"The Reignbow Arbiter descends upon the Yongmei Star System. The Lux Arrows They fire will kill everything... including the Lord Ravagers. But at that moment, the the Ruin Author would not merely lower Their gaze—they would descend as well. A war among the Aeons would break out."
"A war between gods would drive millions of galaxies to ruin..."
Yao Guang's voice rang out with force, striking the hearts of everyone present and sending waves of shock through them.
The generals of the Xianzhou all realized at this moment that a war among the Aeons was not distant at all—it could erupt at any time...
Dozens of seconds later, General Huaiyan was the first to recover. Stroking his white beard, he said, "I originally thought this was just a routine operation to support an ally of the Xianzhou Alliance. I never expected it to nearly become the fuse that ignites a war among the Aeons...
"But fortunately, the one who went to provide support this time was the Divine Foresight General of the Xianzhou Luofu, not a general from the Xianzhou Yaoqing."
Yao Guang nodded in agreement. "If it had been the Xianzhou Yaoqing that went to support the Yongmei Star System, the intensity of the conflict might have escalated further."
"Ahem." Marshal Hua coughed lightly, drawing the attention of all the generals present. "Now everyone understands that a war among the Aeons is not far off. Therefore, I must tell you this: from now on, the Xianzhou Alliance must make full preparations. Only in this way can we face a divine war that may erupt at any moment in the future!"
"Yes!" All the generals responded with solemn expressions.
...
Within the Destruction faction, after the Lord Ravagers withdrew from the Yongmei Star System, they gathered in a Destruction faction chat group created by Celenova to discuss one matter: why their master, Nanook, had bestowed the Gilded Blood of Extinction upon Herta.
Gilded Blood of Extinction—how precious was it? Even they, the Lord Ravagers, possessed only a drop or a few drops at most... What right did Herta, a mere genius, have to be treated in such a way by their master?
"This is very strange. Our master granting the Gilded Blood of Extinction to Herta doesn't make sense," Phantylia said seriously in the chat. "Even if our master values Herta, They could have done as before—kill her, and then use her ashes to create a new Lord Ravager, just as Celenova was created..."
Celenova: "..."
Phantylia: "Celenova, I'm not targeting you. I just think Herta is truly special—so special that even our master treats her differently."
Celenova: "I understand. Herta is indeed extraordinary. After this battle, I can confirm that the Honkai Beast legion she created, given time to develop, has the potential to rival the Antimatter Legion."
Asat Pramad: "That extraordinary? Considering the Soul Gems she created before, which can house souls... I can understand why our master values her so much. This genius truly possesses exceptional intellect."
Zephyro: "No matter how great her intelligence is, it cannot change the ultimate end of Destruction. This time she found help. Next time, I will kill her before she can react."
Asat Pramad: "You can't say that. Geniuses excel at positional warfare. And on the battlefield, Herta has indeed relied on her own abilities to break the methods of a Lord Ravager."
Zephyro: "Who?"
Asat Pramad: "Irontomb's virus."
Zephyro: "That's a Lord Ravager that hasn't even been born yet. It's reasonable that Herta could figure its methods."
Asat Pramad: "But the problem is, even in its embryonic state, Irontomb's essence is to target the Path of Erudition—to target geniuses. For its methods to be so easily dismantled by Herta proves her strength!"
Zephyro: "Even Lord Ravagers specialized in targeting Paths have suffered setbacks before. @Phantylia, wouldn't you agree?"
Phantylia: "???"
Phantylia: "Why drag me into this?"
Zephyro: "You're a Lord Ravager that targets the Abundance-aligned civilizations. You've attacked the Xianzhou Alliance multiple times, yet the results..."
Phantylia broke into a cold sweat. "Stop, stop! Let's continue discussing Herta's uniqueness instead!"
"Oh right, I just remembered—after I fused with the divine tree Herta created, I found that my power didn't increase."
Asat Pramad: "We could tell. In the Yongmei Star System, you were beaten quite miserably by the Luofu general working together with the Starcrusher Swarm King. We saw it very clearly."
Phantylia hurriedly said, "No... what I mean is, although my power didn't increase and I didn't gain the cross-Path power of Abundance, at that moment I felt my immortality greatly enhanced. If Herta hadn't used some method to extract that property of the God Tree, I think I would only have been beaten badly by Jing Yuan and the Starcrusher general—but not killed."
Asat Pramad: "In that case, Herta is capable of crafting miracles of Abundance by hand. Her research results are becoming more and more outrageous. Now I understand why our master values her."
Asat Pramad: "Perhaps our master didn't kill Herta or turn her into a Lord Ravager, but instead allowed her to live in order to make use of her genius intellect—so she can research the incineration Gilded Blood of Extinction and produce even more Destruction-related breakthroughs, helping push the cosmos further toward ruin."
Zephyro: "A genius researching the Gilded Blood of Extinction could influence our master's progress in destroying the universe? Ridiculous. —If this universe is to be driven toward destruction, it will still depend on us!"
Phantylia: "Regardless of why our master values Herta, I now fully recognize the importance of this woman."
By the end of the discussion, every Lord Ravager had developed a deep interest in Herta.
...
Meanwhile, elsewhere, the Ruanruan spacecraft finally carried Herta and Ruan Mei back to The Blue's star system. Upon arrival, Herta delivered a message to the highest authorities of the Blue Federation:
She—the smartest woman in the cosmos, Herta—had brought her friend, the 81st Seat of the Genius Society, Ruan Mei. Due to special circumstances, Ruan Mei would be staying long-term in The Blue's star system to conduct research, and she required the construction of a dedicated laboratory in Herta City.
!!
The top leadership of the Blue Federation was shaken. No one had expected that Herta could actually bring a senior genius to The Blue's star system to conduct research together.
After all, they knew from interstellar legends that members of the Genius Society were all eccentric research fanatics with extremely peculiar personalities.
More importantly, they also understood Herta's personality—extremely self-centered, to the point of narcissism, and generally lacking any good attitude toward others.
Yet such a Miss Herta had managed to bring a genius from the far reaches of the cosmos.
How exactly had she done it?!
The leadership was curious, but they did not foolishly ask. Instead, they immediately began arranging the laboratory—and did not dare to play any tricks.
After all, no matter what, the arrival of Miss Ruan Mei, the 81st Seat of the Genius Society, to conduct research in The Blue's star system was an excellent thing!
With this, The Blue's star system would now be protected by two geniuses, making it even safer.
The news that Ruan Mei, the 81st Seat of the Genius Society, had accepted Herta's invitation and arrived in The Blue's star system spread rapidly. Many believed that this long-reclusive genius had reached a collaboration with Herta and was finally stepping back into the world.
Only a small number of people knew that the ruined Yongmei Star System had actually been Ruan Mei's place of seclusion. Now that the system had been heavily devastated by war, it was no longer suitable as a research base.
Ruan Mei had most likely left her seclusion for this very reason, following Herta to The Blue's star system.
For example, Yu Qingtu, the 55th Seat of the Genius Society, had already contacted Ruan Mei at this moment. "Dear Ruan Mei, I've already heard about what happened in the Yongmei Star System. If your research base was too badly damaged, you can come to my place... I can provide you with a more advanced laboratory."
"No need. Herta has already invited me, and she has several projects that interest me," Ruan Mei replied.
"Waaah... Ruan Mei, you've abandoned the old for the new! Now that you have a new best friend, you don't want to hang out with your old one anymore. I'm going to get completely drunk." After saying that, Ruan Mei heard the sound of gulping coming from the other end of the call.
Clearly, Yu Qingtu had already begun drinking at lightning speed.
Hearing this, Ruan Mei raised a hand and rubbed her temples before continuing calmly, "I really do have projects to collaborate on with Herta."
"A rising junior—what could she possibly collaborate with you on? You should come to my place and study art instead," Yu Qingtu said while swirling her drink.
Ruan Mei gently shook her head. "Don't underestimate Herta. After the battle in the Yongmei Star System, she has completed her own coronation and become an Emanator of Erudition. One could say that Herta's intelligence surpasses that of many geniuses in the Society."
???
Self-coronation?
An Emanator of Erudition?!
What kind of nonsense was that? It had only been about a month since Herta was invited into the Society by Nous.
In just one month, she had truly completed her own coronation?
Were the reports from the IPC news—about Herta joining forces with multiple factions to repel the Lord Ravagers of Destruction, the Borisin fleet, the Devouring Rakshasa, and the Ketu demonic star—all true?!
As Yu Qingtu thought this through, clarity returned to her eyes, her expression turning serious. "So you really are going to collaborate with Herta, this junior?"
"Of course. Otherwise, why would I go to The Blue's star system?"
"I thought it was simply because the Yongmei Star System was destroyed, and Herta just happened to invite you."
At this point, Yu Qingtu grew interested. "So what project are you collaborating on? Can you tell me more?"
"One confirmed project is the Simulated Universe—a super-large research project based on the Solitary Waves Theory, designed to calculate the future. If successful, it could even predict how the universe will develop... perhaps even deduce a perfect future."
Ruan Mei said calmly, "You know my goal. If the Simulated Universe succeeds, it will be of immense help to me. By the way, Qingtu, would you like to join this project? If you do, I believe Herta would be more than willing to accept you. After all, you are a true senior of the Society—the 55th Seat."
"I'll pass." Yu Qingtu's voice turned pessimistic. "If the Simulated Universe really succeeds, it won't just simulate a perfect future—it will also simulate hopeless ones. More importantly, this universe still has the Aeons who stand above everything."
"With Them around, the Simulated Universe cannot truly succeed. Even if it does, if the Aeons are unwilling to allow a perfect future to exist, then the universe will never reach such an ending."
"In the end, what determines the final direction of this universe is not the countless living beings, nor is it geniuses—but the Aeons who stand at the very pinnacle of existence."
Hearing this, Ruan Mei couldn't help but sigh. "You're still the same—a pessimist through and through."
"And you're the same as well. You faced multiple Lord Ravagers head-on in the Yongmei Star System war, yet even now I can't hear a trace of emotional fluctuation in your voice. You're as calm as ever."
After saying this, Yu Qingtu seemed to think of something and asked seriously, "By the way, you said the current collaboration project is the Simulated Universe. Does that mean you have more projects you want to work on with Herta?"
"Mm."
Ruan Mei nodded lightly. "Just as you guessed, I have many projects I want to collaborate on with Herta—researching and developing together."
"Then I won't disturb your research any longer. I originally wanted to lend you my laboratory, but it seems my concern was unnecessary."
"Not at all. Qingtu, I'm happy you called."
"Happy? I can't hear even a hint of emotion in your voice." After saying that, Yu Qingtu took another drink. "Well, forget it. I hope your research in The Blue's star system goes smoothly. I'll keep drinking—let's talk next time."
Beep... beep...
Yu Qingtu hung up, and Ruan Mei also set down her phone. In front of her lay a sheet of paper filled with multiple research projects she planned to collaborate on with Herta.
Research into the Dark Plane's dimensional properties, the activation and biological transformation of the Dark Plane, the possibility of incubating dimensional lifeforms... and beyond that, research into the God Tree.
Every one of these projects was of great importance to Ruan Mei.
For example, if the activation of dimensional life in the Dark Plane succeeded, Ruan Mei would gain control over a biological dimension. In a sense, she could even become a dimensional lord.
As for the God Tree, Ruan Mei had sensed that after absorbing a massive amount of insect life force, it had already become a living tree—naturally transforming into a plant-type lifeform.
The issue, however, was that the God Tree was not a miracle of Abundance, but something created entirely by Herta.
Thus, Ruan Mei wanted to study the mysteries of the God Tree. She believed that if she succeeded, she would be able to explore deeper aspects of the essence of life.
Ruan Mei acted swiftly. She directly went to the Soul Gem factory to find Herta herself, proposing deep cooperation to develop the Dark Plane's dimensional layer and to study the secrets of the God Tree.
After hearing this, Herman quickly contacted Herta in the Simulated Laboratory to ask whether she was willing to cooperate.
"Why not?" Herta's lips curved into a faint smile. "One of the reasons I invited Ruan Mei to The Blue's star system in the first place was to collaborate with this genius friend—to complete those astonishing research projects in a more efficient and reasonable way..."
"And now that Ruan Mei is taking the initiative to propose cooperation, it's undoubtedly a good thing."
"Moreover, if Ruan Mei manages to activate the Dark Plane and give it biological traits—allowing it to grow and expand on its own—that would be incredible!"
"And the God Tree—if Ruan Mei can further refine the related research, that's also a good thing!"
"After all, this is collaborative research. If Ruan Mei achieves results, it's equivalent to me achieving them as well. It saves me a great deal of effort, allowing me to focus on projects of even greater value."