Yu Yan naturally didn’t know just how powerful Shen Ning would become once she finished her seclusion. Xu Chuli told her that once that time came, whether it was Wen Shengqing or Chu Cang, they would be nothing more than targets for slaughter.
“Head Teacher, do you believe what I’m saying?”
“I believe you.”
Yu Yan believed it firmly. She didn’t even need Xu Chuli to convince her, because she already expected Shen Ning to become the strongest in the world. After all, her records weren’t just for show.
She just hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly. Judging by the way Xu Chuli spoke, it seemed as if it were right before their eyes.
Seeing Yu Yan so sincere, Xu Chuli felt a bit embarrassed instead. “Ahem, well, maybe I was exaggerating a little. Wen Shengqing and Chu Cang are still somewhat capable. Calling them targets for slaughter might not be entirely appropriate… but they still won’t be a match for Shen Ning!”
Yu Yan continued to nod. She believed it; she had always believed it.
At this point, however, she felt a bit curious. “Between Wen Shengqing and Chu Cang, which of them is more powerful?”
“It’s hard to say.” Xu Chuli tilted her head slightly.
“Stage 5 is completely different from the previous Stage 4. Head Teacher, you’ve been at Stage 4 for a long time, so you must have felt it. In the first three defenses, everything is about numerical values—whoever has the higher stats is more powerful. Upon entering Stage 4, with the addition of martial characteristics, certain counter-mechanics emerge. But at Stage 5, numerical values become completely useless. Mechanisms rise to the level of rules. This is what Wen Shengqing told me back when I was still at the Supreme Society.”
Xu Chuli was clever now; she had her excuses prepared in advance.
“So, both Wen Shengqing and Chu Cang have their own ultimate moves, but neither will easily reveal them. This is because a Stage 5 move can essentially decide the outcome in a single strike. I don’t know if you’ve ever watched those TV shows from the Spirit Age, but there was one called *Young Zhang Sanfeng*. In the finale, two people sat for several days without ever making a move, and then a single exchange decided life and death.”
Yu Yan had occasionally watched some TV shows from the Spirit Age, but she definitely hadn’t seen that one.
However, she could imagine the scene Xu Chuli described.
After clearing the dinner table, Yu Yan returned to her room. Xu Chuli also prepared to rest. As she lay on the bed and took out her mobile phone, she discovered an unread message from an unknown sender.
[Peter: Miss Xu, I have been thinking carefully. If those people’s target is not you, wouldn’t you be missing a golden opportunity for nothing?]
‘Huh? What?’
She scrolled back and realized this was a follow-up to her previous statement. She had said that if the target was her, she could just wait for them to come.
It had taken so long for a reply to arrive; she could only imagine how much the other person had agonized over it before realizing that her excuse wasn’t actually a valid reason.
Xu Chuli immediately replied: [Haha, Brother Peter, you are quite mistaken. If their target isn’t me, then that’s even better. I can sit on the sidelines and watch the fire from the shore. When the snipe and the clam grapple, the fisherman wins the prize.]
She sent the message, tossed her mobile phone aside, and muttered quietly:
“An idiot.”
To think someone could actually say something like that. They were treating her like a fool.
Back at the dormitory, Peter and the others waiting for a message were indeed stunned.
“This… this girl is young, but how can her skin be so thick!”
“She’s completely shameless!”
If Xu Chuli had heard them, she would have told them that yes, she was impenetrable, and her conscience was perfectly clear.
But she was already fast asleep.
*Zzzz*
—
Big things were happening in the Strange Stone world.
Although even Shen Ning herself didn’t know exactly what was happening, she could feel a soul-stirring disturbance emanating from her fingertips, as well as…
“The mandate of heaven is upon you, Shen Ning. You have finally taken this step. Are you ready to open the gate of god and touch the power of the divine?”
The Sexual Repression Reflection was speaking in its usual cryptic manner. Although Shen Ning always viewed its words with skepticism, she knew it never spoke without reason.
What exactly was this power?
**[Warning: Host’s Spirit Power level is fluctuating.]**
**[Ding! Connection with Inspiration Enlightenment detected.]**
**[Inspiration Enlightenment trigger failed.]**
**[Inspiration Enlightenment: …% up %#.%]**
This was the first time she had seen garbled text appear on the System Panel. Whether it was the Moonlight Ritual or All for One, One for All, the most she had seen before were question marks.
‘What’s happening?’
“I don’t know. How should I know?” The Sexual Repression Reflection folded its arms and looked at the others. “Hey, Shen Ning, do you know?”
The reflection of Shen Ning reached into its short skirt and rummaged around, but this time it pulled out nothing.
It meant it didn’t know either.
Pondering here wouldn’t yield an answer, so Shen Ning took Li Xueli to continue their practice. This time, they didn’t stay in the Strange Stone world; they went to Naihe Hall to check the Mortal World, seeing if anyone was being “summoned” today.
On the way, she explained to Teacher Li the process of being summoned to the Mortal World by someone through a dream. As long as the people here regained a certain level of sanity, they could follow this procedure.
Although Li Xueli didn’t fully understand, she felt it sounded very impressive. This was especially true when she followed Shen Ning through the gate and opened her eyes to find herself in a small town in Northern Europe.
“Wow, targeted teleportation!”
“It’s about the same,” Shen Ning said calmly. “It just requires some coordination.”
It had been quite tedious at first, but later she and others had established a complete process. The main thing was having the Holmes family cooperate in the Mortal World, sending people with Soulstones to find the target and help them open the gate.
It looked very easy inside the Strange Stone world—as long as the healing was sufficient—but the human and material resources consumed in the Mortal World were quite significant.
After learning this information, Li Xueli came to a sudden realization. No wonder there were several unfamiliar foreigners waiting outside, in addition to the family who were currently reuniting.
“They spent so much effort and invested so much; they must think very highly of you. They must believe you can protect the world in the future!”
Li Xueli was a Culture Class teacher and had read the Four Great Classics of the Spirit Age.
Shen Ning shook her head. ‘Protect the world?’
“It’s nothing, I was just saying. By the way, what are we doing here?”
“Nothing in particular.” The young girl shook her head. “I just wanted to feel it.”
She wanted to feel the power of Emotional Value and see how the System reacted.
The result was a bit disappointing. She was still moved by the family scene before her, but other than that, there was nothing special.
“I think some changes might have occurred within me.” She raised her hand, allowing a bee to land on the back of her hand. “But I don’t know what changed.”
At that moment, Li Xueli said, “There are definitely changes. You’ve been glowing since a moment ago. You’re still emitting light right now.”
‘Glow?’
Shen Ning looked down and saw that she really was glowing, though it wasn’t very obvious under the soft sunlight.
But what use was this light? Could it defeat the final enemies mentioned by Xu Chuli—the one named Wen something and the one named Chu something?
A sense of divine solemnity surged from the bottom of her heart, as if she had heard two words—’They can’t.’ But she didn’t know who had said it.
“I didn’t say it.”
“Not me either.”
“I didn’t say anything, and neither did she.”
The three reflections respectively denied responsibility.
Shen Ning didn’t pursue the matter, but her thoughts shifted. If she couldn’t manage that, then as a second-best option, could she help Xu Chuli dismantle the Supreme Society?
“Eh, Shen Ning, the light on you has disappeared.” Li Xueli, who had been observing her, cried out.
The young girl looked down and saw the bee on the back of her hand lightly fluttering its wings and flying away.