From the end of the world

Chapter 677 Little Bowl's Understanding

I did a very simple addition in my mind.

“I have bound two fragments of the Divine Seal to myself. Adding them to the ten fragments of the Divine Seal that Xuanming sent, that makes twelve,” I said.

"If you ask me, it should actually be seventeen," Xiaowan said. "Besides the twelve we've counted so far, you have two unclaimed divine seal fragments that you entrusted to Sister Mazao and Zhu Shi for safekeeping. They are your loyal partners, and you can reclaim those two unclaimed divine seal fragments at any time."

"Similarly, I am also a partner you would never betray. The three divine seal fragments bound to me are available for you to use whenever you need them."

"Then there's Mr. Number Five, Yuchi... Although the fragments of the divine seal he possesses cannot be counted as belonging to Brother Zhuang Cheng, he has now lost the motivation to continue collecting the fragments of the divine seal. In addition, given the past connection, it is very likely that we can get his help when Brother Zhuang Cheng needs it."

Seventeen fragments of divine seals... Upon closer inspection, that's quite a lot.

Even Shenzhao, who once attempted to challenge the Lord of the Divine Seals, certainly never possessed so many fragments of the Divine Seals simultaneously. Adding together the fragments he left behind after his death and those he transferred to me and Yuchi, there are at most nine fragments.

Xiao Wan continued, "Based on this... Brother Zhuang Cheng, do you still remember the total number of Divine Seal Fragments that the Lord of the Divine Seal mentioned in the past?"

Upon hearing this, I recalled briefly: the Lord of the Divine Seal once said that the total number of Divine Seal fragments was uncertain, but it should be between twenty-one and thirty-five.

Based on the minimum of twenty-one fragments, I already possess 80% of the total number of Divine Seal Fragments. Meanwhile, Yuchi's side has at least two fragments. If we include their number in "our camp," then that number rises to 90% of the total.

Considering that Dog holds at least two Divine Seal Fragments, and Number Seven holds an unknown number of Divine Seal Fragments, the total number of Divine Seal Fragments certainly cannot be the minimum of twenty-one. But even if we take the maximum of thirty-five, the number of Divine Seal Fragments I possess is still about half of the total.

This number is quite astonishing. According to Xuanming, the Divine Seal can be divided into the Divine Seal of the Present World and the Divine Seal of the Apocalypse. Although both Divine Seals are products of the original Divine Seal split in half, they both possess the great power to transcend everything and change the world. And now, I have obtained almost half of the Divine Seal of the Apocalypse.

Even if we subtract the parts directly bound to me and Xiaowan, we still have as many as twelve unclaimed divine seal fragments, exceeding one-half of the minimum value and one-third of the maximum value. How will the master of the divine seals view this matter?
If the other great impermanent beings—primarily referring to the Divination Master and the Dharma Master—knew of this, what would they think?

They not only want to use the divine seal to stop the apocalypse, but they also likely desire to use it to change the world. Meanwhile, both the Diviner and Fazheng are truly shrewd and calculating, possessing a deep understanding of my true nature. Just as Xuanming immediately saw through my tendency to stir up trouble, they will undoubtedly stop at nothing to prevent me from collecting the complete divine seal.

At this stage, they must all work together to win me over, try their best to get me on their side, and nip the Evangelical Fellowship's plan to slaughter humanity in the bud. But once the Evangelical Fellowship, their greatest enemy, disappears, they will surely turn their attention to me.

“We can’t hide it from the Lord of the Divine Seals. At the very least, we must prevent the Divination Master and Fazheng from finding out that Brother Zhuangcheng possesses so many Divine Seal fragments,” Xiaowan said cautiously. “I’ve considered that we might acquire a large number of Divine Seal fragments in the future, but it’s far too early now. I originally thought that even if Xuanming was defeated by Brother Zhuangcheng, he would definitely try his best to prevent these Divine Seal fragments from falling into Brother Zhuangcheng’s hands. However, he actually took the initiative to give them all away…”

"Fortunately, just as I could not have foreseen that the Visionary would make such a decision, it is almost impossible for the other great impermanent beings to have foreseen such a thing."

"The only thing we need to be wary of is the divination of the Divination Master... However, the Divination Master cannot perform perfect divination for those who are also subject to the Great Impermanence. In particular, divination about the whereabouts of the Divine Seal fragments is bound to be extremely difficult, otherwise he should have collected all the Divine Seal fragments by himself long ago."

"Furthermore, as the apocalypse intensifies, his divination skills will become increasingly difficult to use. And now that the apocalyptic spacetime is unfolding in the real world, this is even more pronounced. He also has to do everything in his power to contain the spread of the apocalyptic spacetime, so he probably won't be able to devote much energy to divination about things like whether Xuanming gave the fragments of the divine seal to Brother Zhuang Cheng..."

The problem is, how long can this concealment last? Given my experience with the fortune teller, I have no confidence that I can remain completely infallible until the very end. This has nothing to do with my own willingness to conceal the truth or my acting skills; it's simply that the fortune teller, this unpredictable and unpredictable individual, is so difficult to guard against. His overt scheme will inevitably push me to the opposite side of everyone sooner or later.

The little bowl didn't urge me to simply give up all the fragments of the divine seal I had. Whether it's to stop the apocalypse or to push it forward, the divine seal is an unavoidable hurdle, and I would never let go of the initiative that I've gained.

She continued to delve into my past experiences, leaving no detail unexamined, and I recounted them all in detail. Sometimes, she would ask questions that I hadn't even noticed. Some I could answer immediately, while others I hadn't paid attention to at the time, requiring me to retrieve images from my memory and review what had happened.

More than two hours passed, and the "wall of seclusion" sealing off the city center showed no signs of being lifted. However, the feeling of unease was growing stronger, and Xiao Wan kept glancing in that direction. It seemed the "wall of seclusion" would be lifted soon.

Thanks to Xiaowan's dedicated healing, I have successfully recovered from my severe spiritual injury. That awful feeling of constantly being on the verge of falling into a deep sleep is completely gone, and my power output and control have become effortless. To put it bluntly, even if Xuanming were to suddenly revive, I could fight him for another three hundred rounds with renewed vigor. However, this refreshed feeling is ultimately a contrast to my severely injured state; there are still many areas that haven't been fully healed. Xiaowan didn't allow me to get up from her lap, but instead pressed down on my shoulders, somewhat forcefully keeping me lying down, and continued healing me.

"The treatment isn't over yet, Brother Zhuang Cheng," she said after thinking for a moment. "Or are you already tired of the lap pillow? If you feel my thighs are too thin and it's uncomfortable to lie on, then I can lie down and let you rest your head on my stomach... That might be a bit heavy, but if it's like lying on a sofa, we can find a tilted angle so I can hug you from behind..."

Following her description, I imagined that experience, and to my shame, I actually wanted to try it out.

But I find it difficult to say I want it. As an adult male, the thought of resting my head on a young girl's belly and having her gently care for me is incredibly shameful. Besides, this situation doesn't seem quite appropriate for doing that kind of thing.

Xiao Wan smiled slightly and said, "Then, I'll use my thighs to bear with it for now. As for my stomach, that'll have to wait until next time."

I pretended not to hear and continued my story, which I had interrupted earlier. Before long, I had finished telling the whole story.

"..." Xiao Wan fell into deep thought.

Judging from her reaction, it didn't seem like she was simply trying to figure out if there was any valuable information hidden in my story; it seemed like she had really noticed something very important.

I deliberately remained quiet and slowed my breathing so as not to disturb her thoughts. After a moment, she emerged from her long contemplation and said, "Brother Zhuang Cheng, do you still remember the truth about the apocalypse that Ms. Seven told us before?"

"Our world is formed by the fusion of two incompatible worlds, which is why we have the flawed history of humanity we have today, leading to the end of the world... Is that what you mean?" I asked.

“That’s it.” Xiao Wan nodded. “However, before Ms. Seven revealed this information, she also added a premise beforehand—the worldview she described cannot be guaranteed to be the complete truth.”

"She's just reasoning, and while she can at least guarantee that 80% of it is correct, there's still a small part that's questionable."

"Ever since I heard the truth about the apocalypse from her, I've been thinking about one thing... which part of the truth she told me is definitely correct, and which part is questionable."

“I once asked her directly, but she was unwilling to elaborate. Now, I think I can figure it out.”

I asked curiously, "So... what's your conclusion?"

“Our world has always been just one; there are no ‘two separate worlds’,” Xiaowan said.

"Wait a minute... this seems a bit problematic, doesn't it?" I immediately raised a question. "There were originally two worlds... isn't this a conclusion even the Underworld has reached? If it were just Number Seven's opinion, that would be one thing, but even the Underworld has the same result..."

Xiao Wan corrected, "Huang Quan didn't say in the materials he left behind that 'two worlds originally existed.' Although he used the terms 'common sense world' and 'strange world,' that was merely a division of different circles within the same world, not an actual admission that there were two worlds. He only acknowledged the existence of two contradictory histories, and the scope of their contradiction wasn't even 'the history of this planet,' but simply 'the history of humankind.'"

"Not only Huang Quan, but even Xuan Ming, who clearly has a deep understanding of the truth of the apocalypse, has never mentioned the concept of 'originally there were two worlds'... This is entirely Ms. Seven's side of the story."

After thinking it over, I said, "However, Number Seven's statement is logically sound. Huang Quan and Xuan Ming simply didn't mention it, which doesn't necessarily mean they don't acknowledge the concept. They might just have just not brought it up. Isn't it a bit hasty to deny it just because of that?"

Xiao Wan shook her head firmly.

"The concept proposed by Ms. Seven is also logically flawed," she said.

(End of this chapter)