As a cross-dimensional feast held only once every few years, the Luminary Wardance was naturally not just about fighting and killing in arena matches. It also provided a once-in-a-lifetime platform for communication between travelers, merchant guilds, organizations, and adventurers from countless Bubble Worlds.
For instance, the broad street where the Hyperion was stationed was a designated exhibition and sales area allocated by the Luofu officials to major organizations—a temporary market allowing them to set up stalls and exchange goods.
Factions that had successfully applied for a spot set up booths on their assigned grounds one after another. They displayed products they were proud of, or precious weapons, minerals, and materials obtained through various means. It was a chance to both build their reputation and make a tidy profit on the side.
Take the ring Fuli was wearing on his right pinky finger, for example. It was a "Nah-Ring" he had bought on a whim. As long as a sliver of energy was input, it would emit a sound like "Na-na-na," maxing out the otaku atmosphere instantly.
"Speaking of precious items."
Walking down the street, Fuli turned his head to ask Little Dudu, who was looking around with curious eyes. "The Master Diviner of the Luofu, Qingque, stuffed a pretty interesting map into my hands. Apparently, it records the locations where heavy criminals in the Shackling Prison secretly buried their treasures before being incarcerated. What do you think? After the ceremony ends, shall we form a party and go treasure hunting?"
"Qingque?"
Little Durandal's brows furrowed subconsciously, a trace of wariness flashing in her eyes behind the goggles. "Why did she give you a map?"
God knows why, but just hearing this name gave the girl an inexplicable sense of repulsion, as if the other party was destined to snatch away her most precious treasure. She felt an instinctive unhappiness.
"Because we originally planned to go together."
Completely oblivious to the crisis, Fuli spoke with assurance. "But General Miaojian ordered the Divination Commission to work overtime to deduce Shuhu's whereabouts. As the Master Diviner, she's so busy she's practically kicking the back of her own head, so she could only tearfully give me the marked map."
The entire Luofu attached great importance to the possibility of Shuhu making waves during the ceremony.
Even Fu Xuan herself had taken action personally, only to obtain a wicked hexagram indicating "peaceful singing and dancing."
The stubborn General naturally wouldn't resign himself to this, and when leadership gets serious, subordinates naturally have to spin like tops.
That said, the Divination Commission didn't have many complaints.
First, the overtime pay and benefits were in place.
Second, the Luofu was their home, and no one wanted to see an accident happen here.
Qingque naturally felt the same, but that didn't stop her from shouting loudly when she saw Fuli and Little Durandal holding hands and shopping on the surveillance screen: "NTR alert!"
"Hmph! You are the interloper!"
Fuli: ?
"Nothing, just a feeling."
Little Durandal dragged him along to continue their date. as they ventured deeper, the sounds of hawking, bargaining, and the humming of prop demonstrations rose and fell, creating a scene of vibrant life where all things competed for attention.
Looking around at the district, which was obviously dozens of times larger than it appeared from the outside, the girl lamented, "Even a random street uses spatial folding technology. They say that compared to the Shenzhou of the Proper World, the orthodoxy of the Taixuan Front lies in the Sea of Quanta. Looking at it now, that rumor really has some truth to it."
"Over here, they prefer to call this technology a 'Delve'."
Fuli scratched his cheek. "It can't be helped. The Proper World is still trying its best to hide the existence of Honkai and supernatural powers from the public. Compared to the Six Great Xianzhou ships that have been fighting on the front lines of the Sea of Quanta since birth, that side really does look like a group of infants living in a cradle."
He paused, his tone taking on a deeper meaning. "But to be honest, as to who holds the true orthodoxy of the Taixuan Front... it's really hard to say right now."
"Is there a hidden story?"
Little Durandal tilted her head cutely.
"You know that the full name of the Taixuan Front is the 'Kyushu Treaty Alliance'." Fuli led her to sit down in an elegant pavilion provided for resting. "For the Huaxia civilization, which has the concept of 'Grand Unification' written into its DNA, the word 'Alliance' is naturally politically incorrect. To use internet slang: if the First Emperor knew about this, he'd probably be so angry he'd jump out of his coffin."
"But this matter, to some extent, really is his fault." He changed the subject. "Walking here just now, you must have noticed the architectural style of the Luofu streets—dougong brackets like clouds, deep eaves, ceramic tiles linked like dragon scales, mullioned windows dividing the skylight. It's typical glorious Tang Dynasty atmosphere, yet cleverly integrated with futuristic technology."
"Why? Because this is exactly the 'IF' route of Huaxia civilization developing up to the Tang Dynasty."
Fuli spoke in an ethereal tone. "Historical records state that back then, seeking immortality, Qin Shi Huang sent Xu Fu to lead thousands of boys and girls, carrying three years' worth of grain, clothing, medicine, and farming tools, to sail into the sea on giant mirage ships to find the three legendary immortal mountains: Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou."
"Was that really necessary?" Little Durandal asked in confusion. "If that Emperor really wanted to seek immortality, wasn't the target right in front of his eyes?"
"A-Achoo!"
In a quiet room somewhere on the Luofu, Fu Hua sneezed loudly without warning.
She looked around in confusion, suspecting someone was talking about her.
"That's why I said 'historical records'." Fuli pinched the little girl's nose tip. "Immortality might have been one of the reasons the First Emperor sent Xu Fu, but the main purpose was to deal with the promises that Great Qin couldn't fulfill after unifying the six states."
"Promises? To whom?"
"The old Qin people with illustrious military merits."
After Shang Yang's reforms, although Shang Yang himself became a 'Hermès' (split apart), the system of military merit titles implemented by the State of Qin was retained.
The creation of the Twenty Ranks of Peerage gave commoners, whose lives were otherwise visible at a glance from birth to death, a channel for upward mobility. It also made their eyes look at the troops of the six states with hunger, like starving wolves looking at fatty meat slipping to their mouths.
Relying on this mechanism and the diligent governance of six generations of monarchs, in 221 BC, King Zheng of Qin swept away the six states. Believing his virtue surpassed the Three Sovereigns and his achievements exceeded the Five Emperors, he took a character from each to create the title "Emperor" (Huangdi), becoming the first feudal monarch in civilization's history to use this title.
At the same time, using the Qin state's system as the standard, he standardized various political, economic, and cultural systems across the country, eliminating regional differences caused by long-term division as much as possible to facilitate unity.
At first glance, it was an era of peace and song.
But beneath the waves, undercurrents surged.
First, there wasn't enough land to distribute. The military merits the old Qin people had exchanged for blood and sweat couldn't be cashed out.
At that time, the territory of the Qin Dynasty was approaching the limits of agrarian civilization's rule. Operations against the Xiongnu in the north were difficult to advance due to the shortcoming in cavalry, and the humid and hot lands of the south were unsuitable for farming grants.
The State of Qin originally cashed out military merit rewards by acquiring new land through expansion. But after unification, expansion stagnated while the accumulation of military merits continued to increase. The direct result was the inflation of military merits, the devaluation of noble status, and the closure of the promotion channel once again.
Secondly, there was the resistance of the remnants of the six states against the Qin Dynasty.
Standardizing the script and wheel gauges was undoubtedly beneficial for millennia to come—this can be seen from the messy measurement units of Britain and America today.
The problem was, for the remnants of the six states at the time, this was tantamount to forcibly pressing their heads down to change customs inherited from their ancestors. Moreover, Qin laws were known for being harsh and cruel. This was equivalent to a modern government suddenly going crazy and mandating that starting tomorrow, all citizens must speak Korean; speak one sentence of Chinese and you go to detention, speak again and you get publicly hanged. Who could tolerate that?
Thus, to quell the rising dissatisfaction of the old Qin people and simultaneously deal with the commoners who still harbored loyalty to their old states, the First Emperor simply ordered numerous alchemists led by Xu Fu to go to the Return to Ruins (Guixu) in the depths of the East Sea and open the door to the Sea of Quanta.
"Return to Ruins?"
Listening intently, Little Durandal blinked.
"It's the Eye of the Deep."
The Eye of the Deep, created by humanity of the Previous Era in the center of the continent of Mu, was a giant portal leading to the Sea of Quanta.
Little Goose said strangely, "Isn't the location of Mu in the Pacific Ocean—Oh! The East Sea!"
"Exactly." Fuli handed over an ice cream. "The ancients wouldn't distinguish between seas and oceans so clearly. For Shenzhou, the great sea located to the east of Shenzhou is naturally the East Sea."
"Mmm, thank you, Little Li."
The girl took the ice cream and extended her pink, tender tongue to lick it.
The cold, sweet taste made her squint in satisfaction, and she summarized the remaining part. "So Xu Fu used some means to lead those people of the six states and batches of elite old Qin people through the Eye of the Deep to the Sea of Quanta, expanding territories in various Bubble Worlds, becoming the origin of the current Six Great Xianzhou ships."
Of course, more people who were nostalgic or didn't want to take risks chose to stay in their homeland and, as recorded in history, overthrew the rule of the Qin Dynasty.
"Roughly so. However, Xu Fu, who was from the State of Qi, was no loyal minister or good general. He quickly closed the Eye of the Deep, cutting off contact with the Middle Kingdom. It wasn't until decades ago, when Shenzhou, blockaded jointly by Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, had to turn its gaze to the Sea of Quanta to seek a way out, that all parties re-established contact."
Fuli took out a wet wipe and gently wiped away the residue on the little one's corner of the mouth.
He looked at the buildings and pedestrians of vastly different styles on the street. "And in these nearly two thousand years, each Xianzhou gradually developed its own distinct characteristics, becoming various 'IF' routes of Huaxia civilization. The current typical saying is: Luofu resembles Tang, Yaoqing resembles Han, Zhuming resembles Ming, and Xuling resembles Qin."
That was why, despite coming from the Yuque Xianzhou, Fu Xuan was still captivated by the Imperial Seal.
Everyone's ancestors were of the same lineage.
As for how many people died and how much blood was shed during this expansion process, that was not something to be mentioned to outsiders.
Just in the official records, a full three Xianzhou ships—Cangcheng, Daiyu, and Yuanqiao—had been destroyed. That's a guaranteed one-third death rate, with no upper limit.
"However, precisely because the major Xianzhou ships have always stood at the forefront of fighting monsters from the Sea of Quanta, they are all brimming with martial virtue." Fuli said with a smile, "Even sharing common ancestors, it would be extremely difficult for the Shenzhou of the Proper World to unify everyone just by talking. Some things, without a real fight with real swords and guns, you really can't determine who is superior."
"That is why it's called the Taixuan 'Front'."
Little Goose understood.
With a great enemy before them, everyone gathers to deal with the common threat first.
As for future matters, well, we have to believe in the wisdom of future generations!
Seeing they were sufficiently rested, Fuli stood up and stretched. "Continue?"
"Mhm."
Little Durandal actively took his hand.
As a veteran driver who had arrived a few days early, the boy naturally acted as a guide.
"Look at that."
He pointed to a shop with a crooked sign on the side, a hint of playfulness in his voice. "Small organization: Crucible Tempering Society. A production-type organization specializing in explosives. Their products are highlighted by the 'Three Unknowns'—don't know when it will explode, don't know how to trigger the explosion, don't know how powerful the explosion is. This even applies to explosives that have already exploded."
"W-Will anyone place an order for that?"
Little Goose looked at the gloomy shop and subconsciously leaned closer to Fuli.
"That's why there are barely any customers," the latter complained. "Under the influence of Honkai energy, people on the Honkai side have something wrong with their heads, but that doesn't mean they like to seek death, and they certainly don't like spending their own money to seek death."
"But I think I just saw someone walk in."
"Either they're brain-dead, or their pockets are cleaner than their face."
[T/N: It is well known that the worse the goods, the lower the price.]
"Here, and that one."
Fuli pointed to the other side of the street again.
At the entrance of a shop, a beautiful cloaked girl with silver-grey hair, holding a huge scythe, was curled up on a lounge chair napping.
The sunlight falling on her pale skin revealed a gloomy aura that said 'Strangers Keep Away'.
"The Mourning Actors, an organization formed by the dead huddling together for warmth. Their style is similar to traditional necromancers. They specialize in extracting information from a person's genes and then summoning their ancestors to beat them up."
"That's a bit excessive."
"Don't worry, the stronger the person, the harder it is to extract genes. However, they also run a business helping people find their roots and ancestors. For example, seeing which historical celebrity you are a descendant of. But I suspect these skeletons are just scamming people. given the abstract painting conditions of ancient times, even if they pull one out, you wouldn't know who is who."
"Guh!"
Seeming to be woken by their conversation, the girl grunted in dissatisfaction and opened her sleepy eyes.
When she clearly saw Fuli's appearance, her purple pupils shrank violently. She jumped up hugging her scythe, rushed into the shop without looking back, and slammed the door shut with a bang.
Clearly, brainless brutes like the bald burly man were in the minority.
"Ah, she ran away," Little Durandal said blankly.
Fuli couldn't help but smooth her side ponytail. "This actually isn't much. If you want true excess, you have to look at the group from the Glamoth Empire. They were originally a large organization extremely skilled in cloning technology, with a particularly vast territory at their peak. But because they had a penchant for cloning their opponents' immediate family members for various psychological warfare tactics, they eventually faced a joint siege led by Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, and the Taixuan Front, and were directly wiped from the Sea of Quanta."
"T-Then, what about that?"
The girl suddenly pointed to an unusually lively stall not far away. It was surrounded by crowds three layers deep inside and out. Many people were waving their arms excitedly, scrambling to join.
"Oh, that's the Nine Creeks Tribe who claim to be descendants of Chi You. These people gathered at the Soldier God's Ancient Tomb in 1446, attempting to resurrect the ancient evil beast Chi You, but their plot was foiled by Celestial Chi Yuan who arrived on a flying sword. Since then, they have never recovered."
This was actually told to Fuli by Cousin Hua. It was also that time she picked up Lin Zhaoyu in swaddling clothes, personally starting the path of the Seven Swords of Taixuan murdering their master.
"Descendants of Chi You? They let this in?"
Little Durandal was shocked.
Fuli spread his hands. "We have to promote ethnic unity, you know. The Soldier God Chi You has also transformed nowadays, becoming one of the three officially certified ancestors of Huaxia civilization. The higher-ups can't blatantly discriminate... But rest assured, in this day and age, as long as these guys have properly finished their nine years of compulsory education, they won't think about causing trouble to resurrect a Judgement-Class Honkai Beast."
"Oh."
Little Goose nodded, seemingly understanding but still confused. "But even so, that's not a proper organization, right? Why do so many people want to join it?"
"That, well, it's because the entry benefit includes a 'Political Correctness Beast'."
"Political Correctness Beast?"
"A giant panda, of course. It's white, it's black, it's Asian, it's an animal, it's a bear but it's vegetarian, and it's even a minority group." Fuli quickly revealed the answer. "As long as you join their Nine Creeks Sect, the sect's higher-ups will issue a giant panda to every newcomer as a mount. It gives you huge face when riding it out, and you can even pet—Eh? Where'd she go?"
Before he finished speaking, he felt his hand go empty.
"Me! Me me me!"
Little Durandal, who was standing quietly beside him just a moment ago, had now squeezed into the fanatical crowd with all her might.
"I want to join the Nine Creeks Sect too!"
She held her small hand high, her attitude incredibly impatient.
"Hehe..."
Watching that petite blonde figure waving her arm vigorously and jumping up and down in the crowd, Fuli, standing in place, curved his eyes into a smile.