The moment Chiyo unleashed that sword strike—the entire Simulated Universe collapsed.
Across five different corners of the universe, identical Emanator-level energy fluctuations erupted simultaneously.
Four of them were successfully detected.
One of them occurred at Herta Space Station.
The station was thrown into complete paralysis for fifteen minutes.
Fortunately, the station's isolation systems were exceptionally well designed. Otherwise, had the protective barriers failed, everyone aboard would have been exposed directly to the vacuum of space.
However, the sudden surge disappeared before anyone had time to gather detailed data.
On the Teyvat Space Station, Ningguang stared blankly as every system suddenly shut down.
She was completely bewildered.
"What just happened?"
"Why did the entire station suddenly break down?"
Even Tingyun was startled by the terrifying energy fluctuation.
Fortunately, no further consequences followed.
After roughly fifteen minutes of paralysis, the station's automated repair systems restored everything to normal.
Chiyo was also forcibly ejected from the Simulated Universe.
She stared blankly at the terminal, which was still emitting wisps of smoke.
At the same time, a single question lingered in her mind.
Where did my power go?
Why did all that incredible strength disappear?
"It seems I pushed things a little too far."
"Hopefully the recorded data wasn't damaged."
Su Ran wasn't particularly concerned about the Simulated Universe collapsing.
At worst, he could just build another one.
"So?"
"How do you feel?"
"Do you still sense any remnants of that power?"
He looked toward the still-dazed Chiyo.
"None."
"It vanished completely."
At this moment, Chiyo found herself missing the overwhelming power she'd possessed inside the Simulated Universe.
"If it's gone, then so be it."
"The experiment wasn't a complete success, but neither was it a failure."
"At least we got some kind of response."
Besides, Chiyo hadn't entered the Simulated Universe to obtain the power of a Path.
Her purpose had simply been to learn Jingliu's swordsmanship.
But after Su Ran's little modification...
what was originally supposed to take a month had instantly brought Chiyo's swordsmanship close to Jingliu's own level.
At this point...they were genuinely bullying Ayaka.
"Although you couldn't bring the power back with you..."
"You should've retained the experience."
"You've more or less mastered Jingliu's swordsmanship by now, haven't you?"
While Su Ran hadn't made Chiyo personally live through thousands of years, she had still come to understand Jingliu far more deeply than before.
Especially near the end, he had deliberately created a situation where she herself could draw her sword.
That final slash...
had come astonishingly close to Jingliu's own.
"...Isn't this... a little unfair?"
Originally, Chiyo had been worried Su Ran wasn't taking her training seriously enough and that she'd lose.
Now...
she found herself worrying about Ayaka instead.
"It was never fair to begin with."
"Jingliu may be an excellent teacher, but she's still only human."
"All she can do is teach step by step."
"How could she possibly compare to me?"
The agreement had only specified one month of real-world time.
It had never said he couldn't use other methods.
It could only be said that despite living for over a thousand years, Jingliu was still surprisingly innocent.
She hadn't been nearly wary enough of how a Genius thought.
What era is this?
Who still teaches like some old fossil, one move at a time?
We've already entered the age of interstellar civilization.
There was still a Herta puppet inside the room.
It simply hadn't been active.
When everyone entered the Simulated Universe,
Herta's consciousness controlling the puppet had entered along with them.
Before long,
the puppet reactivated.
Without any warning,
Su Ran was tackled to the floor.
"What exactly did you do?!"
"What happened after you joined the simulation?"
Herta grabbed him tightly by the collar.
"Hey, hey..."
"It only blew up one Simulated Universe."
"There's no need to get so excited."
Worst case, he'd compensate them.
Thanks to the growing use of the Stargates, his funds were already more than sufficient.
He simply hadn't had any reason to spend them.
"That's not the point!"
"The Simulated Universe can always be rebuilt!"
"What I want to know is..."
"What did you do at the end?"
"I observed an Emanator-level energy fluctuation outside Planet Blue!"
"And it was a type that has never existed before!"
Herta looked utterly dumbfounded.
Was this...
the 'creating something from nothing' Su Ran had mentioned?
He had actually made the power of a fictional Emanator briefly manifest in reality?
That was absurd.
"...Your real identity..."
"You're not secretly a Fictionologist, are you?"
The disturbance Su Ran had caused was simply too outrageous.
Herta had even begun doubting who he really was.
Perhaps being a Genius was only a disguise.
Maybe...he was actually one of Mythus's followers.
"Don't compare me to those Fictionologists."
"I have genuine talent."
Fortunately, the Herta puppet wasn't heavy.
Su Ran quickly got back onto his feet.
"This puppet feels awful."
"One-star review."
"Next time, don't pounce on me with it."
Aside from looking cute, the puppet's tactile quality was abysmal.
Hadn't he already given that feedback?
Why hadn't Herta improved it?
"If you explain the principle behind this..."
"I'll immediately build one with the texture of a real human body."
Turning virtual data into reality...
was simply too outrageous.
It had already gone beyond the boundaries of conventional science.
"I didn't really do anything special."
"You can think about it in terms of converting between lower and higher dimensions."
Su Ran had originally intended to pick up the Herta puppet while explaining.
But after remembering how terrible it felt...he abandoned the idea.
Honestly, he'd rather hug a block of silicone.
Herta, however, couldn't care less.
After Su Ran sat down, she immediately climbed onto his lap.
"...Does the puppet get tired from standing?"
Su Ran asked.
"No."
"But if you're sitting while my puppet has to stand..."
"It annoys me."
Even if it was only to improve her own mood a little, Herta would still do it.
"Now keep talking."
"When I entered the Simulated Universe myself, I tried constructing an equation capable of breaking through the barrier between worlds."
"Then I put it into practice."
"The result..."
"is exactly what you witnessed."
"I attempted to elevate the fictional Eternity Emanator into reality."
After hearing the explanation, Herta narrowed her eyes even further.
She was even more confused.
"...That actually worked?"
She turned toward Chiyo.
"But she isn't an Emanator."
"So..."
"That counts as a failure, doesn't it?"
"But for that brief instant..."
"an authentic Emanator-level energy fluctuation was born."
"Overall..."
"I'd call it a considerable success."
Su Ran didn't view the experiment as a failure.
If anything, he believed it had taken another significant step toward success.
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