Shenzhou, in Hua's room.
After rushing to finally finish her homework, Hua put down her pen. The pressure from the after-school assignments finally dissipated from her heart.
She let out a long sigh of relief, then heard Lucius in her mind suddenly exclaim: "Gasp! The neighboring film crew is still chasing me!"
"???"
"Past life, what are you saying?"
"Nothing, just encountered something that crosses worldviews."
As an honest child, Hua's face showed confusion at Lucius's strange words.
However, she wasn't left confused for long, because Lucius had already chosen to change the subject.
"Hua, do you have a map of Chongqing here?"
"I bought one from a newsstand a few years ago. Let me find it."
Hua got up and rummaged through the storage room next door for a while, pulling out a somewhat yellowed map.
"Past life, what do you need a map for?"
"To formulate a Chongqing revival plan."
Then Hua saw the map in her hands being lifted by an invisible force, landing on the nearby table.
Then the pen beside it seemed to be held by someone, beginning to write and draw on the map.
Hua curiously approached and found terms written on the map like 'talent strategy,' 'departmental barriers,' 'risk management,' 'pillar industries,' and so on.
So she felt strange.
"Past life, aren't you an immortal? Why do you understand these modern terms?"
"No one said immortals must be stuck in the old ways, right?"
Hua thought about it and found this seemed correct. Then she heard Lucius say: "The entire world is about to enter a period of demon and monster activity. I'm planning to use that Tianqiong Peak behind your house as the center to build the entire Chongqing into a super city capable of resisting powerful demon beasts."
"As for that Tianqiong Peak behind your house, from now on it will be called Mount Taixu."
Hua weakly raised her hand and said quietly: "But isn't Mount Taixu in the Lu region?"
"Hua, why do you think Mount Taixu is called Mount Taixu?"
Hua thought for a moment and answered: "Because our ancestors named it Mount Taixu."
"Then Hua, I ask you—as the Crimson Immortal, is there any ancestor older than us?"
"There really doesn't seem to be..."
"In that case, is there any problem with me saying it's Mount Taixu?"
Although Hua felt something was off, after thinking it through in her mind, she couldn't find any logical problem, so she could only nod.
"Alright, you're right."
Seeing Hua agree, Lucius laughed in her consciousness space.
He loved playing with honest children—like his good brother Kiana, like Hua before him...
Naming the mountain behind Hua's house Mount Taixu wasn't done randomly, of course. The so-called Chongqing revival plan was the same.
The former was to find Hua a venue for the Seven Disciples' Patricide, while the latter was naturally to build the stage in advance for the future Starfall of Tianqiong.
Just as Mount Taixu's prototype was Mount Tai in the Lu region, Tianqiong City's prototype was actually Chongqing, also called Yucheng.
Before this, Lucius had already pulled together the Golden Courtyard's little partners to form World Serpent. Although it only had a few people, the power it could mobilize was terrifyingly formidable.
After building World Serpent's framework, Lucius used it to open another high-tech company focused mainly on biopharmaceuticals, naming it Shencheng Pharmaceuticals.
Then through phrases like "you wouldn't want to go to the rooftop, would you," he pulled Lady Raven, who was at her wits' end after the Nagazora City real estate collapse, onto the cart. Now she was already the president of Shencheng Pharmaceuticals.
Next, Raven would be responsible for expanding Shencheng Pharmaceuticals' power and directing this city toward the form he hoped to see.
—A futuristic super city with high technology as its theme.
Chongqing was also called the Mountain City, and high mountains naturally approached the sky. Lucius had even thought of the slogan: Building a technological city above the firmament.
For short—Tianqiong City.
However, Tianqiong City's plot was still distant. What currently needed attention was still Fu Hua's 'Seven Disciples' Patricide' storyline.
Worth mentioning was that Lucius discovered there were people corresponding to the Seven Disciples of Taixu in this era. This was why he came straight to Hua after arriving in Shenzhou.
Otherwise, he would need to spend time creating Hua's disciples.
However, since ready-made characters already existed, what came next was much simpler.
Now with Fenghuang Down in hand, he could completely use suggestions to make these people act, then symbolically stage a Seven Disciples' Patricide to finish off this key node for Fu Hua.
After reviewing everything once, Lucius found it was actually Li Sushang's role that was difficult.
Because the current Qin Suyi was only sixteen years old—even further from Li Sushang's birth.
In this situation, if nothing unexpected happened, he'd probably need to use Li Sushang's stigmata to fill in.
...
After Hua's father righteously repeated things like 'believe in science,' 'there are no immortals in this world,' 'don't be superstitious,' Lixue finally chose to leave.
But the burning look in her eyes hadn't faded.
Although this master repeatedly said he didn't know any divine arts and certainly couldn't fly on swords, Lixue didn't take it seriously.
After all, even his daughter was a sword immortal capable of sword flight—how could this master possibly be an ordinary person?
As someone who'd read through all kinds of cultivation web novels, Lixue confirmed it—this was definitely the master testing her!
"Is he testing whether I'm sincere?"
Lixue walked toward the outside of the martial hall while tightly clenching her fists.
"I won't give up..."
Just as she was thinking this, she heard a voice from ahead.
"Hello, is this the Taixu Martial Hall?"
Lixue instinctively looked up and found a girl of about sixteen years old before her.
She wore a conservative long dress in an ancient style with white as the main color. Her brown hair was coiled behind and fixed with a silver hairpin. Her brown eyes seemed to hold the tranquility of mountains.
At first glance, Lixue instinctively thought she saw an unblossomed peony.
Lixue was surprised. This was her first time seeing such a classically-styled girl in reality.
But it was only surprise. She had no interest in women other than cultivation.
Hmph! Beautiful women only hinder my Dao-seeking heart.
"The one behind me is it."
After speaking, Lixue no longer lingered and walked toward a nearby hotel. She couldn't wait to share today's fantastical experiences with her roommates.
Watching Lixue leave, this peony-like girl smiled faintly, then stepped into the Hua family's martial hall and saw Hua's father sweeping the entrance.
"Excuse me, are you the martial hall's master?"
Hua's father also froze for a moment upon seeing the newcomer's appearance and temperament, then amiably nodded and replied: "I'm the master here. Young lady, you're here to?"
"I'd like to learn some martial arts."
After hearing her purpose, Hua's father didn't show the usual joy of a customer arriving. Instead, he asked somewhat suspiciously: "Young lady, you don't also think there's some divine art in this world, do you?"
Hearing Hua's father's words, the girl smiled gently.
"Master, you jest. This world is materialistic—where would any divine arts exist?"
Hearing this, Hua's father breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he'd finally encountered a normal person.
His face broke into a brilliant smile—the joy of incoming revenue.
"In that case, please follow me inside!"
Hua's father put down his broom and led the way. The girl followed behind him with dignified steps.
At this moment, a mosquito flew in circles in the air, then rushed toward Hua's father walking ahead.
The girl glanced at it and lightly flicked her finger.
An invisible sword qi shot out, silently reducing the mosquito to ash.
Hua's father noticed nothing unusual and continued introducing: "Not to hide it from you, young lady, our martial hall's martial arts are absolutely the longest-transmitted in the area, and the prices are also the most affordable."
"By the way, young lady, what's your name?"
"Suyi. Master may call me Suyi."
"You speak so formally, like an ancient person..."
Hua's father didn't notice that this girl calling herself Suyi actually looked toward Hua's direction when passing through the training grounds.
Then her originally tranquil face began showing abnormal redness, her gaze seeming to catch fire.
The serene peony seemed to transform into a burning rose in an instant.
"That's right... absolutely right. That sword qi just now was Master's scent!"
"Hehe... yes, I can sense it. Master must have also awakened to past wisdom!"
While closely following Hua's father's steps, the girl named Suyi's expression gradually became morbid, her breathing gradually growing heavier.
"Master, please wait. This disciple will show you filial piety!"
At this moment, Hua's father walking ahead suddenly felt a chill.
He stopped and looked around but found nothing unusual. The girl behind him calling herself Suyi was still quiet and gentle, like an unblossomed peony.
Seeing this, he thought perhaps he'd gotten too worked up earlier arguing with Lixue about 'believing in science.'
"Young lady, we have four classes per week here. You can arrange according to your needs."
But Suyi raised another question.
"Master, do you provide lodging? Chongqing's public security has worsened recently. It's somewhat dangerous for a weak woman like me without the strength to truss a chicken to run back and forth."
"In this era, there are no blind gangsters or delinquents anymore... The public security around the martial hall is still quite good."
"Moreover, young lady, we're not a closed martial hall, so we don't provide lodging."
With these words, Hua's father noticed the girl before him seemed somewhat disappointed, though this disappointment quickly vanished.
"Master, when do we start classes?"
"Classes can start tomorrow. Based on your age, you should still be in school. If you live nearby, you can choose to come after school. If it's far, then only on weekends."
...
Soon, the sun set in the west, and night fell like black gauze covering the sky.
As a good child, Hua's schedule had always been very regular.
After dinner, she practiced the family-transmitted Yixin Fist technique once in the home training ground, working up a light sweat, then washed up.
After that, she took out her books and briefly previewed tomorrow's school content.
After doing all this, she lay in bed and quickly entered dreamland.
Then a figure rolled out from under Hua's bed.
This person was precisely the girl named Suyi.
After getting up and looking at Hua who'd entered dreamland, her face showed abnormal redness, the smile at the corners of her mouth uncontrollable, seemingly making strange sounds.
At the same time, her body continuously approached Hua on the bed.
"Master, Master... hisshahissha..."
Perhaps the bodily instincts formed from long martial arts practice sensed danger—Hua unconsciously curled up.
Finally, Suyi approached the person who had appeared in her dreams every night for the past ten years.
"Hehe... Master, this disciple will show you filial piety!"
Then she met a pair of red pupils seemingly burning with flames, and the gradually twisting face of the red pupils' owner.
The smile on Suyi's face froze.
Before she could react, a slender hand seemingly covered in bone armor grabbed her throat.
"You madwoman, don't say incomprehensible things before me!"
Suyi instinctively mobilized her entire body's true qi, but found her meridians seemed locked, completely unable to use any power.
"Not... right. You're not Master... who are you?!" Suyi struggled, voice leaking from her throat.
Although this person's power and aura were exactly the same as Master in her memories, these crazed eyes could never be Master's.
The one currently controlling the body was of course not Hua, but Lucius who'd taken over her body.
His consciousness had originally been focused on the Europa situation, but he sensed a strange person had snuck under Hua's bed.
What surprised him even more was that the Honkai energy fluctuations from this person were just like cultivated internal energy.
This piqued his curiosity, so he wanted to see what this person intended to do.
Then he saw this person standing bedside going mad over Hua.
Now gripping the other's throat, as consciousness scanned the other's body, he finally confirmed the other had indeed cultivated internal energy—and practiced Taixu Sword Qi at that!
"Let me see what exactly you are!"
As the words fell, Suyi saw a crimson feather drift past the corner of her eye.
"Fenghuang Down! Not good..."
She hurriedly defended her mind, but unfortunately, her Xinyun realm was completely inadequate against Lucius's current Taixu Realm + Fenghuang Down combination. She instantly took a hit from Fenghuang Down.
The next moment, Suyi's face froze, then showed a vacant expression.
"Relax. Let me see your origins."
Borrowing Fenghuang Down's power, Lucius began reading her memories.
"Qin Suyi? Seven Swords of Taixu? Awakened to past wisdom? Hiss... didn't I make this up?"
After seeing Suyi's memories, Lucius even suspected whether he possessed some prophetic ability.
Because the Suyi before him, or rather Qin Suyi, was in a sense a reincarnator!
Lucius discovered she was precisely that Fu Hua's seventh disciple from the main storyline fifty thousand years later. After being incited by Second Senior Sister to backstab Fu Hua, her sword heart shattered. She hid Fu Hua's corpse from the other senior sisters, then wandered the Sichuan-Shu lands.
Her memory ended with seeing the strange sight of two golden comets colliding in the sky.
When she regained consciousness again, she'd come to this era, becoming 'Suyi.'
Initially she just felt she had some inexplicable extra memories. As time passed, these memories gradually increased. It wasn't until a year ago that she completely remembered herself.
"This isn't scientific, and it's not Honkai either."
Lucius pondered. Time travel was indeed possible in this world, but obviously not something Qin Suyi could accomplish.
Therefore, he could easily deduce that what caused her to come to this era was most likely those two colliding comets she saw at the end of her memories.
"Ten years ago."
Savoring this timing, Lucius thought of the intelligence Elder Konpeito had mentioned before—they'd detected through the Outer Key's power that time's flow had shown some ripples.
And the time was precisely ten years ago.
Originally he'd pondered this fruitlessly—after all, there was too little known information.
But now, thinking from Qin Suyi's perspective, he could actually obtain more information.
"The time Qin Suyi saw the two comets was in the thirteenth year of the Ming Chenghua era, that is... 1477 CE."
Using Fenghuang Down, every bit of Lucius's past memories was crystal clear. These memories were like filed documents that could be accessed anytime.
So he quickly retrieved information about this year in the intrinsic world from his memories.
"Was there anything strange about this time point?"
Lucius checked and found something that did have quite an impact on later development had indeed happened this year, which was...
—Kallen died at the execution ground.
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