Fu Xuan boarded a star skiff, riding it toward the star rail, intending to use it to teleport to The Blue star system.
Meanwhile, on one of the ships of the Xianzhou Alliance, a woman dressed in a red gown, exuding an aura of authority from head to toe, was holding her phone as she contacted the general of the Xianzhou Yuque:
"Yao Guang, there's been another change in The Blue star system. Miss Herta, the 83rd Seat of the Genius Society, has developed yet another astonishing technology..."
After listening, Yao Guang felt her heart tremble. "Marshal Hua, are you saying that the Devil Fruit Herta developed can increase a person's intelligence... and after reaching the awakened state, this enhancement is no longer limited to herself, but can extend to billions of lives within an entire civilization?!"
"Exactly."
Yao Guang marveled, "Unbelievable... The current Miss Herta is already like the Ambrosial Arbor. Back then, the Ambrosial Arbor granted longevity to the Xianzhou's people, turning them into immortal beings with lifespans exceeding eight hundred years."
"One could say that the blessing of Abundance and the longevity of the Ambrosial Arbor... were creations of the Plague Author."
"And now, Herta is leading civilization toward an ascension of intelligence. This means she has achieved a feat only Aeons could accomplish. Herta herself is now a different kind of Ambrosial Arbor—a divine tree of wisdom, an incarnation of the Tower of Babel."
At this point, Yao Guang paused, silently adding a thought in her heart: I even suspect whether the Wisdomwalker truly possesses the ability to enhance others' intelligence.
But Herta is undoubtedly the most extraordinary genius in this universe. Even my Fortune Hexagram calculations cannot determine her fate.
After reaching this thought, Yao Guang quickly asked the person on the other end of the call, "Marshal, the reason you're telling me this is..."
Hua took a deep breath and said, "I want you to make a trip to The Blue star system and use your Fortune Hexagram to calculate whether one of the Devil Fruits from Herta's newly cultivated tree, if obtained by the Vidyadhara, could change their reproductive problem."
"This matter is not only important to me—the High Elders across the Xianzhou also attach great importance on it as well!"
Yao Guang's expression turned serious. "Understood."
As a general of the Xianzhou, she knew deeply how important the Vidyadhara were to the Alliance.
They were one of the three pillar races of the Xianzhou. More crucially, ever since the fall of Permanence, no new Vidyadhara had been born.
Even more critically, the universe had never been peaceful. Madmen were everywhere, and wars of destruction had never ceased for even a moment.
As a result, the Vidyadhara population within the Alliance was steadily declining. If the so-called Azure Dragon Fruit could truly change their reproduction issue, it was no wonder the Marshal took this so seriously—dispatching her, a Xianzhou general, for the task.
"I will do my best to bring back good news," Yao Guang said.
Hua let out a relieved sound. "Then I'll leave this mission to you."
Beep...
After hanging up, Yao Guang did not hesitate. As the Arbiter-General, she directly issued the order to set the Xianzhou Yuque on course for The Blue star system.
Of course, the reason she did so was because tools such as the Matrix of Prescience and the Cloudpeer Telescope, which could assist her Fortune Hexagram calculations and allow them to operate at full power, were all aboard the Xianzhou Yuque.
Rumble...
Before long, the vast and colossal Xianzhou ship departed from the galaxy, speeding toward The Blue star system.
...
Within The Blue star system, Ruan Mei seriously asked Herta how long it would take before the second Mythical Zoan Swarm Emperor Fruit would grow on the Devil Tree.
Herman was slightly taken aback before asking curiously, "Have you already used the one I gave you earlier? How was the effect?"
"Very good. It greatly accelerated my research on Propagation. It even allowed the Starcrusher Swarm King I developed to break through its previous limit on existence time."
"No wonder you asked that question." Herman nodded in realization. Closing his eyes, he carefully sensed for a moment before replying, "Right now, the second Swarm Emperor Fruit has already grown on the tree."
"So fast?" Ruan Mei was surprised. "I thought such fruits required a long time for the Devil Tree to absorb emotional fantasy energy before they could form."
"That's generally true for other fruits, but the Swarm Emperor Fruit is different." Herman gazed into the distance. "This universe has memory—especially of catastrophes like the Swarm Disaster. Those are remembered most deeply. Even now... countless people still feel fear toward it."
After speaking, Herman gently raised his wand and pointed into the void.
A fruit shaped like an insect fell out of the void once again, landing in front of Ruan Mei.
She placed it into the A-Ruan Pouch and said seriously, "This time, I will enlighten this Devil Fruit, turning it into a conscious lifeform... then find a way to develop it to the awakened state, and ultimately use it for cultivating the Starcrusher Swarm King."
"Mm." Herman nodded slightly in agreement. At that moment, he heard Herta's voice echo within his mind:
"My next step is also to research Devil Fruit-related topics. These fruits, formed from the endless fantasy energy of living beings and possessing uniqueness, are far too special."
"Especially now that I've realized—since there exists a Brain-Brain Fruit born from the collective imagination of beings toward genius intellect... then naturally, there should also be fruits related to pure beauty—fruits born from the imagination of beauty itself!"
"As long as I consume such a fruit, I might be able to become even more beautiful."
Hearing this, Herman couldn't help but respond in his mind:
"The Devil Tree can indeed produce fruits related to the concept of beauty, such as the Paramecia Love-Love Fruit and the Slip-Slip Fruit..."
"The Love-Love Fruit grants its user immense charm, as well as the ability to petrify others as long as they feel attraction."
"The Slip-Slip Fruit can make the skin of those who cherish it continuously smoother, even reaching a state of zero friction."
Herta's heart shook upon hearing this. She quickly used an appraisal ability on the fruits growing on the Devil Tree, then let out a regretful sigh. "Unfortunately, neither the Love-Love Fruit nor the Slip-Slip Fruit has grown yet. They still need time to gestate..."
"Next, I'll have the Devil Tree absorb more concepts related to pure beauty. That way, those fruits can grow sooner."
"Oh, right—I've got it. I can also use Warp and psionic power to cultivate more and better Herta Puppets at a faster rate, and send them to more worlds!"
"—After all, every Herta Puppet possesses seventy percent of my childhood beauty. They can be considered incarnations of pure beauty. As long as they travel through more worlds, they can absorb more emotional energy."
"At the same time, since these Herta Puppets travel to more worlds, they themselves can act as anchors, allowing Warp to absorb emotional energy from those worlds."
After hearing this, Herman also felt that Herta's idea was quite good. It was indeed an effective method to expand the Warp dimension.
However, there was one thing he couldn't help but want to complain about:
What did she mean by every Herta Puppet being an incarnation of pure beauty? That level of narcissism really hadn't changed at all.
...
The Herta's research points had reached as high as two thousand. With just a turn of thought, several psionic enhancement plans for the Herta Puppets had already taken shape in her mind.
For example, implanting psionic chips into the Herta Puppets—through this method, allowing them to synthesize psionic energy in the real world. However, the problem was that emotional energy in the universe was generated quickly but dissipated just as fast. Even if the Herta Puppets synthesized it, they wouldn't be able to produce it on a large scale.
More importantly, even after implanting psionic chips that allowed the little Hertas to instinctively grasp the psionic synthesis formula, they still wouldn't be able to draw energy from Warp.
This plan wasn't ideal.
The next plan was to modify the Herta Stigmata—combining psionic power with Honkai, so that the Stigmata Space would no longer be limited to transmitting emotional energy, but could also transmit psionic energy and even connect to the black sun within Warp.
As long as the connection was established, the black sun's constant output of psionic energy every second would be sufficient for countless little Hertas to use over long periods of time.
The more The Herta thought about it, the more she felt that modifying the stigmata—transforming the Herta Stigmata Space into a psionic version—was the best option.
More importantly, as Warp continued to grow in the future, it might even be possible to use the psionic version of the Stigmata Space to achieve Warp travel, allowing the little Hertas to gain abilities similar to Emanators—such as Warp teleportation.
Herta acted immediately. Without any hesitation, she plunged into the Simulated Laboratory and began conducting experiments to transform the Herta psionic stigmata.
Herman also noticed this, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
As expected of Herta—once she gets interested, she ignores everything else and dives straight into research.
Then, when Herman raised his head again, he saw that Ruan Mei had already lifted her hand and completed the biological enlightenment of the Mythical Zoan Swarm Emperor Fruit.
The screech of an insect echoed across the starry sky.
At the same time, the awakened Swarm Emperor Fruit began to struggle violently. More importantly, after transforming into a living insect, it seemed to naturally align with the Path of Propagation upon birth—instantly becoming a Pathstrider, and even showing signs of splitting.
A trace of curiosity flashed in Ruan Mei's eyes. Without hesitation, she placed a biological control ring onto the awakened insect, then quickly said to Herman, "I'm going to continue my research. Also... I'll need you to keep maintaining the Brain-Brain Fruit's group intelligence enhancement on me."
"No problem." Herman nodded.
Herman believed that Ruan Mei was already a top-tier genius wandering the cosmos. In terms of intelligence, she stood at the very peak of this universe. More importantly, her expertise lay in biology—and now, with the Brain-Brain Fruit's buff added on top, it likely wouldn't take long for her to achieve new research breakthroughs.
Tap, tap.
Ruan Mei took out a specially made scalpel and hurried back to the Ruanruan, bringing the Swarm Emperor Fruit with her as she began a new round of biological research.
At this moment, Jade had already contacted the Supreme Leader of The Blue Federation, discussing cooperation on developing immigration to The Blue star system.
Over the phone, the Supreme Leader sounded somewhat troubled. "Miss Jade, I can't make this decision alone. I still need to consult Miss Herta."
"Miss Herta has already agreed," Jade replied. "Right now, I'm mainly seeking your approval, and then we'll discuss the cooperation details with Pearl."
"As long as she has agreed, then I have no objections." The Supreme Leader let out a long breath, his tone carrying both excitement and concern. "It's just that... isn't the number of immigrants in the first wave a bit too large?"
"How so?" Jade asked.
"According to the immigration bureau director, in just this half-day, the number of applications from Astropolis and Pier Point alone has already exceeded ten billion—more than the entire population of The Blue Federation, or even the combined population of The Blue Federation and the Eastern Federation."
The Supreme Leader said worriedly, "If so many people immigrate to The Blue at once, while it would bring massive foreign trade benefits, the planet itself has limited land and simply can't sustain it."
Jade let out a soft laugh. "The Blue itself indeed can't accommodate that many people... but The Blue star system is a different matter."
"You mean... you intend to transform The Blue star system?" The Supreme Leader was shaken.
He knew very well that within this star system, only The Blue was suitable for biological life.
As for the other planets, they were completely unsuitable for carbon-based life. Even Mars, which had the most similar ecological environment, couldn't sustain life without Pathstrider abilities or spacesuits. Honkai Beasts, however, were different—they could survive even in such harsh conditions.
"Of course. Transforming a star system is hardly difficult for the Interastral Peace Corporation—especially one as special as The Blue system." Jade nodded slightly and said seriously, "Don't underestimate the IPC's Building Material Logistics Department. With the company's technological capabilities, even constructing a Gaia-like planet where people can live comfortably at the edge of the cosmos is entirely feasible."
"So for the first batch of immigrants, we'll arrange for them to settle on other uninhabited planets within The Blue star system. Do you agree, Supreme Leader?"
"I agree."
The Supreme Leader nodded, thinking inwardly:
Originally, he had been worried that such a large influx of immigrants would overwhelm the native population and shift the dominant demographic away from The Blue's original inhabitants.
But now, Miss Jade had provided an excellent solution—settling them on other planets within The Blue star system.
More importantly, The Blue Federation government could also collect immigration fees to rapidly develop itself. It was practically perfect.
A smile appeared on the Supreme Leader's aged face. Carrying that smile, he asked Jade one final, crucial question: "Miss Jade, I have one last question. What is the company's true purpose in relocating so many talented individuals to The Blue star system?"
Jade glanced at him and said calmly, "You should have already noticed the changes in your body not long ago."
The Supreme Leader trembled. "You mean... the reason I suddenly felt my thinking become much clearer just now... was because of Miss Herta? Has she truly developed another incredible technology—one that enhances intelligence?"
"Yes."
Jade's simple answer shook the Supreme Leader to his core.
So his earlier speculation was correct—Miss Herta had indeed developed a technology capable of driving the intellectual ascension of The Blue civilization.
She alone had elevated an entire civilization.
It perfectly embodied a saying: A rising tide lifts all boats.
Herta was the one who had ascended, and The Blue civilization were those lifted alongside her. The Supreme Leader could already imagine that as long as this intellectual enhancement continued, The Blue civilization would surge forward like a carriage fitted with wheels—racing ahead at full speed.
In the future, it might not be impossible for The Blue civilization to become a first-tier power in the cosmos—or even surpass that level.