Chapter 327

Chapter 327: Holy Sophon, in the Name of the Emperor, the Master Does Not Mind

Xie Qingxuan felt a bit sad that Little Qing didn’t take the chance to ask for anything, even though during the process of reweaving the Magic Armor, they could add any XP they wanted.

After all, since everything outside needed to be covered, the inside could be much freer.

Whether it was the lace design, the degree of exposed skin, the crossed interpretations covering the fruits, hazy transparent patterns, backless mermaid styles, or puffy tulle skirts, all could be customized.

Unfortunately, with Chu Yuanqing’s personality, understanding the golden retriever’s thoughts would be like seeing a ghost.

But most of the time, there was no need to understand because Xie Qingxuan would directly ask. The only reason she didn’t speak up now was that there was a cute daughter nearby, and saying it out loud would get her "in trouble."

Xie Qingxuan honestly replied,

"I have no impression."

Tang Liuli seemed thoughtful, and she shook her head and asked,

"Me too, doesn’t Little Qing have it either?"

Chu Yuanqing glanced at her sweet and innocent daughter beside her and honestly said,

"A little, but not much."

Tang Liuli felt sad.

Ideal State, Historical Echoes, the obsession with dead civilizations; after learning these keywords yesterday, they could guess, based on some memories, that the training location was a Slit World.

Theoretically, Chu Yuanying, who had survived the first playthrough and raised Chu Wang Shu alone while living in the new world for 17 years, should be very familiar with it.

But it was clear that something was wrong with the other person’s memory.

So, the secret that Chu Yuanqing was hiding might be more serious than she initially thought.

After much thought, Kirimi Miyuki gave a reply that left no impression.

Charlotte pinched her cute daughter’s cheek to get her attention and continued speaking,

"Tell me more about the other information. Besides the Karembu Empire, what well-known powers, wonders, common knowledge, strange tales, and legends are there in this Historical Echoes?"

Chu Wang Shu covered her pinched cheek and tried to scoot over towards Liuli Cat to escape her mother’s grasp, quietly grumbling,

"Isn’t this really like the instructor giving away hints?"

Charlotte replied confidently,

"Not at all! Even if Honey Qing doesn’t say anything today, tomorrow Esther will make her speak in public."

"Little Shu, don’t underestimate this training session! It’s not a dream and there are no rehearsals; everything is real, except that it will eventually turn into a mere illusion."

The Last Diva pretended to be serious and mischievously scared them by saying,

"Every action you take could create a butterfly effect that disrupts the entire Slit World. If you’re not careful, it might cause the Disaster Wave to erupt early, eliminating everyone and wasting the only chance we have for training!"

Chu Wang Shu felt increasingly nervous as she listened; she was terrified. She had just lit her candle, and now she was supposed to study in the dangerous "Other World"?

This was completely unreasonable for a reserve witch who hadn’t learned any magic!

Chu Yuanqing glanced at Charlotte and let out a light-hearted sigh.

"Don’t worry too much. Esther will take care of the language and identity issues. She has certain permissions in the Ideal State, so as long as we follow her lead, everything should be fine."

"If nothing goes wrong, you and the other little idols will spend a few months at Yves Saint Laurent Academy learning magic. Little Shu, just think of it as studying abroad."

After hearing this, Chu Wang Shu felt much more at ease and asked seriously,

"Although I don’t understand much about the magic in the Ideal State, as magical girls, is learning magic with normal humans also part of the process? I thought it would be seniors like Little Qing or Sister Little Yu teaching us."

Charlotte smiled and replied,

"Little Shu is right. For a magical girl, magic is a creation of the mind. As long as there is a strong desire, one can create miracles that humans cannot reach."

"And for the civilization of the Ideal State, magic is a systematic science. Every spell is like a math problem, with rules and requirements regarding the arrangement of energy particles, vibration frequency, activity levels, and various factors."

The Last Diva said this and took on a teacher’s tone, warning seriously:

"But the problem with rain is that while a witch seems very powerful, she is still limited by the capacity and nature of the ‘mind.’"

"It’s like how Little Shu, even if you can imagine a tsunami out of nowhere, you cannot release the corresponding magic. The so-called desire, wish, and abstract thoughts all have their limits."

"So, we need to understand the world and accumulate knowledge bit by bit to expand the capacity of the ‘mind.’ Instead of making you learn the physical and chemical aspects of magic, it’s better to be more imaginative and directly copy the assignments of magical civilizations."

Well, the key point is to save human resources. Otherwise, the Countermeasures Bureau won’t be able to find so many witches to train new ones.

In fact, Esther was completely in charge of teaching magical girls before.

One can only say that an AI capable of branching out countless sub-entities is indeed convenient, not to mention that it has directly recorded all the books available in the entire Yves Saint Laurent collection into its database, making it a genius in both worlds.

Chu Wang Shu successfully understood her mother’s meaning.

This simply means that accepting the magical theories of supernatural civilizations can be quicker than learning the complicated local sciences.

After all, directly copying the magical methods that have evolved over thousands or even tens of thousands of years is much easier than slowly creating new methods by studying math and science.

The lovely daughter nodded nervously and said,

"I will work hard in class, but I wonder if the teachers from Otherworld are strict."

Chu Yuanqing thought that seeing Esther on the stage would make her feel a bit more at ease; she didn’t mention this surprise and continued talking about the culture, customs, and history of the Ideal State.

In simple terms, this is an incredibly diverse world, where the magical civilization is very brilliant, and many fantastical races exist, revealing traces of gods in history.

It is said that before the First Divine Age, the gods came to the material world, fighting for the faith of the original races and starting several world-destroying wars that wiped out most of the living beings, causing the world’s anger.

Since then, it seemed as if a golden, sparkling tide swept through, forming a barrier that enveloped the material world, driving all the gods to the outer side of the world and allowing the surface beings to recover.

After a thousand years, the gods began to search for ways to gain some of their power and pass through the Golden Sea, starting the second round of competition, which future generations would call the Second Divine Age.

The predecessor of the Karembu Empire was a city-state that existed 1,461 years ago, during the Frost Moon of 487.

It was a time when the Second Divine Age was flourishing.

Humans at that time were very different from the favored Elven races, the naturally strong Orcs, and the beloved dragon race; they were truly a weak race, often caught in wars and facing many hardships.

To change this situation, humans came together, gathering the most knowledgeable and talented elites at a stronghold to study magic and alchemy, establishing the Yves Saint Laurent Academy, hoping to gain the power to protect their people.

Unfortunately, after being caught in wars numerous times and facing destruction and rebuilding, the achievements left by the Yves Saint Laurent Academy were few, and humanity was on the brink of collapse, facing a complete loss of knowledge and impending doom.

But at this critical moment, a student from the Yves Saint Laurent Academy emerged, creating miracles with alchemy, turning the tide of disaster, saving the great towers from falling, defeating the enemy, and reclaiming their homeland.

In ten years, this student gathered all the former human allies, developing the alchemical system to an incredible level, leading to a thriving civilization, a rapidly growing population, and drawing the attention of the gods, who wished to take them under their wing without success.

After that, the gods united to send their followers to attack.

The student from long ago created the Holy Sophon, which connects all human thoughts, during a time of great turmoil.

From that point on, using each other’s will as the center, the thoughts of millions of humans became linked, forming the magical Tree of Thought, leading to the dome and connecting to the Golden Sea, seizing some power, creating the Golden Law, wiping out the authority of the gods, and defeating all enemies!

The Second Divine Age came to an end.

After this, the power of the gods struggled to break through the Golden Sea, and large-scale wars for faith disappeared.

The miraculous sage who created wonders seemed to have sacrificed himself, leaving behind only the Golden Law as a nuclear weapon to deter all beings, allowing the various races to rest and recover.

As the greatest work of alchemy, the Holy Sophon was born after linking the thoughts of races, giving rise to true wisdom, and took charge of the Golden Law, existing in the wonderful form of the Tree of Thought.

It developed alchemy and magic, arranged a path for humanity, and created a new city-state centered around Yves Saint Laurent Academy and the survivors who participated in the defense war.

Thus, the Karembu Empire was born.

During this time, some gods communicated with the Holy Sophon for the sake of faith, negotiating to grant blessings regularly and offering divine power in exchange, which allowed them to spread their teachings in the empire, leading humanity toward true prosperity.

Then, at the suggestion of Holy Sophon, the people of the future empire respected their leader by calling him the Divine Emperor!

"So, as the home of Holy Sophon and Golden Law, the capital of the empire, Yves Saint Laurent, can be said to be the safest place in the world."

Chu Yuanqing finished reading the rough history and said to everyone.

Tang Liuli thought Honey Qing’s words sounded just like putting up a flag, but she was now more curious about another question and asked:

"So, does the Karembu Empire have no emperor now? Is all the power under the control of that AI-like Sophon?"

"Also, has that emperor, who created Holy Sophon, disappeared? It feels like their presence is very thin, just like a background character in a story."

Chu Yuanqing put on her black-framed glasses and took out a history book about Yves Saint Laurent from her bag. As she flipped through the pages, she seriously said:

"It is true that there is no emperor, but Holy Sophon fell silent hundreds of years ago, only keeping its original functions and control over Golden Law."

"So, the rulers of the empire should be the Tower Masters of the three great towers of Yves Saint Laurent Academy and the leaders of the three great Oath Families. They form the imperial parliament, which has some powers of Holy Sophon."

"As for the emperor’s presence, the book mentions quite a bit about this person’s great deeds before creating the Holy Sophon."

"For example, some alchemy techniques that are still used today or those sadly lost to time, like Ley Line, Heavenly Project, Demon God Machinery, Philosopher’s Stone, and the Hypereon Principle."

The last one is equivalent to the first principle in the field of magic.

To put it simply, in philosophy, the first principle means a basic statement or assumption that cannot be omitted or removed, and cannot be violated, similar to an axiom in mathematics.

In the Ideal State, it refers to a special magic energy reaction that even gods cannot go against, requiring high-density instruments and an extremely large amount of magical power, combined with the computing power of the Holy Sophon, to have a 39% chance of success.

By the way, Little Sakura wants to use the Perfect Rule to complete the Hypereon magic energy cannon, and part of it is based on this idea.

"Besides the technical aspects, the opponent also has a long list of battle achievements that can be used as idioms, such as the brutal slaughter of dragons and beings from other realms, smashing the giant floating island of the elf royal family, and flattening the Orc Imperial Capital and racial wonders."

"I just summarized the earlier parts and highlighted the most brilliant results."

"However, this person is also known as the Forgotten by Time because no historical records mention his name."

"Of course, it is also possible that Holy Sophon hid it away."

Kirimi Miyuki asked in confusion:

"Normally, whether for the sake of respecting the esteemed or to make the people remember, one shouldn’t hide their name, right?"

Tang Liuli took off the black-framed glasses from Honey Qing’s nose and put them on herself. Her emerald green eyes sparkled with wisdom as she confidently drew on her experience of reading hundreds of comics, transforming into a great detective, and said:

"Look, since this is a world where gods compete for faith, according to the story’s setting, with the population of the empire growing rapidly, extreme personal worship might create a huge amount of faith, causing the emperor to become a god passively."

"But this clearly goes against the Golden Law that ended the divine era."

"If the human emperor becomes a god, even to avoid opening the divine era they ended, they would probably still follow the rules and be pushed out into the world by the Golden Sea."

"At that point, the emperor would have offended so many gods and would surely be beaten up, right? It seemed like a dead end, so hiding the other person’s image and name was the most sensible way."

Little Sakura was greatly shocked.

Chu Wang Shu curiously took off the black-framed glasses that Liuli Cat was wearing and put them on her own face, wondering if the glasses had the power to add wisdom.

Xie Qingxuan thought for a moment and, with a serious expression, clapped her hands to praise:

"Liuli is amazing; it really sounds just like that."

Chu Yuanqing took out her phone and looked up the database given by Dream Weaver Rabbit, nodding and saying:

"Well, the guess makes sense, but the belief in becoming a god, which is a main condition, is not in the database collected by the Countermeasures Bureau over the past ten years."

"Anyway, this isn’t important; what matters is that the Karembu Empire belongs to the lawful side, the Imperial Capital has a highly developed civilization, and in some ways, their technology is more advanced than in reality, plus Yves Saint Laurent Academy is at the heart of the Imperial Capital."

"So, staying here for a year or so is very safe."

Although becoming a Slit World meant that civilization turned into the food for Disaster, the length of Historical Echoes varied due to different local situations and civilizational backgrounds.

According to the current data, the civilization of the Ideal State belonged to a very strong category, its world consciousness was very powerful, capable of transforming into the Golden Sea to drive away gods and protect the planet.

To be honest, compared to the idea of retracting the world’s awareness like our own, forming the Intracastral Sea and hiding like a turtle seemed a bit cowardly. The Golden Sea here felt a bit too showy.

But luckily, the Emperor had already driven the gods back outside the world. If a Disaster were to invade, they would be the first to suffer, acting as a barrier away from the gods.

Even if the gods were killed or chose to surrender, inside our world there were the Empire’s Golden Laws, which could quickly detect enemies from beyond.

So, at the very least, surviving for a few more years shouldn’t be a problem—we might even last for dozens or hundreds of years. This training session would only last for five months at most (with time being at a ratio of 10:1), making Yves Saint Laurent the safest place in the world during this period.

Of course, if time dragged on further, Yves Saint Laurent, as our crystal, would definitely become a hotspot for accidents that decided the fate of the world, easily sparking a battle that could lead to destruction.

After Chu Yuanqing spoke, she continued to hold a little lecture for the young idols. She could let Esther teach, but it was always nice to talk to everyone and gather some precious memories from the past.

Outside the window, the treetops swayed gently as the cute little forget-me-not tilted its head, gazing at the scene of the girls nestled on the sofa. Their long legs touched side by side, and the morning light poured in, creating different textures on their snow-white skin.

The breeze blowing from the lakeside brought a hint of moist air, opening the indoor flowers in bloom and filling the space with a serene atmosphere like burning incense. The vase beside the sofa shimmered with a gentle light.

The fresh bouquet of roses swayed slightly, just like a string of casual words; their petals were bright and dripping with color.

Outside the hotel, many townspeople had not yet felt the world’s big changes. They were waking up slowly as usual. The horses on the ranch were whinnying, and a cruise ship passed by the increasingly clear lake.

The little church was bathed in the morning light. Sister Ellie sat in front of the statue of the Virgin Mary, praying devoutly with a pure heart. In the yard, children who had just brushed their teeth were making breakfast under the care of their aunt, creating a lively and happy atmosphere.

The view zoomed out.

Dongliu Island, Osaka.

Kuromi Hitomi helped her mother with the discharge paperwork and returned to their small rental home, taking her father’s urn with her. She boarded the train back to their hometown with her mother.

Before leaving, she did not go back on her word because her mother had regained her health. She sent her cherished Little Sakura merchandise to Daxia and returned the three million yen that the buyer had given her extra, along with a photo of herself and her mother.

The young girl made plans for her future. She wanted to bury her father in their hometown first, then help her mother recover for half a year. During this time, she would teach herself to read in preparation for going back to school and applying to a good university.

The future would definitely be beautiful.

…

…

Daxia, Sea City.

Pei Xiaotong finished her vaccination. She was in the exercise room for rehabilitation, moving her pale and beautiful legs, her sweet little face full of worry.

"Come on, Honey Tong, trust the doctor’s judgment. You can do it!"

"Mom believes in you. Don’t rush; take your time."

"Don’t be afraid, my daughter. Dad has taken care of you for so many years. Can’t I take care of you for a few more decades?"

The little girl took a deep breath. Under the watchful eyes of her parents and cousin sister, she tried hard to straighten her muscles, stood on her tiptoes, controlled her strength, and struggled to stand up.

Then, she happily leaned on the parallel bars for support, walking step by step toward the light.

Clap.

The falling tears, drop by drop, hit the ground, shattering into sparkling gems, reflecting the hard-won dawn.

…

…

At the same time, the reserves of the witch, who were taking part in performances around the world and had not yet returned to their local stage, were informed of the upcoming training camp under the hints of various characters played by the super AI.

Thus, more than three thousand young idols around the world, in different time zones, were told some secrets of Ideal State and found themselves tangled in a life choice of whether to go to the "other world" to attend a magic academy.

— "Erase the memories of Ideal State and leave ‘Dazzling Stage.’"

— "Take a brave step forward and become a true magical girl."

This was enough to be a choice at the crossroads of life, shining clearly in front of them, making the wheels that decided their fate quietly turn.

…

…

On the other side, in the void dimension, there was a hidden place.

The archbishop held a staff, his black robe swaying, and the writhing shadows following like a swarm of snakes as he climbed the spiral staircase, ascending this ancient tower that seemed to reach endlessly into the clouds.

Behind him was a large crowd of followers, as numerous as ants.

After an unknown amount of time, after crossing the spiral barrier thirteen times, the illusory lock was turned again and again. A deep melody and song echoed from the dome, and the dimensional space peeled away like an onion, revealing the path to the end.

The pitch-black mist enveloped this twisted body filled with the flesh and blood of a disaster beast, changing the view before his eyes.

The sound of flames being ignited echoed repeatedly.

This was a temple, located at the top of the tower. There were no idols inside, but it was dazzlingly brilliant, with deep blue Liuli bricks piled everywhere, and sparkling gold as beautiful decoration scattered in every corner.

In the center were thirteen seats, each with its own teachings carved behind it, corresponding to different factions of faith in the Calamity God.

Although the thirteen sects had their own conflicts, at the end of the day, their fighting was the result of extreme loyalty to their beliefs.

Therefore, on a larger scale, this group of followers of the Calamity God would not fight against each other or pull each other down.

This Babel Tower was a stronghold built together by the thirteen sects.

After 17 years, the leaders of the sects only gathered here when it came to the event involving the Miracle Wall.

The Archbishop sat down in his place, with followers standing behind him like a legion, and he glanced at his "colleague" beside him.

The woman wore a white robe, and snowflakes drifted in her pure white pupils. Her beautiful face appeared like a chaotic mosaic, only maintaining its shape for a few seconds before becoming smooth again, splitting into hundreds of thousands of cubes, and then merging back into a false form.

Her body seemed to have always been like this, making a rustling sound from beneath her robe, not quite like a machine nor a living creature, but more like a strange silicon-based life form, with large grains of salt occasionally falling on the ground.

This feature was especially obvious, a gift from the King of Salt.

—Chloe, the Archbishop who follows the King of Salt.

Russell felt a sense of unease inside, unlike Khaos, Youmir, and Tenno-Gochu, who had divine systems and ever-changing powers, coming together to become all-knowing and all-powerful beings.

The King of Salt was very pure, belonging to an extreme and singular kind of dominant power, which may not be as changeable and seemed weaker compared to the realm of the Supreme Lord.

But for the believers, it was a completely different matter.

Khaos granted him the power of the Supreme Disaster Beast—Erebus.

The King of Salt bestowed upon Chloe the genuine authority of a god.

Although the share of power was small, and they could not truly be called a representative of divine authority, it was enough to make the other bishops feel a sense of danger.

On the other hand,

The archbishop had never hunted the believers under the King of Salt.

Due to the special nature of their authority, the other side’s believers were expendable; once war broke out, they embraced the enemy and themselves to be turned to salt, truly the most fearsome of all terrorists.

Thus, the cult that Chloe led had no higher-ups and no assistants; they were merely a group of people waiting to become human fireworks, and she was no different.

This led to the fact that behind them were nearly all soldiers made of salt blocks, while the true believers were very few.

At this moment, they sat facing each other.

The middle-aged man with blonde hair and blue eyes wore a suit and a colorful shirt underneath. His deep-set eyes were handsome as he elegantly lit a cigar, twirling a golden pocket watch in his hand, looking around with a teasing smile and said:

"Everyone, the time is almost here."

"Now then, let’s talk about whether each of you has completed your tasks."

The archbishop glanced at the other person, who always wore a smiling face as if pretending to be happy. His black robe fluttered as he tossed the glow stolen from the Lantern Gem onto the round table, sneering:

"Eiwas, no, it is more suitable to call you Thousand Faces."

"You’re still so boring. This is the remains of the key to the Ideal State; it should be enough for you. Just start the plan, and stop talking nonsense."

Thousand Faces did not respond directly. He smiled and recited:

"When that thousand years are over, Satan will be released from prison and will come out to deceive the nations on the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle."

"Everyone, don’t you find this very interesting? The one who gave me the power to glimpse the future and twist reality is himself trapped in a cage, while we hold the key to release Satan, and even… can become Satan."

The man’s tone was significant. When he spoke the last sentence, he intentionally paused, and his smile grew even brighter.

"The Ideal State is the promised land where we achieve our wishes."

Clearly, even the Church of the Gods could sometimes have "rebels" arise.

After all…

Who could become a bishop was not determined by faith and devotion, but by hidden talent and resilience. No matter how devoted a mortal was, they could not withstand distortion; they could not bear the gift without becoming mere waste.

Although the power of the Calamity God naturally possessed corrosive taming.

But sometimes, the erosion of the mind was not completely useful for madmen and those with mental illness.

Especially for the position of archbishop, aside from those who had been lucky enough not to suffer too much, most who reached this point had endured inhuman torture and were somewhat touched by madness.

Therefore, death could not restrain the thoughts and actions of this group; this temple truly harbored wicked intentions.

Chloe remained unfazed, her mind seemed to be filled with salt as she recited word by word:

"This world is not perfect; only the power of God can give hope. To see the pure heaven, one must first walk through purgatory. My Lord’s Eden will open during this journey."

While speaking, another item for "ascending" fell onto the round table.

The archbishop did not change his expression; he did not care what others thought. His goal was to share more of the [witch] in the Ideal State.

Among these, the foremost target was the severely injured Dragon Witch, who had begun to degrade.

As for Thousand Faces’s temptations, he saw them as a joke. How dare a mere servant covet the glory of the Supreme Lord?

Of course, Russell was not angry about this.

Because the Lord does not care, and neither does he.

As long as he followed the will of chaos, he could embrace the highest happiness.

Another bishop tossed a piece of material onto the round table and spoke coolly:

"Get ready, this time we will ‘deny’ the miracle of the witch, taking away the possibilities that the stars give to humanity, one by one."

"In the end, we will overturn the pure white and free the entire world."

The words hung in the air.

One by one, prepared materials were thrown onto the round table; the designs behind the thirteen chairs shone brightly, and a strong disaster aura turned into a tsunami, engulfing the thirteen materials, crossing thirteen dimensions, becoming the foundation for each layer.

Finally, the whole Tower of Babel disappeared in a loud twist of space like a stranded whale fork, crossing many obstacles in an extremely strange way and, surprisingly, entered the Ideal State before anyone else.

…

…

…

…

…

Push a book.

Summary: Reborn in another world, a dangerous Earth surrounded by crises, where monstrous creatures and hidden powers eye the world with greed.

If the manifested dungeon is not defeated within three days, the creatures will stretch their claws toward the peaceful society.

This is the world of "I Upgrade Alone."

The Grade C swordsman, Xiao Beiyi, luckily activated the system and was given the skill to devour the undead. Thus, a legendary epic spanning countless worlds began.

Regardless of strength or weakness, every member of the chat room had a unique skill, rising to join the ranks of world powerhouses.

[Xiao Beiyi], "My turn! Draw a card! [Power of Blasphemy] + [Power of the Shadow King]!"

[Gilgamesh], "Mother Earth, kneel before the God-slaying mech!"

[Ninomiya Nishiki], "Haha, with my ‘Midas Touch,’ I can exchange any item for group points! The shining, dazzling high life of a recluse is already calling to me! Everyone in the group, come work for me!"

[A cute Fenina], "Why is it that only I awakened a support skill! The success rate of this skill is only 0.0005!"

[Hoshino Ai], "In any case, welcome newcomers! I am Ai, good at mind control and listening to hearts. Please get along well with everyone!"