What secrets does the Heart of the World truly hold? Or rather, what is the very significance of its existence? This question has remained unanswered since the beginning, a mystery unknown even to the Hosts themselves.

Drawn to and protected by the Heart of the World, the Hosts found its power realizing deep desires they once thought impossible. Yet, this very power also exposes them to countless dangers, with some living and some perishing.

So, what exactly is the Heart of the World?

Residing in the Bright Realm, within the Sky City, the Hosts began to genuinely contemplate this question due to a certain catalyst. Only then did they realize they might have been heading down the wrong path.

Whether it was their potential that attracted the Heart of the World, or if the Heart of the World chose them for other reasons, no one has ever definitively settled this matter. The so-called "potential theory" ultimately turned out to be nothing more than their own speculation.

The world is endless, geniuses are countless, and geniuses among geniuses are innumerable. Perhaps they are indeed geniuses, but are they truly the most potential-filled among this infinite world? Looking no further than the immediate presence of Yao Yao, who would dare claim their potential surpasses hers?

If the Heart of the World truly chooses Hosts based on potential, why didn't it choose Yao Yao?

This question, too, has no answer, but clearly, looking at the results, the concept of "potential" doesn't seem very robust.

So, back to the crux of the matter—the Heart of the World.

What is the nature of its power? Does it have limits?

A sealed Heart of the World. Driven by the Hosts’ fervent wishes, it can halt the time of an entire world, even reverse the flow of time and space. Furthermore, it can erase the repercussions caused by this temporal reversal—a feat, as Yao Yao put it, that even most Celestial-rank powerhouses cannot achieve.

Yet, the Heart of the World accomplished it, and while still sealed!

Even the power emanating from a sealed Heart of the World can surpass Celestial-rank experts. So, if it were completely unsealed, or in its complete state, to what heights would it reach?

Thinking of this, the Hosts, who had been wholly engrossed in elevating their own strength and never considering the most fundamental thing—the Heart of the World—finally understood. All along, they had been chasing the trivial while neglecting the essential.

Of course, improving one's strength might not be wrong, as many things can only be understood upon reaching a certain level. For instance, asking an ordinary person about the conditions required for ascension, the layers of heavenly tribulations one must pass, or whether true immortality awaits after ascending is pure nonsense; it’s nothing but conjecture.

But is it truly acceptable to focus solely on personal strength while ignoring the issue of the Heart of the World? After all, every one of their lives was changed because of it.

What is the essence of the Heart of the World? What power does it possess? Why does it reside within them? What is special about them? What is the key that links them to the Heart of the World? Can they even utilize its power? Wouldn't it be better to ponder these questions carefully while simultaneously advancing their own strength?

Like Lin Luo, who, while enhancing his power, was also researching the secrets of the Heart Canon?

Thus, once this realization dawned, the Hosts began to focus intensely on studying the Heart of the World.

Naturally, with their current understanding, they couldn't grasp the origins of those questions. So, starting from the basics, there are the levels of the Heart of the World: Sealed—Inception—Fusion Heart—Transformation Heart.

These four levels began to manifest in their minds upon reaching Inception. Wasn't this already providing them with a clear roadmap? Just like cultivation ranks—Mortal, Spirit, Earth, Heaven—they must climb step by step. Once the limit is reached, will the questions they don't know truly remain unanswered?

Then, they must try!

Even if they don't know the way forward, as long as their lives remain, as long as their souls endure, they have the potential to find the correct path. No one starts out invincible, nor does anyone begin standing above all living beings. All those original legend-makers, which one didn't forge their way through painstaking exploration?

Moreover, the fundamental principle of the Heart of the World is "believe in yourself." If they cannot believe they can achieve it, whom else can they trust? Therefore, advance toward the Transformation Heart!

And so, the Hosts in the Sky City began a myriad of attempts to unravel the secrets of the Heart of the World. But due to the constant threat of powerful enemies and limited time, to achieve their goal in the shortest possible time, they separated their consciousness and spirit, fragmenting it into dozens, even hundreds of streams, entering various small worlds through Yao Yao’s methods.

In those worlds, sometimes they played the protagonist, sometimes the BOSS, sometimes a god, sometimes a demon, sometimes a demon king, sometimes a hero. Occasionally, they played every role on the "stage" themselves, directing and starring in their own narratives—a hero defeating a demon king, a demon laying waste to a world, or a god descending to save humanity… creating one well-known legend after another.

This is the path. Whether human, god, demon, or spirit, each contains its own inherent mystery, and the mystery of the entire world. If… if the Heart of the World is truly the ultimate mystery, then by understanding these mysteries, they might one day find the road leading to the highest mystery!

No matter how much time passed in a small world, it was only an instant in the Bright Realm. Thus, to outsiders, though they only seemed to enter and exit for a few seconds, they might have actually spent ten, a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand years within that small world.

These experiences taught them that being a demon or a god was far more agonizing than being human, because in those worlds, being unique meant enduring endless solitude. Then, in that long loneliness, they searched, solely for that mysterious path, which might or might not be the right one.

Sometimes, they couldn't bear the pain of that solitude. With body and mind numbed, their spirits would collapse, instantly annihilating their existence in that world. But they would quickly re-enter, trying again… because the path abandoned halfway might be a crucial component; they could not afford failure!

Again and again, after thousands of years of traversing, millions of years of solitude, that endless process left them unable to count how many mythological eras they had experienced. Their unchanging appearances were now etched with the vicissitudes of time.

Life and Death. God and Demon. World and Self. Heaven and Earth, Flora and Fauna. Mountains and Rivers. Evil and Good.

After experiencing all manner of mysteries and finding countless false paths of mystery, finally, they found the path leading to the highest mystery, directly pointing toward the Transformation Heart!

The so-called Inception is a form of consciousness, or knowledge, that allows them to understand what truly exists in the world; it is the starting point for their exploration and pursuit. The so-called Fusion Heart is practice—opening the path to the ultimate limit alongside the world they inhabit.

Then, Transformation Heart means mastering all mysteries, surpassing the self, surpassing the world, surpassing all unknown existence and mystery, refining everything into their own hands, thereby reaching the absolute extreme!

No matter how vast the world, how wide the heavens, or how high the mystery, ultimately, it cannot overcome the concept of 'Transformation'!

Having grasped this point, they began to formally strive for the Transformation Heart.

And in this process, they finally obtained the power of the Heart of the World: the martial arts granted by the Heart of the World: Armor Break, Hunt-Kill, and Fusion!

Armor Break (): The power to shatter all things. Be it small armor and weapons, or grand formations and rules—all mysteries possess a point of breakage, and Armor Break targets this point to destroy all mystery!

Hunt-Kill (): The power to hunt and kill all things. Whether it be humans or gods, any "living" entity in this world has an appointed time to fade. Hunt-Kill gathers that fading time into the present moment for a killing blow!

Fusion (): The power to embrace all things. Water and fire won't mix? Past and future won't overlap? If these are inherent rules, then Fusion acts against these rules, merging all things in the world into one!

These three martial arts target almost all mysteries of the infinite worlds. No matter how towering your battle prowess, how absolute your control over rules, even if you possess true eternal life, lasting through myriad ages—just one technique from me is enough to overturn the universe, reverse Yin and Yang, and cast you into an abyss of eternal suffering.

Among Armor Break, Hunt-Kill, and Fusion, the choice varies by individual. Due to their inherent characteristics, each Host can only possess one martial art. For example, the martial arts of Tohsaka Rin and Sakagami Tomoyo are Armor Break; they cannot pursue the paths of Hunt-Kill or Fusion. Shana's martial art is Hunt-Kill, so she cannot learn the other two. Similarly, Isayama Yomi and Tsuchimiya Kagura’s characteristics only allow them to walk the path of Fusion.

Although gaining only one of the three great martial arts seems a pity, it is also a form of inherent fairness and protection. Moreover, there is an old saying: quality over quantity.

Each of the three great martial arts is all-encompassing. Even successfully learning just one has an infinitesimally small chance of success. Trying to learn all three is not only nearly impossible but also contradictory, fundamentally violating one's own existence; greed will ultimately lead only to self-destruction.

However, in reality, the Hosts can actually acquire two types of martial arts, because besides the three mentioned above, there is a fourth martial art!

This is also why the mysteries targeted by the three great arts are described as almost absolute, rather than absolute.

This is because, besides rules and laws, there exists another incomprehensible mystery in this world: true unknowns that can only be described as powerful, beyond any language or theory to explain—simply put, illogical power, purely transcendent in nature.

The three great martial arts cannot target this mystery, but that doesn't mean the Heart of the World cannot. Therefore, the Heart of the World grants a fourth martial art, one that can only be learned after reaching the Transformation Heart… a power that disregards logic and theory, named: Transcendence ()!

Armor Break, Hunt-Kill, and Fusion—no matter which path a Host walks, the final destination is always the same: Transcendence.

However, merely grasping one of the three major martial arts is harder than ascending to heaven; the difficulty of Transcendence is even less worth mentioning. Among all the Hosts in the Sky City, only nine have currently mastered one of the three major martial arts, and more than half of those are Fusion.

In terms of sheer combat power, Fusion is the weakest martial art; its advantages lie more in support and granting abilities, or perhaps it possesses the least destructive force. Thus, given that all Hosts are female, the proportion of Fusion practitioners is the highest. Conversely, those possessing Armor Break or Hunt-Kill tend to be the more violent girls.

And so, at this very moment, the Hosts who have grasped their martial arts formally display their power to enemies and companions alike for the first time.

"Then, let us Fuse." Just as Isayama Yomi and Tsuchimiya Kagura combined to join the fray, Leifuri arrived before Lin Luo. The two, their thoughts perfectly aligned, instantly completed their incantation, and Lin Luo held the Emerald Wind Blade.

At this moment, the Emerald Wind Blade looked much the same on the surface as before, but upon holding it, Lin Luo felt a unique sensation. He could feel the all-encompassing power within his hand; with just a single thought, it felt as if he could see all the world's mysteries laid out like blank sheets of paper.

Is this Fusion?

Although Lin Luo had learned of the three major martial arts contact with the Bright Realm back in Gensokyo, truly engaging with it still amazed him. He somewhat understood that Fusion, in essence, meant condensing all power into a single point, turning it into a blank slate, and the user of Fusion was like a painter who could inscribe anything they wished onto this paper.

What a formidable power!

Yet, this Fusion, with its terrifying destructive potential, was ranked only third among the three great martial arts. One can only imagine the might of Armor Break and Hunt-Kill. As for Transcendence, which lies above the three major arts… it is best not to even mention it.

"This is how it is. You all observe carefully now; I believe it will be helpful to you. However, I still think that even without the three major martial arts, your strength is not useless. After all… reality can suppress fantasy, but it can never truly extinguish it."

Lin Luo looked at Reimu and Kazami Yuuka, left only those words, then turned, raising the Emerald Wind Blade, and charged toward the Slaughterers.

P.S.: I am in a good state today; there will be another chapter later tonight, and if nothing unexpected happens, the battle should conclude in the next chapter.