"Chen Li, can you really learn anything from that black magic book? It's not even from the same universe, is it?"
When Qingque left in the afternoon, Chen Li was reading a grimoire. When she returned, he was still reading it.
Don't ask what Qingque was doing. Just know that, under Chen Li's guidance, she had specifically gone to buy a taro boba milk tea—with extra toppings, double taro paste, and triple sugar—as an offering for Fu Xuan. Qingque could only hope that when her identity was eventually revealed, Fu Xuan would go easy on her, at least for the sake of the milk tea.
"I can," Chen Li nodded.
Black magic from another world was, to put it bluntly, just another way of controlling energy. Even though the universal laws were different, one should never underestimate the professional level of a Curio Forger!
No matter what bizarre thing it was, as long as its level was below three, Chen Li could learn it quickly!
This passive ability, which was practically on the level of a rule-based skill, meant Chen Li never had to worry about being stumped by a martial arts manual. It very easily solved a classic problem: if you transmigrated into a wuxia world and managed to snatch the Lingbo Weibu manual before Duan Yu, you wouldn't have to worry about spitting up a mouthful of blood in frustration while staring at a bunch of illegible scribbles and overly technical terms for human meridians.
You think secret techniques are handed out for free just by logging in? No, no, no. If you transmigrated to ancient times, you'd be a complete illiterate, and you probably wouldn't even speak the language.
"So, can you cast a spell? Let me see," Qingque asked curiously.
"Probably not," Chen Li shook his head.
"Why?"
"I've basically mastered all these spells, even raising them to LV3. The problem is, the magic power in my body is only enough to conjure the tiny flame of a small fireball. You want me to show you a spell? I'm afraid I'd have to shorten my lifespan by a year to do it," Chen Li said with a shrug.
He didn't know if this was a property of magic in Yurine's world or if it was universal, but it seemed one could substitute life force for magic power.
"Huh, that makes me wonder... can't you just forge a Curio for yourself that lets you resurrect? That way, you could waste your life force freely, and it'd be like having an infinite mana bar, wouldn't it?" Qingque held up a finger.
"Are you some kind of genius? That's actually..." Hearing her words, Chen Li was suddenly struck with inspiration.
He had the Friends Circle to block fatal damage, the Guide to instantly teleport him home after three seconds, and even a Blank Miracle Card for an unconditional resurrection.
So the question was... was there a cheap and effective revival item that would allow him to resurrect without wasting something as precious as a Miracle Card? Or one that could let him resurrect other people?
Yes, my friends, there was.
The [Heroic Spirit] Entry was one, but it wasn't universally applicable. Not everyone was remembered by history and qualified to be called a Heroic Spirit.
While making resurrection too easy would cheapen it, customers had their needs. Clients who wanted to create a world with "so-and-so" in it were common across all of anime.
In the Honkai world, there was an Aeon named HooH, who presided over the Path of Equilibrium and was one of the most ancient Aeons. Its duty was to maintain the balance of the universe's major powers, splitting concepts into a convertible binary to create equilibrium between positive and negative forces. The main reason no one ever saw this Aeon was...
It had dissolved its own will into the logical framework of the cosmos, eternally maintaining the balance and stability of all things.
In human terms, it had merged with the Dao.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder ascended to godhood. How could you stand against that?
Chen Li had reason to suspect that HooH had a hand in the Mara-Struck problem of the long-life species. And if he were to forge a Curio that could freely resurrect living beings, he would naturally draw HooH's attention.
But what did that matter? He was a Curio Forger; his own happiness came first. If you've got a problem with it, come down here and fight me!
"Tsk, no wonder the Miracle system has destroyed so many worlds. Casually controlling the power over life and death... who wouldn't get a big head from that?" Chen Li sighed.
"Since you gave me such a good idea, Qingque, pick a spell, and I'll cast it for you," he offered.
"Huh? You're not afraid of shortening your lifespan anymore?"
"It's not really shortening my lifespan, but rather my life being affected by the loss of life force. But life force is something that can be replenished just by eating something," Chen Li said with a wave of his hand.
All thanks to his [Gourmet Cells].
For powerful individuals, recovering life force was simple. For Chen Li, it was even simpler. If you're lacking life force, just eat some life force, right? And as long as it wasn't dirt or ore, he could gain at least a little life force from pretty much any food he ate.
"In that case, doesn't that make us Xianzhou natives the most suitable race for burning life force to cast spells?" Qingque's eyes lit up.
"If you put it that way... I suppose so," Chen Li reluctantly nodded.
The vitality of the Xianzhou people was plain to see. How could a race that could crash-land on a planet during a cosmic war, get their heads chopped off and sewn back on, and still fight their way from the South-Heaven Gate to the North-Heaven Gate, slaughtering their way across an entire planet, be described as anything but tenacious? In fact, all beings blessed by Abundance had a constant life-regeneration buff.
"Coach, I want to learn black magic!"
"Alright, I'll teach you!"
---o---
"You're honestly the worst student I've ever had! I've already burned through 100 years of my life demonstrating this for you, and you can't even learn to cast a simple fireball!" Chen Li scolded Qingque, pointing a finger at her.
"If I can't learn it, I can't learn it," Qingque muttered, squatting in a corner with her head in her hands, completely dejected.
This was the first time she had ever experienced the charm of being a bad student.
Throughout her school years, Qingque's grades in every subject were always exactly 60, making her a genius of score-suppression. When her teachers discovered this, they would pull her aside and say she was destined for great things if she just applied herself, but she never cared. The reason her attitude never changed, even after all these years of just scraping by and remaining an ordinary Diviner at the Divination Commission, was because...
Qingque could actually score full marks if she wanted to.
The mindset of someone who tries for 100 but only gets a 60 is completely different from someone who can get 100 but chooses to get a 60.
Now, Qingque genuinely wanted to learn black magic, but she truly couldn't. She was starting to break down.
"Forget it, I'm not teaching you anymore. Any more of this and I'm gonna kick the bucket. Wait here while I eat something to recover." Feeling completely drained, Chen Li took out the local specialty Yurine had given him and started gnawing on it.
The evil god's meat was surprisingly delicious. And he didn't know if it was due to Jashin-chan's unique physiology, but her tail meat really only had one bone, with the rest being pure flesh. It was super convenient to eat.
"Aren't you a normal person? How are you still so young after spending 100 years of your life force?" Qingque naturally chose to change the subject.
"Oh, my professional level as a Curio Forger increases my lifespan. At my current level, living for eight hundred to a thousand years shouldn't be a problem," Chen Li said.
"Then let's just stick to forging Curios. Weren't you going to make a revival-type Curio?" Qingque, no longer wanting to learn magic, changed the subject again.
Magic, my lifelong enemy!
"Alright... This Jashin-chan meat is really good. Besides restoring life force, it also restores the stamina I use up when forging," Chen Li nodded.
"So if you're making a revival Curio, what type will it be?"
"About that... wait a second, let me ask a professional." After some thought, Chen Li opened the Friends Circle, selected a contact, and sent a message.
Dad: Silver Wolf, got a question for you.
Silver Wolf: Spit it out, I'm in the middle of a boss fight. Wait, aren't you fighting a boss too?
Dad: Uh, ever heard of voice-to-text?
Silver Wolf: How come I don't have that feature?
Dad: Duh. You think the standard version is the same as the Deluxe Supreme VIP version? The highest-tier terminal can even do holographic projections. That's the one Screwllum is using.
Silver Wolf: What? Screwllum has the highest-tier one? Then get me one too!
Dad: 8.8 billion credits, thank you for your patronage.
Silver Wolf: What kind of terminal is that expensive? Why don't you just rob someone? I couldn't afford that even if you sold me.
Dad: Hey, don't talk nonsense. Isn't your bounty 5.1 billion? Just turn yourself in, have your crew break you out, turn yourself in again, break out again, and you'll have enough, won't you?
Silver Wolf: ...Maybe you should just tell me what your question is.
Dad: It's like this: I want to forge a revival-type Curio, and I was wondering if there are any convenient and quick revival methods in the IPC's games.
Silver Wolf: Revival coins?
Dad: No, too virtual. It's better if it's something from a real-time battle game that everyone knows about.
Silver Wolf: Oh, if you put it that way... there is one. You've played Aetherium Wars, right? They recently launched a ridiculously broken mini-game within it. If you lose a battle in that mini-game, you can revive just by watching a 30-second ad.
Dad: That... might just work. Thanks.
Silver Wolf: Don't thank me yet. First, tell me how you're going to repay me. We're competitors right now, you know.
Dad: How about this: I'll give you a Deluxe Supreme VIP Terminal Fragment. Collect 10 fragments and you can exchange them for a full terminal. How's that?
Silver Wolf: Deal! But... you're not going to be like some of those scummy IPC games where, after I collect 9 fragments, you give me 0.9 fragments, and the remaining 0.1 fragment requires 9 diamonds, then 9 gold coins, in an infinite loop, are you?
Dad: This is an automated reply. In-game, do not disturb.
Silver Wolf: ...He probably wouldn't, right?
"Screwllum, let's discuss something. Can you get the designer of that Aetherium Wars mini-game to come to the Xianzhou? And tell him to bring the tools of his trade." Chen Li once again reached out to his only contact.
As for Silver Wolf's suspicion? Slander!
Because Chen Li would split the fragments into Miracle Crystals and Star Jades, not some diamonds and gold coins.
"What? The Aetherium Wars designer is already on the Xianzhou? Then tell him to wait there, I'm on my way!"
---o---