"We got lucky this time; not a single one of us died. Although the haul wasn't quite what we anticipated, at least we brought something back... This side quest ended perfectly," Chu Xuan remarked.

At that moment, the group was gathered in a small hotel in Egypt, right beside the unique gateway that served as their entry and exit point to this world of myth and legend. They only needed to wait for the designated time to return to the "Main God" space, and only two days remained. After the harrowing ordeal, a sluggish inertia had settled over everyone, so they decided to rest in the city for these final days—fishing a little, chatting, and indulging in long sleeps. Such leisurely days were a rare luxury for the team.

Chu Xuan himself had only recently begun to fully awaken. The battle deep underground had utterly drained his spirit and life force. Judging by his outward appearance, he looked at least fifty years older. Yet, upon waking, he still maintained that detached, deadpan expression as if nothing could concern him, his catchphrase unchanged even in speech. The passage of age had barely affected him.

"...And that is considered lucky?"

Zheng Zha pointed to his arm with irritation. The arm he used to wield the Tiger Soul Blade had withered completely; now, he couldn't even feel the slightest sensation, let alone move it. It would have been better if it ached or itched, but this state of necrosis, where even energy input was futile, had genuinely terrified him. Fortunately, the withered part was limited only to the arm that held the Tiger Soul Blade. The rest of his body remained unharmed, which was his only small comfort.

Chu Xuan nodded and gestured toward the black and white crystal gripped in Zheng Zha's other hand. "As you noted, the primary energies in cultivation are divided into positive and negative, with many variations, but they always center on these two. However, you lack the cultivation method to control these energies. If it were True Essence power, it would be manageable, as positive energy aligns with the body's inherent attributes. But Demonic Energy is purely negative. It's like deep water to a swimmer: those who can swim master it, while those who can't will simply drown. Your arm has effectively 'drowned.' It will have to wait for full repair back in the 'Main God' space."

Zheng Zha sighed, not saying much more. He glanced around. Except for the team members still fast asleep, everyone else had gone out to enjoy themselves. Having finally earned this respite, and with Zheng Zha and Chu Xuan too injured to join, the others were determined to rest well.

"Let's put my arm aside for now... I have two matters. The first concerns Zhao Yingkong. I told you everything I saw in my dreams, word for word. You called it the emergence of a secondary personality and the dormancy of the primary one, but I don't care about those technicalities. What I care about is... our companion? The Zhao Yingkong who was with us from the start, the quiet, reserved little girl with a sensitive heart, the one who knew all sorts of killing techniques yet still read romance novels... I want to know about her. Is she alive or dead?"

Chu Xuan let out a cold laugh. "Is that so? Or is it because the primary personality of Zhao Yingkong was wary of you? And as a Loli-con, you feel she has slipped beyond your control, prompting you to desperately seek the return of the little Loli who saw you and everyone else as comrades?"

Zheng Zha's face flushed scarlet as he quickly rebutted, "While I do wish the original girl would return, it's not as bad as you paint it. It's simply because she is an incredibly important partner to us! Forget Loli this or Loli that; I have absolutely no designs on her! I'm just worried about my companion. How could a perfectly fine person suddenly become a fabricated alter ego? I can't accept that! I don't want our former partner to be nothing more than a phantom!"

Chu Xuan retracted his sneer, merely pushing up his glasses. "Whether it's the primary or secondary personality, both are aspects she generated autonomously. To use an inelegant analogy: if you find eating greens incredibly unappetizing but you have no choice but to eat them, most ordinary people will grit their teeth and swallow—that gritting of teeth is an act of endurance. But if you face a situation more unbearable than unpleasantness—such as death, or unbearable mental terror, grief, or sorrow—then that act of gritting your teeth transforms into a subconscious evasion by your main consciousness. At that point, a secondary personality will instinctively manifest. This is the most common origin of multiple personality disorder. Zhao Yingkong likely did the same, fleeing from experiences she couldn't bear. In other words, there is no 'her' and 'that her'; everything is just her attempt to escape pain and the past. And this silent version of her presented herself as aloof precisely because she feared getting hurt again after making friends, yet you still accepted her as a partner... Perhaps the very word 'partner' is what causes her the most agony..."

Zheng Zha paused, dazed. He curiously touched Chu Xuan's forehead before asking in surprise, "Did you eat something wrong, kid? You’re suddenly saying something so... humane. Is some terrifying event about to occur? Or are you plotting something again? Dammit, I'm warning you now, whatever you're planning this time, you have to tell me beforehand!"

Chu Xuan turned his head away. "I'm not planning anything..."

"Not planning anything... Then why are you turning away!"

Ignoring Zheng Zha, Chu Xuan continued speaking to himself. "No one is born trusting others. Have you forgotten the past? From stranger to trust, from trust to partnership—how did you achieve it before? Do the same now... She is still Zhao Yingkong, isn't she?"

Zheng Zha opened his mouth as if to object, but looking at Chu Xuan's perpetually impassive face, he finally nodded in agreement. He then continued, "Let's leave the first matter there for now. Anyway, she's still the Zhao Yingkong I know most of the time. That main personality state only emerges for a few minutes at a time, like an Ultraman who can only power up for a few glorious minutes... Ah, let's put that topic aside. For the second matter: how far have you researched the things I brought back? Those are cultivation techniques and artifacts! The future prosperity of the Central Continent Team depends on your research."

Chu Xuan shot back irritably, "I've had those things for less than twenty-four hours. What do you take me for?"

"I take you for Doraemon... Fine, fine. We'll leave those things for you to study after we get back. But at least tell me this: why does the cultivation I witnessed look completely different from the cultivation I thought I knew? Cultivation should be ancient and rustic, but what I saw in that attic was technology that utterly surpassed modern science—or rather, that cultivation looked exactly like high technology. Could it be that we were deceived from the very beginning? Was it all just a trap set by those Western Saints, a delicious lure that turned out to be nothing more than holographic projections?"

This question had been deeply lodged in Chu Xuan’s mind since he first entered that attic, and he was the only one in the entire Central Continent Team capable of answering it.

"A trap is unlikely; the probability that it’s a genuine relic of true cultivators exceeds eighty percent. As for your question..."

Chu Xuan paused in thought and then asked, "In your mind, what should a world of fantasy, magic, or myth look like? Like most games in the real world, or those novels, or fictional Western fantasy settings?"

Zheng Zha looked stunned. "Uh, a magical world? It should be like the Middle Ages—swords, magic, knights, kings, demons, monsters, right? Like the world of The Lord of the Rings we visited—that's a perfect example. What's wrong with that?"

"The issue of time."

Chu Xuan looked at Zheng Zha. "Any civilization, simply by existing, is rational, and thus it must progress. Just as our society advances technologically, through thousands of years of advancement, regression, and further advancement, until technology accumulates to a sufficient degree and erupts like a fountain, leading to modern civilization. The world you envision is basically just the Middle Ages era of that world. Even a magical world cannot remain static in the Middle Ages. That world will also progress. For instance, if technology allows people to fly, manufacturing devices that let ordinary people fly, then magic can too. How about creating flying magic carpets using inscribed runes, knowledge, and energy technology? Imagine an anti-gravity rune etched onto the carpet, charged with energy—it would function on the exact same principle as an anti-gravity engine used in future technology, only one uses runic knowledge and the other uses mechanical knowledge. That’s the only difference."

"Therefore, as long as it's a civilization, progress is inevitable. If it cannot progress, that civilization will eventually be phased out by one that does. Based on human need, whether it's cultivation, technology, magic, or anything else, they will all move toward the same future; they are destined to converge."

Chu Xuan paused here. "From the several runic combination formulas we currently know, and the array combination formulas—if energy is channeled into those runes and arrays, over ninety-eight percent of them are strikingly similar to modern integrated circuit boards. Do you understand now? It's just that the application methods differ. Cultivation is also a form of science because cultivation is fundamentally about refining one's being into reality, which is identical to science—both seek the reality of the universe... So, those esoteric concepts, like becoming a supreme master through a line of poetry, or portraying cultivation as vague and mystical to the point where even the practitioners don't know what it is—that is definitely not cultivation. True cultivation is actually the manifestation of the technology behind the universe's reality... Mortals' wisdom is always filled with foolish notions, complicating something profoundly simple. The technological gap between cultivation and real-world technology is about a thousand years. If the real world's mechanical technology continues to advance at its current pace for another thousand years, that should be cultivation—no, it should be the elementary stage of cultivation... That's the basic picture. Detailed data on the 'Shining Stone' and the usage methods for the two artifacts require return to the 'Main God' space."

Zheng Zha stared blankly at Chu Xuan for a long time before finally managing a sheepish chuckle. "Heh heh, although I listened, I didn't quite grasp it all, but I essentially understand some things now. You're saying cultivation is just a different manifestation of high technology, right? Got it, understood. It was my fault for asking that question earlier. You rest up..." With that, he scratched his head and walked toward the door, muttering things like "Doraemon's wisdom..." under his breath.

Chu Xuan paid him no mind. With the annoying Zheng Zha gone, he could close his eyes and think. However, just as Zheng Zha reached the doorway, he suddenly turned back and asked once more, "Chu Xuan, have you arranged things back in China? We've done some seriously outrageous things. How will those two factions over there deal with the other nations? Will they be collectively attacked by the world powers? Do we need to do anything?"

Chu Xuan opened his eyes and let out a cold laugh. He shook his head. "It's already... irrelevant. If my deductions are correct, the world's geopolitical landscape is about to transform exactly into what you hotheads wished for. That's the basic situation..."

"The basic situation is... what exactly is it?!"

Nanjing, China. Since the Nanjing Massacre, the once desolate capital of China had finally begun to show faint signs of revival. Not only had the Chinese government personnel returned to the city, but an enormous—no, an extraordinarily large—number of foreign envoys had also converged there, because they had no choice...

"...Chairman Chiang, are we really going to say this to the British envoy? Isn't that going too far? Fully reclaim all concessions, exempt all past loans and war reparations with interest, and demand repayment for the opium trade, the numerous wars starting from the Opium War, and the fines for selling vast amounts of opium into our country. Reclaim customs duties, mortgage the salt tax revenue, seize all other British interests in China, and the same demands for several other nations... Such diplomatic language, Chairman Chiang, will shock our friendly neighbors!"

"Damn it all! It’s our turn to be shocked now! 'Friendly neighbors shocked'? If you can't handle being Foreign Minister, I can replace you immediately; there are plenty who yearn to leave their mark on history... Let me tell you, history has changed. The history unfolding now is no longer Europe's history—no, it is no longer the history of the white race! As long as that pillar stands there, we have enough peaceful time to develop and grow strong. Our compatriots will stand tall again! When we were weak, we could accept compromises, but why should we accept them now? Tell them this: sign if you want to sign; refuse if you don't. We’ll see who's more desperate!"

In the center of Nanjing stood a massive, luminous crystal spire, over ten meters long. This was a pillar that Wang Xia had specifically instructed Zheng Zha to sever with the Tiger Soul Blade when they left the cave entrance. According to Wang Xia, this was a small gift he wished to leave for the Chinese people of this world. The Chinese had endured too much suffering. If their hardship could be lessened, he wouldn't care if he was cursed as a nationalist hothead...

"When the crystal pillar falls, the foreign devils perish!"

Zheng Zha had asked Wang Xia at the time, "How much effect do you think this will have?"

"I don't know..." Wang Xia frowned, thinking for a long time. "The future path must be forged by themselves. Sixty percent of China's weakness is self-inflicted, and only forty percent is caused by external forces... This pillar is only meant to fill the gap created by that forty percent. The rest depends on them... If they remain adept at fighting amongst themselves but incompetent against outsiders, then even if they had hundreds of these pillars, even if we gave them magic cannons, they would likely just end up as spoiled brats. Therefore, to become strong, they must rely only on themselves..."

And then the Central Continent Team departed... Jumps to