Chat group, if you have anything to say to my Holy Sword,

"Good morning, lazybones." Xiling reached out and touched her smooth forehead, stopping her from swaying and falling forward. "Hurry up and get dressed. Today you either go find Theresa or learn the Taixu Sword Technique from Fu Hua."

"Huh? Why?" Kiana instantly snapped back to reality.

Upon hearing Xiling's words, the girl seemed to finally come to her senses, her eyes widening in disbelief.

"Ah, why?"

“Because I think you’re too idle.” Xiling said matter-of-factly. “I have to get busy later, and the thought of you being so idle at home makes me uncomfortable, so I found you a factory job. I mean, I’m handing you over to a mature and reliable adult so I can slip away.”

"Can I come with you?" Kiana patted her chest eagerly, causing her already loose pajamas to slip down even further.

Xiling sighed and rubbed her forehead in exasperation: "Go get dressed first."

After saying that, he turned and left Kiana's doorway.

Looking at the figure with its back to her, Kiana muttered to herself, "As expected, the things in the book are completely useless to him."

A few minutes later.

At the dinner table, Kiana, undeterred, suggested again, "Xiling, take me with you!"

"Forget it, I'm going to find Otto. What are you doing here? Looking for trouble?" Xiling replied while eating.

Upon hearing Xiling's words, Kiana's expression immediately fell. Let alone seeing her, just thinking about her made her unhappy. Kiana was certain that if she and Xiling were in the same space, she would make a move within 10 seconds.

Seeing the girl's pouty expression, Xiling smiled and suggested, "Go to Anti-Entropy and find Bronya or Theresa. But I still recommend you learn the Void Sword Qi—of course, the decision is yours."

Kiana nodded sullenly and stuffed food into her mouth.

After watching Xiling leave, the large house suddenly became eerily quiet. "A long-awaited moment alone..." Kiana murmured to herself, forcing a smile. "Just consider it a good time to get used to it."

"Let's go see Sister An first, and then we'll go find Fu Hua."

Kiana, who wanted to go to her room to get something before leaving, found herself stopping in front of Xiling's door.

Anyway... he's not here.

She muttered to herself, as if trying to find a reason for herself, or as if trying to convince herself.

The door was gently pushed open, and sunlight streamed in through the gaps in the curtains, falling on Xiling's bed. His room was as tidy as ever, the sheets were so smooth they were almost wrinkle-free, there were a few books on the bookshelf that she had never seen him open, and a few simple clothes were hanging on the clothes rack.

Kiana took a deep breath and cautiously walked in, as if she had stepped into forbidden territory.

"I just... wanted to see his room."

She thought this, but her feet moved uncontrollably toward the bed.

Kiana stood by the bed, hesitated for a few seconds, and finally couldn't help but reach out and gently touch the bed sheet.

"...I'll just lie down for a little while."

She took off her shoes and, like a cat stealing cream, tiptoed onto the bed, and then—

She sank into the blankets.

"Waaah..."

Kiana's face instantly turned red.

The blankets were filled with Xiling's scent. She couldn't help but bury her face in the pillow, take a deep breath, and feel her heart pounding so hard it felt like it was going to burst out of her chest.

"This...this feels so strange..."

She was just lying on his bed, but her body felt inexplicably hot, and her cheeks felt like they were burning. She curled up into a ball, pulling the blanket over her head, as if that would hide her shame.

"Speaking of which... Xiling still seems to treat me the same way."

She recalled the book she had secretly read a few days ago, which said that appropriate physical contact could bring people closer, but Xiling seemed completely unmoved by it...

"Could it be... that I did something wrong?"

Kiana rolled over, lay on her back, and stared blankly at the ceiling.

"Or... does he actually know, but is just pretending not to notice?"

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, her face darkened.

"No, no! I can't think about it anymore!"

She sat up abruptly and patted her cheeks.

"It's time to go see Sister An..."

But my body felt like it was glued to the bed, and I didn't want to move at all.

"...Lie down for another five minutes."

She lay back down, burying her face in the pillow, a silly smile unconsciously creeping onto her lips.

"...Anyway, he won't know."

Chapter 138 The Remains of the Void Tree

[The world already had a shape in an unimaginably distant time.]

[Trees and Sea]

[The tree, nourished by the sea, has endured countless years, branching out with countless twigs, and bearing countless flowers and leaves.]

[In the midst of this long process, in some insignificant corner, among a newly sprouting leaf bud, civilization called humankind was born.]

Civilization was born from the tree of imaginary numbers and flourished along with its growth.

Meanwhile, in the struggle against the Sea of ​​Quanta, the Tree of Imaginary Numbers must grow in the right direction, and this self-selection and elimination mechanism is a disaster called Honkai for humanity.

This is all that man knows, the truth called the Collapse, but he... doesn't care.

All he knew was that once he reached that place, his ideals, the end of his life, would be there, waiting for him.

[Attention all units, the Second Divine Key will be activated in 5 minutes.]

The countdown reached zero. A single strike, imbued with immense resources and energy, tore through the sky, the artillery fire striking the heavens with pinpoint accuracy. In an instant, the firmament shattered like a giant mirror, countless shimmering fragments raining down.

Where the mirror shatters, a deep, unfathomable, bizarre, and unknown space hangs high in the sky.

[The Divine Key has been activated... Warning! A large number of Quantum Shadows have been detected!]

Hundreds of strangely shaped shadows struggled to emerge from that chaotic space.

When their bodies forcibly squeeze into the real dimension, the surrounding time and space instantly become distorted, presenting a dizzying distortion.

However, as soon as these quantum shadows appeared, before they could wreak havoc, several dazzling beams of light descended from the sky and precisely pierced their cores, completely erasing them from reality.

This caused the blonde Valkyrie, who had already assumed a fighting stance, to pause slightly.

A few minutes later, the laboratory door opened, and Otto greeted the room with a genuine smile, as if welcoming a close friend. "Welcome, my friend. I've missed you so much these past few days."

"Heh, you miss me as your free labor, don't you?" Xiling retorted with a middle finger without any politeness, then her tone returned to normal. "Stop with the formalities, let's get straight to the experiment."

“Friend, you may have overlooked something,” Otto shrugged, looking slightly helpless, “you don’t seem to have told me how to conduct this research?”

“It’s very simple,” Xiling said, as if reciting a dinner menu. “You just need to record the data. I will send the Second Divine Key into the imaginary space, and you will continue to record the results you observe until we get the answer we want.”

Those who truly understand its meaning will find these words inconceivable—meaning that he can tear apart the barrier of imaginary space with his own power alone, without any external energy support, and provide the Second Key of God with the immense energy needed to start and maintain observation.

Otto did not hesitate for a moment, and gracefully bowed to Xiling: "Then... I'll have to trouble you, my friend. If you have any needs, just say the word, and Destiny will do everything in its power to fulfill them."

Xiling pointed to Durandal beside her: "Let her stay. I'm opening a passage to the Imaginary Tree. If anything unexpected happens, I'll have to ask her to handle it."

Otto nodded slightly to Durandal. With the bishop's approval, the strongest Valkyrie stepped forward and solemnly promised, "I will do everything in my power to ensure your safety."

“There’s no need to push yourself so hard,” Xiling waved her hand, her tone relaxed. “If things don’t go well, you can just retreat. Alright, it’s time to begin. I’m also very curious about the sight of the Imaginary Tree.”

“Then, please wait a moment while we set up the observation equipment and recording system.” Otto left these words behind, turned and walked into the depths of the base, leaving only Xiling and Durandal behind.

Durandal took a few steps closer. "Kiana... how is she?"

Xiling shrugged: "They're living a very comfortable life, either eating or on their way to play."

“Ah,” Durandal’s lips curled slightly, “that shows she’s very emotionally stable. That’s good.”

The more stable her emotions were, the lower the risk of her Herrscher consciousness remaining dormant, which made her genuinely relieved.

Just then, a cell phone was handed to her. Under Durandal's slightly puzzled gaze, Xiling smiled and said, "Add me on the call? Want to chat with Kiana more often?"

Durandal touched the back of her neck, slightly embarrassed. "Sorry, I don't have it on me. You can write down my number..."

The exchange of contact information was completed quickly. Xiling then forwarded Durandal's contact information to Kiana.

This made the guy still in bed shudder. He turned on his phone, jumped out of bed, grabbed his things, and hurriedly left the house.

Durandal's gaze swept over the silent Second Divine Key beside her, then turned to Xiling with curiosity: "You... can you really open the passage through the Imaginary Number?"

“If I want to, that’s no problem, ah, in your world’s language…” Xiling looked at Durandal and smiled, “I can do anything.”

When Durandal heard Xiling's words, he was slightly taken aback. Just then, Otto's voice rang out: "Friend, preparations are complete. Now... it's up to you."

"Chatting time is over." Xiling stretched her limbs.

Inside the laboratory, all the monitors were focused on the white-haired figure on the platform.

Otto stood before the control panel, afraid of missing a single detail. "Friend, show me your power."

Xiling took a deep breath and slowly closed her eyes. At that moment, the world seemed to freeze.

No! That's not right! A researcher staring intently at the energy reading screen suddenly had his pupils shrink—the value representing the Honkai energy concentration on the screen was skyrocketing at an unprecedented rate!

The source was that figure! An unimaginable amount of energy surged from his body, instantly filling the entire space! The wind direction changed abruptly! Sharp air currents were pushed aside.

A shield made of pure Honkai energy instantly unfolded before Durandal, resisting the sudden storm. Centered on Xiling, a terrifying energy storm swept outwards, the sky turned as dark as ink without warning, and the earth trembled under an invisible pressure!

"This...this isn't human at all!!" a staff member exclaimed in shock. "This energy intensity...is enough to support the combined energy consumption of dozens of our Divine Key experiments!" No one criticized his outburst, for everyone was experiencing the same turmoil. The energy required to activate the Second Divine Key each time was astronomical, enough to sustain the operation of a giant city for an entire year! And this white-haired man before them was still climbing in energy level, completely overturning their understanding.

“Even though I had some expectations, my friend,” Otto said, opening his arms wide, his eyes sparkling with pure admiration and fervor, “you still surprise me in unparalleled ways!”

Kevin, far away on the other side of the world, slowly turned his gaze to a certain spot.

"This energy... it's from that man named Xiling... he's definitely not simple."

From the moment he first saw the other person, even without exchanging blows, he could sense that the other person must be very strong, because the other person never concealed their strength.

the other side.

At Anti-Entropy headquarters, Welt Yang, Remian, Theresa, who had just awakened, and Kiana, who had rushed over, all felt a chill run down their spines; on a mountaintop somewhere, the Faded One and Fu Hua stood side by side, their gazes fixed in the same direction; all over the world, people with keen senses turned their heads, their minds reeling.

"Xiling? What on earth is he doing?!" The thought flashed through the minds of Remian and the Faded One almost simultaneously.

"Hey! Are you kidding me! This energy fluctuation... is it trying to blow half the Earth into the sky?!" Tesla shouted in terror.

The power detected by the anti-entropy instruments, if unleashed, would be enough to engulf half the Earth.

Just as everyone's attention was focused on this moment, and energy reached its peak—Xiling suddenly opened her eyes! She raised her arm, pointing straight at the sky.

"Open up the Dai region".

His words became law! Like a divine decree!

The world's surface barriers crumbled in response!

The sky, like a fragile glass dome, shattered into countless fragments in an instant! That chaotic, bizarre space was once again revealed above the heavens.

The shadows writhed, and a new quantum shadow just began to extend its tentacles—a torrent of silvery-white magic descended from the sky like a spear of judgment! Precise, ruthless, and swift beyond compare! In an instant, it pierced, purified, and annihilated all the emerging phantoms! Immediately afterward, invisible threads of will extended from Xiling's body, entering that chaotic void, and following his will, rapidly explored towards an unknown target!

At that very moment, the massive Second Divine Key engine roared silently, a deep blue light flowed across its entire body, and the enormous ship leaped lightly—disappearing in an instant behind the shattered sky.

Inside the laboratory, massive amounts of observational data flooded into Tianming's supercomputer like a burst dam.

The time scale ticked silently on the precision instrument.

One minute... two minutes... three minutes... Surprisingly, the Second Divine Key showed no signs of overload at all!

This once again overturned the researchers' understanding. In the past, each startup not only required astronomical amounts of resources, but the Divine Key could only be maintained for a mere tens of seconds before being forcibly shut down due to overload, often resulting in only a few, or even worthless, data fragments.

However, at this moment, everything is completely different. The Second Key of God seems to be drawn by an invisible force, constantly exploring and traversing the Tree of Imaginary Numbers, the root of all reality and possibility.

Xiling's eyes were tightly closed. Just as the researchers had guessed, he was directly controlling the Divine Key with his own will as the thread.

The massive data stream detected by the Divine Key appeared clearly in his mind. But that was far from all. What Xiling saw was far more vivid than the cold instrument data—one scene after another unfolded before him.

However, the exploration was not without its challenges. Deep within the forcibly torn gate of imaginary numbers, a strange disturbance arose. A cold silhouette was breaking free! Durandal instantly sensed this ominous presence!

The next second, a piercing shriek tore through the stagnant air—a giant sword, like the Sword of Damocles, crashed down from the sky! Its target was Xiling, who was meditating with her eyes closed!

"Don't even think about it!" Durandal tried to stand in front of Xiling! Just then—a giant hand suddenly reached out from the Gate of Imaginary Numbers!

Buzz—! An invisible wave spread out. A colorless domain suddenly unfolded!