Wait, what did you understand?" Chen Li froze for a moment. "Ah, whatever. As long as Phantylia comes to the Xianzhou, her fate is already sealed. Since it's come to this, I should head back." After one last look at the now-empty arena, Chen Li chose to leave his seat.
"Hmm, where's Elysia?" When Chen Li emerged from the alley, he found that Elysia, who had sworn she wouldn't wander off, was gone. She was less reliable than a toddler with a short attention span. At least a toddler would stick around for a few minutes.
"Let's see..." Chen Li used his highest-level access on the Friends Circle to locate Elysia. He had given these projections Friends Circle terminals as well; the Curio in Mobius's projection's hands was delivered through one. Following the terminal's guidance, Chen Li found that Elysia hadn't gone far and followed the navigation to find her.
As he approached, he heard Elysia's trademark line, full of her unique personality.
"My, what a cute girl! Hello."
"..." by Chen Li.
He knew it!
"Let me see what kind of beautiful girl could lure you away from your spot. Is there a famous beauty on the Xianzhou I haven't met? It can't be... this is Starskiff Haven... it must be Sushang and Guinaifen, right? Bailu is also a possibility. Yukong is a mature beauty and alluring enough... Holy crap, what the hell is Jingliu doing here!"
"Jingliu, what are you doing here?" Chen Li asked, completely baffled as he looked at Jingliu, who had appeared before him. He had thought that whoever tempted Elysia away must be a beautiful girl. And when the answer was revealed, he wasn't sure about the "girl" part, but she was definitely beautiful.
"Rebellious Disciple, has the relationship between us grown so distant? In all my years of wandering the sea of stars, I have been thinking of you, thinking of you ever so dearly," Jingliu said slowly.
Jingliu was going crazy from wanting him to forge a Curio!
"Alright, Master," Chen Li chose to compromise. After all, though they had not performed the rites of master and disciple, they had the substance of one...
"Good. From now on, you can just call me by my name," Jingliu said directly after hearing the title she wanted to hear once.
"...Seeing your mental state so beautiful, I can rest assured," Chen Li said with a worried expression. Assured? Not in the slightest.
"The last time I saw Miss Jingliu was the last time. But why do you seem so unhappy, Chen Li?" Elysia asked, a bit puzzled. Although she hadn't witnessed the scene of Jingliu slaying the dragon up close, Jingliu's silhouette had left a deep impression on her. Elysia had originally thought their relationship must be good, and now seeing their rather "free" interaction confirmed it, yet Chen Li's face was full of worry.
"Because my master is a wanted criminal on the Xianzhou," Chen Li said, looking left and right. He only relaxed after confirming no one was coming their way.
"Then why don't you hurry up and give her your disguise glasses... uh, can you wear glasses with an eye patch on?" Elysia froze when she saw the black cloth over Jingliu's eyes.
"You can." Chen Li directly placed his disguise glasses on Jingliu's nose without taking no for an answer.
"Wait, Chen Li, aren't you a wanted criminal too?" Elysia suddenly remembered.
This master and disciple pair were cut from the same cloth!