Neuvillette took a sip of Su Han's tea, and his eyes immediately lit up.
"What wonderful tea, and wonderful water. Where did this come from?"
"From Chenyu Vale, next to Fontaine. How does it taste?"
"It's excellent. This is the finest tea I've ever had."
Neuvillette did not hold back his praise.
Because it truly deserved it.
Su Han smiled lightly before beginning to explain the story of the Hydro Archon, Focalors.
"It all started five hundred years ago. In short, I agreed to destroy the Divine Throne. The price, naturally, was that the Hydro Archon had to die."
"The Divine Throne? What's that?"
Lumine looked completely confused.
Why did Focalors have to be killed? She was an Archon, after all.
Feeling the power flowing through his body, Neuvillette guessed the root of the matter. His expression turned complicated as he sighed.
"It must have been because of the Primordial Sea, Mr. Su Han. I can't think of any other reason."
Anything that could make an Archon willingly sacrifice herself had to concern countless citizens.
And there was only one possibility.
The waters of the Primordial Sea.
Lumine rolled her eyes. It felt like the two of them were playing a guessing game. Couldn't they explain it in a way she could understand?
Seeing his lover's reaction, Su Han smiled.
"I'll explain it. Simply put, the people of Fontaine are different from everyone else. They were created through the power of the Primordial Sea. To be more precise, if the Primordial Sea erupts, every Fontainian will dissolve into water."
"That's... terrifying. How could something like that happen?"
Only then did Lumine realize how serious the situation was.
If the lives of everyone in Fontaine were at stake, then Focalors truly had no way to avoid it.
Even if it meant sacrificing herself, she had to save them.
Looking at the tea in his cup, Su Han sighed.
"Yes. Even though no one wanted to see such a thing happen, that's the reality. Creating humans through unnatural means was also one of the reasons the previous Hydro Archon died. But if the people of Fontaine are to be freed from those restrictions, there is only one solution. Mr. Neuvillette must reclaim the authority of the Dragon Sovereign. Am I right?"
He turned toward Neuvillette.
The latter nodded gently, silently confirming it.
With that, the truth of the entire incident became clear.
However, Lumine still had one question.
"If this all happened five hundred years ago, could you have prevented the tragedy?"
"I could. That's why I chose to act at this point in time."
Su Han grinned slyly before removing the seal on the Underworld.
Focalors, who had been sleeping within it, appeared in the room in perfect condition.
Seeing everyone's shocked expressions, the Hydro Archon playfully stuck out her tongue and giggled.
"Surprised? I owe it all to Mr. Su Han. Without him, I'd definitely have been finished."
"Miss Focalors? Y-you're... all right?"
Neuvillette was stunned.
He had never imagined that she had not only survived, but that her very essence seemed even stronger than before.
It was truly unbelievable.
Lumine also let out a sigh of relief.
Focalors proudly replied,
"No, I died. I'm not called Focalors anymore. You should know, Neuvillette, that Irminsul records everything. The person I used to be has already perished. I'm no longer Focalors."
Escaping those shackles had required an enormous price.
First, she died once.
Then she signed what was essentially a lifetime contract.
If Irminsul continued recording her after all that, she really would have suffered a huge loss.
Neuvillette quickly understood the key point and nodded.
"I understand. But what should we do next?"
The Primordial Sea had not yet erupted.
Yet the god was already dead.
So many unresolved matters had piled up. How were they supposed to deal with them?
Focalors looked toward Su Han.
"You've managed Fontaine very well over these past five hundred years, so I've decided to let you continue governing Fontaine. Furina and I are retiring from here on. As for what comes next, we'll leave it to Su Han. I'm sure he'll have a plan."
The world was approaching its end.
Sooner or later, the Abyss would swallow the land.
Before that happened, only Su Han could save the world.
Everyone turned their eyes toward him.
Calmly, Su Han said,
"There's no need to rush. We'll continue promoting manga step by step. With all five nations promoting them together, we'll obtain plenty of treasures. As long as we have enough treasures, the Abyss won't be much of a threat."
"In that case..." Neuvillette pondered for a moment before proposing, "why don't we hold a manga festival? Miss Furina can host it. That way, Fontaine's manga sales will surely reach a new peak."
Lumine's eyes brightened.
She thought it was an excellent idea.
If even the Hydro Archon loved manga, countless citizens would surely follow.
"I agree."
"So do I."
The proposal was settled just like that.
The following day,
Advertisements began appearing throughout the streets and alleys.
Rumors also spread everywhere.
To attract public attention, Su Han specifically had Neuvillette carry a stack of manga while walking through the central avenue.
The effect was astonishing.
In less than half an hour, newspapers were already reporting that the Chief Justice himself enjoyed reading manga and even found them extremely interesting.
Perhaps the future of governance and law could be found within manga.
Such explosive news shocked everyone who heard it.
As a result, more and more people began buying manga.
After printing massive quantities, Su Han's system notifications began sounding nonstop.
The first was the Fate series. It had reached Level 7, granting him three lottery draws.
His other manga series also made tremendous progress.
That afternoon,
Su Han began drawing rewards inside a secret room.
The system notifications rang continuously.
[Ding! Congratulations! You have obtained the Matou family's Magecraft, Insect Magecraft, from the world of Fate.]
[Ding! Congratulations! You have obtained the Noble Phantasm, Enkidu, from the world of Fate.]
[Ding! Congratulations! You have obtained the Noble Phantasm, Mountain-Shaking Starwood, from the world of Fate.]
Two treasures and one special form of magecraft.
For Su Han, they were fairly decent rewards.
But none of them could help save the world.
The previously obtained Avalon was still the true treasure capable of protecting it.
He planned to deploy that Noble Phantasm within Enkanomiya.
"It looks like I can't rely on these treasures."
Su Han rubbed his temples with a headache.
Next, all he could do was hope the One Piece world would provide a miracle.
He immediately used two more draws.
[Ding! Congratulations! You have obtained the Wash-Wash Fruit from the world of One Piece.]
[Ding! Congratulations! You have obtained the Art-Art Fruit from the world of One Piece.]
The rewards were pretty good.
Unfortunately, they still had no effect on saving the world.
"Tch... what now?"
Su Han felt the remaining rewards probably wouldn't be much use either.
Just then, another notification appeared.
Because Fontaine's manga stores had become wildly successful, his system permissions had increased.
That was excellent news.
[Notice: Congratulations! Your system permissions have reached Level 7. New manga permission tiers have been unlocked!]
[Notice: As your permissions have increased, the system has gifted you two manga for free!]
[Notice: Your permission upgrade grants two free enhancement opportunities, along with one advanced lottery draw for each new manga world!]
[Notice: The current Myriad Worlds Manga System permission level is 7. Sell a cumulative total of 3 million copies to unlock Level 8!]
[Notice: You may now receive a precious treasure.]
"It leveled up? That's great. System, draw the new manga first."
Looking at the notifications, Su Han felt this might be the only way to solve the problem.
Two completely new manga.
If either one came from a high-level world, all his problems might finally be resolved.
At his command, the system's prize pool appeared.
Countless manga flashed rapidly within it.
Soon, two covers emerged before him.
[Notice: Congratulations! You have obtained the new manga, Xuan-Yuan Sword: Scar of Sky.]
[Notice: Congratulations! You have obtained the new manga, The Legend of the White Snake.]
Both came from xianxia worlds. (TL/N: of course they must be Chinese to be overpowered lol.)
Su Han was overjoyed.
"Perfect. This finally solves the problem."
There was no need to explain the Xuan-Yuan Sword series.
Its treasures included countless divine artifacts, many of which possessed the power to suppress entire worlds.
The Legend of the White Snake was equally powerful.
It was a genuine cultivation story.
Although centered around love and hatred, its cultivation methods and treasures were in no way inferior to those found in the Chinese Paladin series.
After obtaining the manga,
Su Han immediately activated the lottery.
Each new manga granted him one free reward before normal counting began.
He was genuinely looking forward to it.
Rubbing his hands together, he opened the prize pool.
Whoosh.
Brilliant seven-colored light filled the room.
[Notice: Congratulations! You have obtained the supreme treasure, the Demon Refining Pot, from the world of Xuan-Yuan Sword: Scar of Sky.]
The moment he heard it,
Su Han's heartbeat nearly stopped.
One of the Ten Divine Artifacts!
He had actually drawn one of the Ten Divine Artifacts!
His luck had completely exploded.
The light slowly faded.
When Su Han regained his vision, a pot decorated with blue patterns floated before him.
It resembled an ancient bronze vessel, yet contained immeasurable divine power.
Within the Xuan-Yuan Sword world, the Demon Refining Pot was capable of creating heaven and earth and giving birth to life itself.
Its internal space was unimaginably vast, known as the World Within the Pot.
Holding it in his hands, Su Han felt a stream of consciousness slowly merge with his own.
In the blink of an eye, he realized he had become bound to the artifact.
At the same time, he sensed just how enormous the world inside truly was.
He wanted to see it.
The instant that thought arose,
A vast and ancient world appeared within his mind.
It was enormous.
There were clouds.
There was an ocean.
There was a sun.
There was a moon.
It was larger than the entirety of Liyue and Mondstadt combined.
In fact, judging carefully,
Even the whole of Teyvat probably wasn't as large as this place.
"Hiss... Now that I think about it, couldn't I simply bring everyone here?"
A clever idea suddenly came to Su Han.
Rather than repairing this broken world,
Wouldn't it be easier to abandon it?
Everyone could hide inside this divine artifact, and Su Han could simply leave this world with it.
No matter how powerful the Abyss became, it would never be able to affect everyone.
Of course,
That was only a theoretical idea.
Actually carrying it out would be extremely difficult.
Resource distribution alone would become a major problem.
Still, it could serve as a final contingency plan.
If everything truly became hopeless,
He really could take everyone and escape together.
"All right, let's see the next reward."
Su Han activated the lottery for The Legend of the White Snake.
This reward turned out to be quite good as well.
[Notice: Congratulations! You have obtained the supreme treasure, the Purple-Gold Alms Bowl, from the world of The Legend of the White Snake.]
Fahai's treasure?
He examined its attributes.
Name: Purple-Gold Alms Bowl
Effect: Contains immense suppressive power capable of devastating evil beings.
Note: An artifact belonging to the Buddha. When placed permanently in one location, it exerts a powerful suppressive effect.
"Not bad."
Su Han smiled.
One of the Ten Divine Artifacts,
And one treasure belonging to the Buddha.
This lottery had definitely been worthwhile.
After storing everything away,
Su Han prepared to claim the exceptionally precious treasure awarded directly by the system rather than through the lottery.
"Notice: Would you like to claim your treasure?"
"Yes."
Su Han waited expectantly.
A ray of light appeared out of nowhere.
It wasn't dazzling, making it easy to see the treasure hidden within.
It was a sphere floating quietly in midair, emitting a faint starlight.
Only after reading the system's description did Su Han understand what he had obtained.
Mysterious Stellaron.
Effect: The core of a planet from a Mid Thousand World that contains extraordinary power. If you can comprehend its mysteries, you may obtain incomparably powerful strength.
"A Stellaron?"
Su Han's expression turned strange.
"It feels like I've drawn something incredible. Could this really be a treasure from that world? If so, this is going to be interesting."
If his guess was correct,
This should be an item from the Honkai: Star Rail world.
Stellarons contained tremendous power,
But they also carried enormous risks.
Especially if someone failed to control one.
A single Stellaron could bring unimaginable destruction.
Take Jarilo-VI, for example.
Its entire world had been buried beneath endless ice and snow.
Civilization had stagnated,
And the planet continued suffering until the Trailblazers finally arrived and allowed it to move forward once again.
Its fate had truly been miserable.
Holding the Stellaron, Su Han muttered,
"If this really is power from that world, then it isn't bad at all. The problem is how I'm supposed to control it. Stellarons usually contain terrifying energy. I wonder if I can absorb it through the system."
The power of an Archon was overwhelming in this world.
But in the Honkai: Star Rail universe,
It probably wouldn't even be able to defeat an ordinary bug.
That wasn't an exaggeration.
The Emanators there possessed the power to destroy entire galaxies.
Not to mention beings approaching the level of pseudo-Emanators.
But if he could master this Stellaron,
He might even surpass the Heavenly Principles.
In other words,
Su Han had now gained another path to becoming stronger.
"I'll have to take it one step at a time. I'll start by trying to understand it. Maybe absorbing it will be easier than I think."