Returning to Chen Li's perspective, he chose to spend 10 Crystals to go back to the Honkai Previous Era instead of another world.
This was because he had remembered something.
He still hadn't saved that poor kid, Kalpas!
According to the information Chen Li had looked up, Kalpas should currently be in the process of being tied to a post and bled by the very villagers he had saved from Honkai Beasts after falling from the sky.
They believed that since Kalpas could resist the Honkai, there had to be something different about him.
Chen Li had completely forgotten about it.
Besides, he figured that helping the Flame-Chasers forge weapons to kill Honkai Beasts should also earn him some Merit.
But...
"Where the hell did this send me?" Chen Li was a bit dazed as frames of images suddenly appeared all around him.
[Please select the Herrscher you will face]
From the Third Herrscher to the Thirteenth Herrscher, a total of 25 Herrschers were laid out for the current Chen Li to choose from.
That's right, twenty-five.
The Third to Thirteenth Herrschers of this Era (including the Herrscher of Origin, Elysia), as well as the First to Twelfth Herrschers, the Herrscher of Origin, and the Herrscher of Finality of the next Era.
However, among the Herrschers of the next Era, several of the character cards were duplicates.
The 25 Herrschers were arranged in order, like a long, winding river, quietly awaiting Chen Li's choice.
"It seems I've still underestimated the effect of the first Miracle Card I obtained, [The Counterattacker]. So this is what 'selectively increasing opportunities' means?" Chen Li's eyes were wide with amazement.
[The Counterattacker] (Miracle Card): Defeat a Herrscher with the body of a human.
Effect 1: Allows you to selectively increase your chances of encountering a Herrscher after arriving in this world.
Effect 2: When a Herrscher is hostile toward you, they will feel a slight sense of pressure, making them more likely to commit unwise actions that are inconsistent with the current situation.
Effect 3: Can be used to forge a Curio.
This sudden choice upon transmigration had prevented Chen Li from immediately heading to the Previous Era.
"I can't just say depressing things like 'my arrival is meaningless to the Previous Era' or 'I can't save it from its destruction.' This probably just means I haven't changed things enough yet," Chen Li mused, rubbing his chin.
He was pondering the deeper meaning behind the appearance of these 25 cards.
He had given Elysia one Curio in this world and then left.
The Curio he gave her was indeed a perfect fit and a significant boost to her combat power, but it was hard to say how much of an impact it could have on the grand scheme of the entire world.
"But then again, if I completely change the Previous Era, will Welt still be on the Star Rail Express?" Chen Li wondered.
The thought gave him his next question for the little Miracle elf.
The Miracle elf really did seem to know everything. Through the notes on the two Curios he had forged for his parents yesterday, Chen Li had even learned how he was fated to lose his loved ones in his original destiny.
To be precise, his parents weren't fated to die but to become lost.
And because of that, Chen Li would have accepted his profession as a transmigrator and embarked on a journey to find them.
What was that? A little tadpole looking for its mother?
However, the elf had also said this was only one of his possible destinies.
According to Miracle, Chen Li's fate was so excessively "exciting" that he was better off not knowing the details.
"As much as I'd like to go pick a fight with the Herrscher of Finality, I'd only be able to challenge Kiana's version, and I would absolutely lose." Chen Li had no interest in seeking out the Herrscher of Finality, Kiana, just to get beaten up.
The authority of Finality was Rebirth, which was related to time.
But even without using her authority, she could still use Honkai energy.
Among all the Herrschers laid out before him, the only one Chen Li was confident he could defeat single-handedly was the Second Herrscher of the next Era.
And that was only before she became a multi-cored pufferfish.
---o---
"..."
"...Sorry about that. It's your fault for suddenly appearing in front of me. A beautiful girl gets nervous too, you know," Elysia said, looking a little embarrassed at Chen Li, whose left eye was slightly bruised.
"No need to explain. This one's my fault," Chen Li sighed.
He had indeed been impulsive this time. He had chosen the Herrscher of Origin of the Previous Era from the 25 cards—Elysia.
He had thought this would save him the travel time from the Miracle Beacon's location to the Flame-Chasers' base, but he had forgotten to notify Elysia first.
So, when he finished teleporting, the first thing that greeted him was a fist the size of a sandbag.
"I should say, it's a good thing you don't have a habit of showering in the morning, otherwise..."
Otherwise, Chen Li felt he might have been beaten half to death.
"I do shower after my morning training. About 30 minutes ago, in fact," Elysia said.
"Eh?"
"Just kidding."
"You scared me."
"It was actually 15 minutes ago."
"..."
"So, can we go out now? I still need to blow-dry my hair. Or do you want to help me?" Elysia said, placing one hand on her hip and playfully twirling her still-damp hair with the other.
"Damn it! If only I had transmigrated 15 minutes earlier! This is all Kaguya Houraisan's fault!"
After he woke up this morning, Kaguya had stubbornly clung to his leg until he ordered her breakfast takeout.
What about the money he had given her? She had spent it on gacha again.
Curious as to what game could be so expensive, Chen Li took a peek and saw she was playing Legends of the Three Kingdoms.
Oh, well, that explained everything.
I'm going to go give that game a bad review right now!
"You'd better be careful, or you might be silenced for good. You can't just barge into a girl's room uninvited," Elysia said as she pushed Chen Li out of her room and into the living area of her dorm.
Elysia didn't kick him out of the dorm completely. Instead, she sat with him in the common area and started blow-drying her hair.
"By the way, how is Kikyo doing?" Elysia asked as she dried her hair.
The day after he had cleared out the youkai in that world, Chen Li had taken the time to send Elysia a message briefly explaining what had happened.
And Elysia, after expressing her concern for the humans of that world, had clearly become interested in Kikyo.
"Kikyo is trying to teach her sister how to use a bow. She asked if I wanted to learn a thing or two."
"And did you?"
"No. Didn't I promise I'd learn archery from you? So I politely refused," Chen Li said without batting an eye.
In reality, the main reason was that he was in a hurry to collect the relics from the slain youkai that he'd had the surviving youkai gather, so he had tactfully declined.
Of the miscellaneous items he had collected, Chen Li had thrown everything into the recycling bin except for a few well-preserved items.
The power of the Longbow of Peace was a bit too much, leaving few intact items behind. As a result, the Entries on the items were dim and lackluster.
If he used such Entries to forge Curios, Chen Li would lose his shirt.
"Sigh, I wish I could learn archery from Kikyo too," Elysia said, her voice full of longing.
"???" — by Chen Li.
Are you after her archery? Or are you after her?