"I have no objection, but..."
Herta's gaze shifted toward Ruan Mei, who stood nearby.
"You'll have to convince her first. As long as you can persuade Ruan Mei, I don't care if it's the three of us together—heck, even if you call over your Robin, Gu Yuena, Jingliu, and whoever else, I'll play along to the end."
She understood Ruan Mei's personality perfectly. This top-tier genius in the field of life sciences maintained a level of indifference toward anything outside of her research that bordered on absolute coldness. To get her to agree to such a ridiculous, "unscientific" request—something she would surely view as a pure waste of time—would be harder than getting her to admit her research had a flaw.
However...
Just as Herta prepared to watch Lu Jingming suffer a setback under Ruan Mei's icy stare, Ruan Mei spoke.
"Sure."
Her response was crisp and without a hint of hesitation.
"In-depth, multi-faceted, zero-distance communication could indeed allow me to analyze your current life form in a faster, more intuitive way, obtaining the most fundamental and authentic biological data."
She added in a calm tone, as if discussing the parameters of a rigorous scientific experiment: "If you allow me to conduct research via live dissection, I can agree to anything you ask."
Herta: "???"
Lu Jingming: "!!!"
Both were stunned by Ruan Mei's hardcore, scientific-at-all-costs declaration.
"Great, then it's a deal."
Lu Jingming was the first to snap out of it. He forcefully ignored the part about "live dissection" that had sent a chill down his spine and clapped his hands excitedly.
"Neither of you is allowed to run away tonight!"
...
That night.
No one knew exactly what transpired. People only knew that over the city of Sea Abyss City, starlight seemed to flicker, frost seemed to congeal, and thunder seemed to roar.
When the first light of dawn filtered through the window into the disheveled quiet room, a figure leaned against the wall and slowly shuffled out from the inner chamber. His steps were hollow, his face pale, and his eyes somewhat vacant.
It was Lu Jingming.
This man, who had just ascended to the supreme height of a "True Aeon" and defined the "Reality" of the entire universe, currently looked like a pitiful mortal who had been drained of every last drop of energy.
Behind him, on the massive, soft bed woven from the branches of the Tree of Life, lay more than one figure. At a glance, there were more than five. Herta and Ruan Mei, meanwhile, appeared radiant and full of spirit—a sharp contrast to Lu Jingming, who could barely stand without the support of the wall.
"No... I can't... need... need a break..."
Lu Jingming leaned against the wall, filled with regret. He had miscalculated. In this particular arena, a woman's stamina far surpassed a man's, let alone when he was facing a group on his own.
Of course, with his supreme life form, it was impossible for him to suffer any actual physical depletion. He only looked this way because he had voluntarily suppressed 99.999...% of his power.
He had descended from heaven to humanity.
He knew very well that with his current existence as the Aeon of Reality, if he were to descend in his true form, even the slightest leak of his aura would do more than just destroy this room—the entire planet of Douluo would be unable to bear his supreme "Presence" and would be assimilated at a conceptual level in an instant. He didn't want that.
Lu Jingming straightened up slowly. By his will, his mortal shell quickly returned to its peak state. He looked out the window at the brilliant sky of the Divine Star, which had perfectly merged with the atmosphere of Douluo, and a deep light flashed in his eyes.
He knew why he had suddenly become so powerful. It wasn't through gradual cultivation or a lucky epiphany. It was a qualitative, irreversible, and ultimate transformation of his very foundation of existence.
The source of it all was the unique "Reality" authority that had been deeply bound to his soul since the moment he transmigrated.
Once, he had merely treated this authority as a special "gold finger" that allowed him to accumulate points and exchange them for characters. By leaving deep marks upon this world, he accumulated "Reality Power," using it as an anchor to summon those who should have existed only in fiction—Herta, Ruan Mei, Istaroth, Acheron, Jingliu—into this reality as living, breathing individuals. He was like a top-tier collector who had given his favorite figurines true life.
And when he single-handedly overturned the order of the God Realm, melting the entire Douluo God Realm plane into his Stigma Space with the help of Herta and the other geniuses to create the miracle of the Divine Star, his influence on the universe reached an unprecedented peak.
Then, quantity triggered a quality change.
The accumulated Reality Power finally allowed him to touch the core of the authority he had carried but never fully controlled. In that moment, he merged completely with "Reality." His "Reality" was no longer limited to himself or his surroundings. Like a plague sweeping through the cosmos, his "concept" spread to every corner, every sliver of time, and every grain of dust in the universe.
He had transcended.
He had been a powerhouse at the Godking level, but the moment he merged with the authority, he bypassed the so-called Supreme Godking realm entirely. He skipped the stage that other gods viewed as the end of cultivation and became a "Transcendent"—a being above the laws of the universe, and even above the concept of the universe itself.
The moment he became a Transcendent, a mysterious, ethereal "resonance" appeared in his mind. It was a series of invisible threads, similar to "Karma" and "Fate." The other ends of these threads connected to distant universes that didn't even exist in the same "Sea of Universes."
He understood immediately. Those universes were the true homelands of Herta, Istaroth, Jeanne d'Arc, and the others.
The Honkai Universe. The Genshin Universe. The Type-Moon Universe.
He had brought them out of their "stories." Now, as a Transcendent, he could use these unique karmic links to clearly locate the coordinates of those stories. One day, he would be able to go there.
However...
A soft look passed through Lu Jingming's eyes. He wasn't planning to go just yet. The "Starry Sea Alliance" he had built was just getting started. His newly born "Divine Star" needed time to grow and perfect itself. More importantly, he didn't want to go alone.
If he was going, he wanted to take his entire family—his beautiful wives and his adorable children—with him. It wouldn't be a lonely "expedition." It would be a grand, joyful multi-universal journey for the whole family.
A magnificent blueprint formed in his mind. He planned to use the "Cosmic Juggernaut" as a core, combining the top wisdom and technology of Herta, Ruan Mei, and the other geniuses to build a unique "Astral Express" for himself and his family.
Once things here settled down, he would pilot that train and take his family to see the sights of the myriad worlds.
But before that... A confident smile played on Lu Jingming's lips. There were still some "family matters" to handle. There were people he hadn't quite "won over" yet who needed his attention.
For instance... Jingliu.
...
In a training ground within Sea Abyss City City, specifically carved out and filled with biting sword intent, Lu Jingming's figure appeared silently. He didn't disturb anyone, merely standing at the edge of the dojo, watching a scene that filled him with warmth.
In the center of the dojo, Jingliu held a simple wooden sword. She stood perfectly still, yet the icy sword intent around her seemed to freeze time and space, causing the temperature in the dojo to drop several degrees.
Before her, two adorable children, roughly five or six years old, each held a wooden sword half a head taller than themselves. They were repeating basic sword strokes, drenched in sweat.
One was an incredibly beautiful little girl with silver hair that flowed like moonlight down to her waist and crimson eyes that sparkled like rubies. Above her head floated a small, softly glowing halo. Her exquisite face, like a porcelain doll, already hinted at a world-toppling beauty. Her temperament and appearance were a perfect replica of her mother, Robin. She was Lu Jingming and Robin's daughter, Lu Minyin.
Standing beside her was a little boy, also with white hair and red eyes. His features looked like a scaled-down version of Lu Jingming's, handsome enough to draw eyes even at his young age. He was the son of Lu Jingming and the former princess of the Star Luo Empire, Xu Jiujiu—Lu Xingtong.
At this moment, these two favored children of heaven were wearing miserable expressions, mechanically swinging their wooden swords. Sweat had soaked their clothes and dripped steadily down their chubby cheeks.
"Huff... huff... Master Jingliu... I... I don't have any strength left..."
Lu Minyin was the first to stop. She pouted, looking at the mountain-like, unmoved Jingliu with a pitiful gaze.
Jingliu didn't speak. She simply tilted her head. Though her eyes were covered by a black blindfold, her gaze seemed to pierce through everything to rest on the young girl.
"As a swordsman, your will is weak and your form is scattered. Fail." Her voice, cold and devoid of emotion, rang out slowly in the dojo. "Today, you will practice for an additional hour."
"Huh—?!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Minyin's beautiful face instantly slumped, and tears began to well up in her eyes. She instinctively looked toward her mother, who was sitting by the side of the dojo.
Robin looked at her daughter with a heart full of pity. But when she met Jingliu's gaze—which, though invisible, still carried a chill—she could only offer her daughter a helpless, wry smile. When it came to the children's education, especially in the Way of the Sword, she had no say at all.
Seeing that fail, Lu Minyin's eyes darted around until she locked onto another pink-haired figure nearby who was happily watching while holding a cup of hot cocoa.
"Mama March—!" she cried out in a voice sweet enough to be syrupy.
"Aww! Little Minyin, what is it?"
March 7th immediately put down her cup and ran over, looking distressed. She wiped the girl's sweat with a handkerchief and looked up at Jingliu to plead: "Um... Teacher, look, the child is so small. Don't you think you're being a bit too strict? Work and rest, work and rest, right?"
Jingliu still said nothing. She slowly turned her head toward March 7th. Even though she did nothing, March 7th felt a sudden chill envelop her entire body. She shuddered violently.
"Ahaha... um... I just remembered I have something to discuss with Elysia. Yes, very important business! I... I'll head out first! You guys keep going, keep going!"
Before her voice had even faded, March 7th had vanished like a startled rabbit.
Watching the back of the woman who fled faster than a bunny, the last spark of hope in Lu Minyin's eyes died out. Even her most doting, easy-going Mama March couldn't help. It was over.
Beside her, Lu Xingtong remained silent from beginning to end. He merely curled his lip and swung his wooden sword with even more effort. He wasn't as naive as his sister. As a boy, the requirements the mothers placed on him were even stricter.
Pleading? That would only result in double the "extra practice." Watching his sister's dejected look, he even felt like gloating a little.
Women were such a hassle. Beautiful women were even more of a hassle; they only got in the way of his sword practice. He was a man destined to become a Sword God.