At noon that day, Reimu and the other six arrived at the Sky City, officially commencing their exploration of the World Heart and their cultivation of battle techniques. Just as Rin Tohsaka and the others had experienced, they needed to travel the Path of Reincarnation shown by Youyou to enter various worlds and collect the Mysteries belonging to them.

This period would be quite long for them; as for what level they could ultimately reach, it would entirely depend on their own capabilities... However, the experiences Rin Tohsaka and the others gained through this cultivation, while not directly usable by the newcomers, could still help them avoid many detours. Thus, as long as their character wasn't too poor, things would likely proceed more smoothly for them.

Regarding the cultivation of the World Heart techniques, besides one's own effort and comprehension, luck was also extremely important... Effort naturally referred to whether the gathered Mysteries were abundant or scarce, and comprehension concerned the ability to accurately understand and apply the Mysteries collected from various worlds. The final element, luck, existed as an element of chance in every single aspect, playing a crucial, deciding role in ultimate success or failure.

Take Misaka Mikoto, for instance. The reason she reached the 'Heart Transformation' stage and mastered the transcendent skills before other Hosts was not because she worked harder than others, nor was her comprehension definitively the highest; rather, her inherent potential allowed her to garner significantly more good fortune.

When luck grants one a step ahead of others, the resulting outcome is easily imagined.

As for C.C and Kuroiwa, they might not have exerted less effort or possessed less comprehension of the Mysteries than others, yet they still remained mired in the exploration of battle techniques... Bad luck caused them to lag significantly on this path.

But luck is not static; poor luck today might lead to an eruption of good fortune tomorrow. Therefore, concluding their future disparity based solely on the current gap would be premature. Naturally, the same applied to Reimu and the others; although they started this journey much later than the others, given their inherent abilities and the precedent set by those who came before, it was entirely possible for them to surpass their predecessors.

On the other hand, less than two days remained until Lin Luo’s departure for the Nasuverse world, and he began contemplating what needed to be done next... collecting the origin of the world, integrating these essences into his own [Body], mastering a worldview entirely his own, and thus stepping beyond the world to reach the Heaven Rank.

In the past, he would have done so without hesitation. However, recently, he had a vague feeling in his heart... that his path to Heaven Rank was not quite like that.

Certainly, the world’s origin remained indispensable. But beyond that, there seemed to be something even more crucial, though he was still searching for exactly what that might be.

After a long period of thought, Lin Luo suddenly recalled a question he had never considered before... Take causality, for example: there must be a cause before there can be an effect. But once the result manifests, the reason for it naturally exists. It's like a murder case: people always first learn the result—that someone was killed—and only after the case is solved sometime later do the bystanders learn the reason for the killing.

Lin Luo had not yet reached the Heaven Rank, so he did not know what state that rank represented. But conversely, if he first attempted to experience the state of the Heaven Rank, could he then work backward through deduction to understand what the process of achieving Heaven Rank truly entailed?

This idea hadn't arisen from deep deliberation but sprang into his mind in a flash of inexplicable inspiration. At first, Lin Luo found the notion absurd. He hadn't reached Heaven Rank; how could he possibly grasp the state of Heaven Rank? It seemed utterly impossible.

Yet, upon closer consideration, Lin Luo felt that it was not entirely infeasible.

First, what exactly is the Heaven Rank?

It is a powerful manifestation that transcends the world, capable of disregarding the established worldview—a fundamental breach of the world's rules. It is like the cyclical flow of the four seasons—spring, summer, autumn, winter—and the generative and destructive relationships between the five elements: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth. These rules are absolute for ordinary beings, but a Heaven Rank expert would smile dismissively. If a Heaven Rank expert so desired, they could disrupt, destroy, or even recreate new rules entirely.

For example, changing the progression from winter to spring to spring to winter, or altering the interaction from Water conquering Fire to Water nurturing Fire, would be effortless.

However, in reality, very few Heaven Rank experts bother with such trivial changes to world rules. This is because Heaven Rank experts, whether human, demon, ghost, or monster, all grew step by step, evolving from weak to strong. They have long become accustomed to these rules. Even after reaching the Heaven Rank, as long as environmental necessity doesn't dictate otherwise, they will not violate these deeply ingrained survival instincts.

Take Youyou, for instance. Beyond demonstrating immense combat prowess, has she ever deliberately done anything like that? No, never!

Heaven Rank experts do not need to do this, nor is there any point in them doing so.

But Lin Luo does have a need!

Because what he lacks is the ability to control a world. In terms of power and realm, he has already reached the apex, stuck at an absolute bottleneck where he cannot advance further without reaching Heaven Rank. Yet, the control over a world is something he has never possessed.

To break a world's worldview is to achieve complete control over that current world.

That is the Heaven Rank!

Conversely, if one can completely control a world, one can break its worldview.

Therefore, if Lin Luo, operating under the guise of a pseudo-Heaven Rank entity, attempted to control a world, he might be able to experience the true state of the Heaven Rank, perhaps even progressing further to master the worldview itself.

So, could he actually control a world?

If it were any other world, Lin Luo might fail. But having entered the Nasuverse twice before, he was already intimately familiar with its fundamental nature. Even if he couldn't achieve complete control, he could exert influence to a certain degree.

Then, through his very existence, by influencing that world’s essence bit by bit, it might ultimately prove possible to gain full command over the Nasuverse... Much like how the afterlife world where Kanade Tachibana and the others resided eventually became his Spiritual Armory due to his infiltration.

Thus, this method was theoretically viable.

"Perhaps, this time visiting the Nasuverse, I should try a different approach..."

With this thought, Lin Luo could no longer suppress the urge to act. He immediately returned to Gensokyo and, after over an hour, summoned all the acquaintances he knew.

The Scarlet Devil Mansion.

"What exactly do you want? I desperately need sleep, da★ze!" Marisa grumbled, rubbing her eyes with a sleepy look, clearly displeased. Only a few hours had passed since the banquet ended, and the group of girls hadn't engaged in any excessive partying; most had gone home to sleep, including Marisa. Naturally, she was yanked out of her warm bed from a sweet dream by Lin Luo, and she was very vocal about it.

Yes, you read that right. Lin Luo had gone straight to the Kirisame Magic Shop and pulled Marisa, clad in her pajamas and tucked into her covers, right off her bed... They had even done that six times; trivial matters like this held no weight for him.

In fact, it wasn't just Marisa. Except for a few who were clearly energetic, most of the attendees had been dragged out of their beds or baths by Lin Luo... Take Remilia; she was still in her nightgown, slumped over the table, looking as if she could fall asleep at any second.

Without the care of Sakuya, the omnipotent maid, her life had become quite miserable.

Seeing that everyone present looked somewhat dispirited, Lin Luo didn't mind. He smiled and said, "It’s nothing too serious, really. I just wanted to discuss a group trip with you all... I assume you all know I'm heading to another world the day after tomorrow. But it's bound to be lonely if I go alone, and you all have only been here a few days, perhaps not fully acclimated to life here yet. Finding something to relax with might be beneficial, so I was hoping you could join me in that world the day after tomorrow. What do you all think?"

"Go play in another world?" someone inquired.

"Yes."

"I'm going." As soon as Lin Luo nodded, Koishi Komeiji immediately spoke up. Although she had seen Lin Luo often recently, they had almost no opportunity to spend time alone, which greatly frustrated her. Naturally, she wouldn't pass up such a chance now.

"I want to go too." At the same moment, Flandre Scarlet also raised her hand. However, unlike Koishi Komeiji, Flandre simply wanted to go for fun.

"Very good, very good. Then Koihime and Remilia, what about you two?" Lin Luo nodded, taking out a pen and paper to record, as he asked.

"Since Big Sister and Furan are going, then I will go too," Koihime Kohaku replied.

"Hmm... Me...? Ah, whatever," Remilia mumbled sleepily, her voice weak. Looking at her state, she probably hadn't grasped what was being discussed.

But Lin Luo didn't care if she understood or not; he immediately wrote down her name.

With someone taking the lead, the rest of the matter proceeded without further obstacle. Apart from a few individuals like Keine, Eirin, and Patchouli Knowledge, the majority agreed to travel to the Nasuverse.

Keine was a teacher with a strong sense of responsibility and would not abandon the students in her school, so she naturally wouldn't follow Lin Luo wandering the globe. Eirin had no interest in the matter, and as for Patchouli... even with one's rear end, one could guess the reason this shut-in didn't want to go.

Keine’s reason was understandable, and Lin Luo couldn't force her. However, if others wished to skip out without a valid reason, he would not allow it.

"Um, Eirin, if you don't go, Reisen won't dare to go either. Look at how excited she is; she clearly wants to go. As her mentor, I think you should consider your apprentice's feelings... Also, Patchouli, staying home reading books all day will eventually turn you into a complete bookworm. You are a scholar, after all; you should understand that practice surpasses theory. And the Nasuverse has many strange and peculiar forms of magic—don't you want to go see them?"

Thus, to coax those unwilling to attend, Lin Luo immediately activated his Level 5 verbal persuasion skill.