Collapse, women's clothing strategy Qiyana, then

"...Then, what about the Herrscher of the Void?"

“It’s been resolved,” Bai Yan gestured to the town of Klossen behind her. “Otherwise, why would our bishop come here?”

Ragnar was a little annoyed by what he heard. He reached out and pinched Bai Yan's cheek, but in the end, he gave up on "punishing" him.

She sighed, "You guys have really grown up. I feel like I'm getting old."

Upon hearing this, Bai Yan chuckled and hugged Ragnar's arm, whispering in her ear, "But I think Teacher Ragnar still retains her charm."

This time, Ragnar didn't hesitate and grabbed his ear: "You've really grown wings, haven't you? You even dare to tease me now!"

"Stop, stop, stop! I mean it from the bottom of my heart!"

“Tsk,” Ragnar let him go, then his attitude turned serious as he slowly asked, “Do you know what you’re here for?”

"know."

"...It was definitely the right decision to transfer you to the intelligence department. Come on, the bishop is already waiting inside, and there's a new friend you might be interested in."

Bai Yan nodded without saying anything.

There are speculations, but it's not appropriate to discuss them now.

Give our seniors some private space and show some respect to the ancients, since we'll all be working in the same unit in the future.

You can't just start by saying, "The eldest disciple of the Supreme Freedom Sect, whose entire sect was wiped out," can you?

Upon entering the town of Klosten, walk uphill along the street until you reach a high platform overlooking the area below.

Bai Yan saw that Otto and Li Sushang were already there, gazing into the distance, talking about something.

Upon noticing Bai Yan's arrival, the two turned around simultaneously.

“You’ve come, Bai Yan,” Otto smiled. “I’ve learned the basics about the Thousand Herrschers, and I must say, no one could have done it better than you.”

"You flatter me, Bishop. I only hope that humanity has a better chance of defeating the Honkai."

"Oh? So that's what you're thinking? Speaking of which, Dr. Mebius once told me that the Herrscher of the Void—oh no, Kiana Kaslana—is also on their radar. I wonder if there's any connection between them?"

Ragnar glanced at the two foxes and noticed that both of them seemed slightly smug. He pondered for a long time but couldn't figure out what kind of riddle they were trying to solve.

Looking at Li Sushang beside him, she was equally confused, her question mark even bigger than his own.

Noticing Ragnar's gaze, Li Sushang looked over with a questioning expression.

Ragnar shook his head, and then the two of them smiled helplessly.

"This is the culmination of countless years of human societal development, it's just that its application has been expanded."

Otto stroked his chin: "What kind of intelligence?"

"How did the bishop reform destiny back then?"

Otto's gaze sharpened upon hearing this, then he suddenly understood, and at the same time, a sense of relief washed over him: "So that's how it is. A plan that must be carried out even across such a long history..."

Ragnar finally couldn't hold back any longer and asked quietly, "What wisdom is related to the bishop's reform of destiny?"

Bai Yan patiently explained, "Simply put, it's about injecting mechanisms detrimental to humanity into human thoughts and feelings and then replacing them."

Ragnar still didn't understand, but didn't want to delve any deeper.

The two riddle solvers couldn't communicate.

“I’ve asked you to come here today to confirm one thing,” Otto continued, “what are your thoughts on my plan?”

"So the bishop has already confirmed that I have a pretty good understanding of your plan?"

Otto smiled without saying a word.

"That's fine, we can skip the intelligence alignment part and save some time."

Bai Yan continued, "Bishop, what do you think of Kiana and Bianca now?"

“They have undoubtedly exceeded my expectations, and even put some pressure on me, even more so than on Sirin back then.” Otto nodded, somewhat sighing.

"The bishop felt a lot of pressure when he faced Sirin? That really overturns my impression."

"Haha, that was natural. I had never seen such terrifying power before, so how could I not feel pressured?"

Bai Yan grinned, not delving further into the matter: "As far as the bishop's plan is concerned, I naturally agree that it can help me explore even a small part of the iceberg of spacetime power on the Imaginary Tree. And from the perspective of combating the Honkai, such a battle plan is also a great attempt. After all, the endpoint has been determined, hasn't it?"

"So, you approve of this plan?"

"Bai Yanyu is honored to have witnessed that great moment. He is now willing to fight for it."

The impromptu meeting in Klosten ended, and Otto left.

Only then did Ragnar press for details about the plan.

"I thought Professor Ragnar wouldn't investigate further, but I couldn't help myself."

"If it has nothing to do with you, I certainly won't care—but what is this?"

In Bai Yan's hand was a dull gemstone that seemed to be composed of countless tiny particles, with faint golden threads wrapped around it.

"The core aggregate of a thousand Herrschers, one of the key tools of this plan."

Volume 1: Chapter 127: Old Stories from the Chenghua Era ( )

Ragnar looked at the core of the Thousand Laws, and his gaze suddenly became strange.

"According to the intelligence, I remember that the Thousand-Man Herrscher has a thousand cores—are they all here?"

"Correct."

How did you collect them all?

"Trick me into controlling Qianlu, then kill me, merge one of them, and then find and kill them one by one by following the connections between the cores."

Ragnar paused for a moment.

She then asked, "Besides you, who else is being afflicted by it?"

"If I'm not mistaken, it set its sights on me shortly after its birth, intending to capture me and then infiltrate Destiny under my identity to cause trouble, but I ended up killing it instead."

Ragnar paused for a moment.

"Is there a Herrscher more frustrated than this?"

"Yes, the Law of Reason. The first acting Lawyer was tricked, the second acting Lawyer was tricked, and now it's the third generation. One core is passed down through three generations, the person leaves but the core remains."

"puff--"

Although Bai Yan was nominally transferred to the Valkyrie Assault Team, he actually spent most of his time fishing in Klossen Town, while also helping Li Sushang learn modern common sense.

"I have a question for you quietly. Of course, if it's hard to answer, just pretend I didn't ask."

Bai Yan was fishing quietly by the river, and Li Sushang found a spot to fish with him.

“Aside from personal privacy, there’s no question that’s hard to answer,” Bai Yan said, staring at the fishing rod.

“Oh, that’s good—but I still don’t know what Karen and Otto went through that made him still so hung up on them?” Li Sushang propped her chin up and looked at his profile.

"Here's what happened: Karen's appearance brought color to Otto's gloomy life, but as he grew up, Otto either didn't understand or pretended not to understand Karen's feelings, which led to Karen facing the darkness alone in despair at a crucial moment. As a result, Karen chose to fight against the evil Church alone and was eventually sent to the guillotine by the Church."

Bai Yan paused for a moment, letting Li Sushang digest the information slowly.

"So that's how it is. Regret... Karen was ultimately executed?"

"Haha... He originally wanted to storm the execution ground, so he released a Honkai Beast to stir up trouble, so that Kallen could take the opportunity to escape."

"As a result, Kallen saw the Honkai Beast killing civilians, so she ran to save them unarmed and was killed by the Honkai Beast he released."

“This…” After hearing the story, Li Sushang felt that the tragedy was a little too cruel for Otto.

"Don't feel tragic about this. If it's just a simple drama like 'I actually caused the death of my white moonlight,' then it's fine."

"Huh? There's more to the story?"

“Otherwise, what do you think I’m laughing at? Otto wouldn’t say anything bad about his white moonlight, but I’m different. I dare to make some bold guesses about historical details that may have existed at one time but were erased by him.”

Although Li Sushang was somewhat saddened, she was even more curious about the secrets Bai Yan had mentioned.

The soul of gossip is something no one can escape.

"The Valkyries risk their lives on the front lines, while the Papacy exploits them from the rear. This has been the way of things since ancient times. Moreover, the Papacy relies on the Valkyries' incredible strength without restraint."

Li Sushang: "Sigh...it's really complicated."

"Karen resolutely raised the banner of rebellion in order to end this situation. Even though she ultimately failed, she hoped to awaken the people with her own death and tell them about the evil of the Vatican."

"Then what does this have to do with that Honkai Beast?"

"Yes, after Otto releases the Honkai Beasts, the main focus of humanity will shift. When everyone is concerned about the Honkai disaster, it will be easier for the Vatican to write history, because there will be very few people who take Kallen's matter seriously."

"..."

"If I were the Vatican, I would definitely interpret Saint Kallen's death as 'the saint finally realized her mistakes and, in order to atone for her sins to the great Lord, resolutely chose to perish together with the Honkai Beast.'"

Li Sushang sighed: "In this way, not only is Karen dead, but her death continues to gild the face of the Vatican..."

"This is just the beginning. After all, when he overthrew the old destiny, things hadn't turned out like this yet."

"Uh, this..."

He discovered that he, who had once been weak and insecure, was actually qualified, capable, and had the potential to change everything; he had simply backed down at the time.

"Retreat, and then lose everything. Retreat, and that's why Kallen died. I think after he realized what was happening, he probably couldn't sleep for nights on end."

—If I had just been a little braver, I could have won everything, but instead I became the clown! I deserve to die!

Finally, Bai Yan concluded with a sigh, "So I feel that people can admit defeat, back down, and run away immediately when things go wrong, but never think that they are incapable. Even if you can't do it now, you must firmly believe that you will definitely succeed someday. It's better to be stuffed than to starve because of cowardice..."

"Your perspective is truly refreshing, but I really can't imagine that he... he used to be insecure, timid, or even cowardly?"

"Hey, the Otto you saw is a powerful and accomplished Bishop of Destiny in his prime; how could a mere brat compare to him?"

Li Sushang pondered 500 years ago—it was only a moment to her, but the next moment she felt a pulling sensation in her hand, and she immediately retracted her rod.

"Wow, they've taken the bait! They've taken the bait!"

"..."

A moment later, a fish appeared in Li Sushang's bucket.

"What great luck—hey? Why did you stop? Keep going."

“Oh,” Bai Yan shifted his posture, “Now you basically understand why he’s so obsessed with this matter. A man is a boy until he dies.”

"That's true—but then again, you're also from Shenzhou... what's your opinion of the Crimson Kite Immortal?"

When this topic came up, Li Sushang suddenly hesitated.

Their tone was somewhat tentative, as if they would end the conversation at the slightest sign of trouble.

"She's died twice already, each time because... I really don't want to make up stories about her, and I have no right to comment on the feud between you."

"So you knew all along..."

"I used to be low-key and timid, always staying in the background, because my strength and courage were equally small, and I knew too much."

"Haha, you're quite different from the rumors."

"You already know it's just a rumor."

Li Sushang stood up, dusted herself off, and said, "Sitting here all the time is no fun. I've heard your swordsmanship is very good. How about we have a spar?"

“Okay, but don’t use Sword God.” Bai Yan also stood up.

"Row."

After a while.

Li Sushang looked at Bai Yan's hand holding the sword, a look of confusion on her face.

"Wait a minute, those moves you just made... I feel like I've seen them somewhere before... Oh right!"

She suddenly realized:

"When I was a child, my master was acting strangely for a while. He would practice swordsmanship in the backyard every evening after dinner."

“I asked her what kind of sword technique it was, and she always shook her head and said she didn’t know, but she just wanted to fill in the gaps by deducing it.”

"Although there are some differences, what you just used should be the one my master deduced!"

"What kind of swordsmanship is this? Who taught you it?"