"Setsuna Blade: Void Abyss!" (i alway forgot the skill name)
"Eminence: Heaven Cleaver!"
Under the flawless, breathtaking coordination between Fuli and Fu Hua, it didn't take long for the colossal, majestic phantom of the Lightning Lord to shatter into countless motes of light and dissipate into the air.
Stripped of his greatest trump card, the Fragmentum clone of Jing Yuan was quickly reduced to nothingness, swallowed by the pitch-black sun conjured by Fuli's blade.
However, true to the Fragmentum's twisted mechanics, the combat power of the two remaining phantoms skyrocketed yet again. Dan Feng's cloud-hymn magic summoned torrential, heaven-swallowing waves, while Jingliu's Shardsword radiated an edge sharper and more lethal than ever before.
While it looked like Topaz was being suppressed to the point of absolute misery, the reality was that the battlefield had officially shifted from a 3v5 to a much more manageable 3v2.
Fuli proactively took over vanguard duties, swinging his blade to engage Jingliu in a fierce, high-speed duel. Meanwhile, Fu Hua teamed up with Topaz, utilizing her overwhelming momentum to completely crush the relatively weaker Dan Feng.
"At the end of the day, they're just Fragmentum creations," Fuli said calmly, sidestepping dozens of razor-sharp sword beams with practiced ease. "Even if they possess rudimentary intelligence and a full suite of Critical-Class abilities, they're still a far cry from the real deals of that era."
If they had been fighting the actual High-Cloud Quintet in their prime, there was no way they would have succeeded this easily.
However, as Fragmentum anomalies, these counterfeits possessed their own unique, horrific advantages.
Squelch!
Under the trio's utterly horrified gazes, the head of a white-haired Foxian girl abruptly tore its way out of Jingliu's shoulder.
Immediately following that, two extra pairs of arms violently sprouted from beneath her ribs. These arms were draped in the signature sleeves of Dan Feng and Jing Yuan, with one pair wielding the Cloud-Piercer spear and the other gripping the legendary array-sword, Flint Spark—another top-tier divine weapon forged by Yingxing.
Even more jaw-dropping was the mutation of Jingliu's lower half. Her slender, elegant legs morphed into the athletic, bounding legs of a Foxian, while a fluffy tail burst from her lower back. And resting right on top of that tail, half-concealed by the fur, was Yingxing's decapitated head.
"What the hell is that?!" Topaz shrieked, her scalp going completely numb. "A hydra? A mutant? An 'Ed...ward...' Chimera?!"
She wasn't entirely ignorant of the Xianzhou's mythological "Three Heads and Six Arms" transformation arts, but no matter how you spun it, it shouldn't look this incredibly cursed!
"Fragmentum aesthetics don't exactly align with human standards. Or rather, they don't have aesthetics at all," Fuli replied, though even he had to admit the sight before him triggered a deep, biological revulsion.
As the most experienced veteran present, Fu Hua cautiously warned them, "Don't let this Quintet Amalgamation's horrific appearance fool you. Its power level is absolutely magnitudes higher than any individual we've faced!"
This monstrosity, using Jingliu as its base, had inherited her peerless swordsmanship and physical prowess. But now, it was stacked with the ace pilot Baiheng's omnidirectional vision and extreme mobility, Jing Yuan's Lightning Lord summoning, Yingxing's structural mastery of weapons, and Dan Feng's cloud-hymn magic that seamlessly blended destruction and healing. Its overall capabilities were pushing into the absolute pinnacle of the Breaker class!
To put it in terms any Xianzhou history buff would understand: It was the equivalent of taking Lu Bu, who was invincible on horseback, and Dian Wei, who was invincible on foot.
Since Ma Chao was the best rider, you have Lu Bu riding Ma Chao, who is in turn riding Dian Wei. Then you strap the genius strategist Zhuge Liang to their back for trap immunity, put the master archer Huang Zhong on their head for ranged DPS, and strap the loudmouth Zhang Fei to their rear to use his roaring as a jet thruster.
Finally, give Guan Yu's halberd to Lu Bu's right hand, have the tyrant Dong Zhuo cling to Lu Bu's left arm as a rage-meter generator, and strap the vanguard Zhao Yun to Dian Wei's chest to break enemy lines.
With a monstrosity like that, you could charge through an army of a million men without a single worthy opponent!
"Even among all the Fragmentum creations I've encountered, the power radiating off this thing is easily top-tier," Topaz said, eyeing the utterly repulsive, mood-killing design of the Quintet Chimera. She couldn't help but tease, "Well, boss? Still planning on keeping her around as your sparring partner?"
"Of course! In fact, the stronger, the better!"
Fuli's response was a testament to a gamer's unbreakable focus. He never had any worldly desires for Jingliu to begin with. Besides, even if he did want to smash, what did it matter if she was a mutated monster now? Her lower half was still female! Turn off the lights and it's all the same!
Okay, jokes aside.
In all fairness, Topaz's concerns were completely valid. Right now, with the three of them teaming up, they could suppress and defeat the Quintet Chimera. But Fuli intended to use it for solo practice in the future. Best case scenario, he'd get one-sidedly beaten into a pulp; worst case, he'd get humiliatingly counter-killed.
There was also the risk that a Fragmentum creation of this caliber might break through spatial barriers and invade the real Luofu.
Having quickly formulated a plan, Fuli spoke up. "Cousin, do me a favor."
"What is it?"
"Come here. Stand next to me."
Fu Hua obediently closed the distance, her cheeks flushing slightly as she did.
"Whoa! Ouch!" Topaz, currently responsible for kiting the Chimera, started to tease them before immediately yelping in pain, receiving a harsh reminder that one shouldn't eat popcorn and watch drama during a boss fight.
Without hesitation, Fuli wrapped his arm around his cousin's slender waist, gently pulling her into a close embrace.
And then—
Skill Activation: [Lethal Waifu Embrace]!
This system skill could only be activated by pulling a beautiful woman into a physical embrace. The target had to be biologically and psychologically female, possess an exceptional figure and appearance, and hold an affection level of "Soulmate" or higher toward the user.
Upon activation, both the user and the embraced target would temporarily adopt the higher of their combined stats, and the user would gain access to three random skills from the target's repertoire. The catch was that intimate physical contact had to be maintained; the moment they separated, the skill would cancel.
Since using it on Rita during the London incident, Fuli hadn't touched this skill once. The reason was purely practical: compared to this heavily restricted B-rank skill, the Metamoran Fusion Dance from Dragon Ball was infinitely superior in both rank and effect.
Logically speaking, facing a multi-headed monstrosity nearing the pinnacle of power, Fuli's first choice should have been the Fusion Dance. The problem was, ever since the Kanas Lake incident, he felt a deep, psychological rejection toward using that particular move. If he was pushed to the absolute brink, he might pinch his nose and use it, but the current situation wasn't quite that desperate.
So, without a second of hesitation, he pulled the soft, delicate body of the Taixuan Immortal into his arms and checked the three random skills he had acquired.
To say he was "checking" was an understatement. He only had one target in mind: The Edge of Taixuan.
Fuli had always remembered that the essence of Eminence was the ultimate manipulation and extension of Honkai energy. A master could use it to extend their control of Honkai energy straight into the domain of Authority. And Fu Hua, the wielder of Fenghuang Down, specialized entirely in the domains of mind, consciousness, and soul.
The reason her Edge of Taixuan caused catastrophic physical destruction was simply that its scale was so unfathomably massive it exceeded the holding capacity of the mental plane. The excess energy overflowed, violently eroding the physical universe.
Because the "Godhead Authorities" were born from the fusion of collective human consciousness and Honkai energy, this specific iteration of the Edge of Taixuan was their absolute, hard-counter kryptonite.
Fuli wasn't particularly interested in hunting down every Godhead entity he met. But Shuhu? That bastard Emanator of Abundance? Fuli was absolutely going to slaughter him with his own two hands. And the Edge of Taixuan was the perfect weapon for the job.
Due to the gender restrictions of the Taixuan Sword Qi, Fuli could never natively meet the prerequisites to learn Eminence. It was functionally impossible for him to master. But borrowing it to get a feel for the technique? There was zero downside.
Perhaps the snacks he had been bribing Kiana with had rubbed some of her protagonist luck onto him. Out of the vast, ocean-like library of martial skills Fu Hua had accumulated over five thousand years, Fuli hit the absolute jackpot on his first pull.
What followed needed no further description.
---||---
Once the dust had settled, Topaz, now back to normal, rubbed her sore lower back. She curiously approached the securely sealed Quintet Chimera, poking and prodding it with her finger.
"Weird. Why didn't it revert to its pretty original form?"
As a high-ranking IPC executive, Topaz usually maintained a professional, composed demeanor. But the sheer sequence of mind-bending events today had caused the girl to toss her corporate dignity straight out the window.
At the end of the day, she was still just a young woman in her early twenties who spent her entire life jet-setting across the galaxy, grinding KPIs and chasing performance metrics. She hadn't even had time to date.
It sounded pitiful at first glance, but the reality was that Topaz wasn't lacking money in the slightest. One of her core life philosophies was, What era is this? Who still works just for the money? Money is a means, not an end. Working is what brings true happiness. That's just basic logic.
To any normal person, this was a profoundly unhinged, dystopian corporate-slave mindset, but she genuinely enjoyed her life.
Fuli released his cousin from his embrace and rolled his eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you? I only care about its stats as a sparring partner. What it looks like is completely irrelevant."
Inhale— "Bro. Seriously? You actually mean that?"
It wasn't until this exact moment that Topaz truly believed he was being 100% genuine. She sucked in a breath of cold air, took two steps back, and then... felt an overwhelming sense of relief.
Great! That confirms he's not going to use my 'favor' to make me do anything weird!
"Dead serious," Fuli replied, not even looking up as he meticulously checked the seal on the boss.
Setsuna Blade: Yushiguang. This binding form required a direct hit on the enemy's main body to take effect. The struck target would have all of their internal energy activity temporarily suppressed. It stacked up to four times.
He had learned this technique directly from Kallen. According to his older sister, if Fuli could eventually imprint the Kaslana stigmata sequence onto himself, the suppression stacks of Yushiguang would become infinite.
To this day, Fuli still hadn't acquired that natural stigmata, which housed a fraction of the Herrscher of Binding's Authority. However, that didn't stop him from using the Edge of Taixuan—which extended into the domain of Binding—to amplify the power of his Setsuna Blade. He successfully suppressed the Chimera down to a level he could comfortably solo, allowing him to gradually unseal it later as his own strength grew.
That was the real reason he had activated Lethal Waifu Embrace.
It definitely wasn't just an excuse to legally cuddle with his beautiful cousin. Definitely not.
"Energy suppression... what an incredibly convenient trick," Topaz mused, resting her chin in her hand with a teasing half-smile. "Are you sure it's okay to leak such vital intelligence to an outsider like me?"
"Give me a break. Don't tell me the IPC hasn't obsessively studied my combat footage," Fuli replied with blatant disgust.
He remembered perfectly well that before they even entered the estate, this executive had casually mentioned that Massive Electric was the Hyperion's bottomless money sink. For a mega-corporation like the IPC, running exhaustive background checks on high-value targets was standard operating procedure.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. So cold. You're the only one for me, Numby," Topaz clicked her tongue, having failed to fluster the boy. She smoothly transitioned to petting the Dimensional Trotter nestled in her arms.
The little creature let out a series of strange, happy pu-ji, pu-ji sounds, nuzzling its large head against her warm palm. For once, it didn't immediately teleport away.
Catching the wholesome scene out of the corner of his eye, Fuli asked in surprise, "Planning to keep it as a pet?"
"It's cute, isn't it?" the girl shot back. "Or what, do you want to keep it?"
"Not really."
Honestly, Fuli felt it was a bit of a waste. Dimensional Trotters were basically walking piggy banks; if you hacked them to pieces, they dropped a massive amount of premium loot.
"I gave Asta a dog named Peppy a while back, and now a Trotter named Numby just pops out of nowhere for you," Fuli noted. "Considering you two are practically the only IPC members I've formally dealt with, fate is a pretty funny thing."
He didn't really count Arlan, since the guy had been unconscious the entire time. And Yama Shiluo didn't count either, seeing as Fuli had blasted him into subatomic dust with Genesis.
"That is quite a coincidence." Topaz shrugged, glancing around the ruined courtyard. "I wonder if the commotion from our fight leaked out. If anyone noticed, the property values in this sector are going to plummet again."
"Sounds like a win to me," Fuli replied deadpan.
As the two of them engaged in idle banter, Fu Hua stood quietly to the side. She didn't feel left out in the slightest. On the contrary, she wore the warm, gratified smile of a proud mother watching her children play.
Just as I thought. Fighting side-by-side really is the best way to forge bonds.
After verifying the seal multiple times, Fuli clapped his hands. "Alright, let's head out."
No one raised any objections. The space around them warped once more, the surreal, fractured environment of the Fragmentum fading away as the warmth of the real world washed over them.
Rays of morning sunlight pierced through the shattered windows of the estate, illuminating the dust motes dancing in the air like hazy pillars of gold.
Dawn had broken.
---||---
Several hours after the trio had left, laughing and joking among themselves. High noon.
Step. Step. Step.
A series of rhythmic, feather-light footsteps echoed through the cavernous, empty estate.
A female swordswoman, her pale blue hair tied in a ponytail and her eyes concealed behind a crescent-moon silk blindfold, stepped into the main hall, bringing a chilling aura with her.
Her footsteps paused.
She noticed that the estate—which should have been buried under years of dust—had been swept completely clean. The furnishings were still broken and dilapidated, but there was a faint, lingering trace of human warmth.
Did someone purchase this property?
The estate's original owner mused silently. She reached into her robes and produced a translucent, thirty-centimeter sword hilt.
[Name: Frost Soul]
[Rank: A]
[Type: Longblade / Sword]
[Effect: By injecting mental energy, the crystal hilt projects a slender ice blade the width of a thumb. The blade's shape is determined by the wielder. It possesses peerless sharpness and anti-magic properties, capable of effortlessly severing spells and all physical matter below A-Rank. It also boasts extreme armor-piercing capabilities against standard A-Rank shields and armor.
When mental energy is abundant, the ice blade can tear through the fabric of space, creating a spatial rift connected to a nearby location for immediate teleportation.]
[Note: The owner uses it to commute.]
Yes. To the swordswoman who owned it, this immensely powerful A-Rank divine weapon was nothing more than a convenient travel accessory.
Peerless sharpness?
Anti-magic?
Severing physical matter?
Armor penetration?
She didn't need any of that. She could achieve all of those effects with her own bare hands, and execute them infinitely better.
For the absolute zenith of swordplay known as Jingliu, even tearing through the fabric of space was child's play. The only reason she relied on Frost Soul was because she couldn't accurately gauge the coordinates on the other side of a raw spatial tear, making the tool necessary for stable teleportation.
Earlier, Fu Hua had concluded that even someone as powerful as the Transcendent Flash couldn't hide in this estate long-term without being discovered. As a former High-Sequence entity, the Taixuan Immortal's judgment and perception were completely accurate.
But that was predicated on a long-term stay. If it was just a short-term infiltration, Jingliu was more than confident in her ability to slip by unnoticed.
Having heard rumors that Shuhu planned to cause chaos during this year's Wardance, Jingliu—who had been wandering the myriad bubble universes—had returned to the Luofu after years of exile.
She was going to kill him. She was going to execute the monster brazenly parading around the world wearing Baiheng's face. It was that simple.
Unfortunately, it seemed her old home had acquired a new tenant.
Jingliu was a reasonable woman, and acutely aware of her status as a wanted criminal. She had no intention of startling the current owners.
She swung Frost Soul, slicing open a spatial rift, preparing to leave.
"Hmm?"
A faint, deeply familiar aura caused the swordswoman to halt.
She swung her blade again, severing the dimensions to forcefully force her way into the Fragmentum—a realm that should have only been accessible during the dead of night.
"..."
Upon laying eyes on the world-shatteringly cursed design of the Quintet Chimera, even Jingliu—a veteran of countless wars who had seen horrors beyond mortal comprehension—felt her mouth twitch violently.
An Epiphyllum blade, forged purely from frost, materialized in her palm. With a single, impeccably clean stroke, she executed the visually offensive monstrosity.
The Fragmentum anomaly shattered into thousands of fragments. A small portion of them gravitated toward the swordswoman, acknowledging her as their original template.
Jingliu initially intended to obliterate them, but upon catching a glimpse of a bright, smiling white-haired Foxian girl within the shards, the tip of her Epiphyllum blade hesitated. Ultimately, it didn't fall.
In that moment, everything that had transpired within this Fragmentum flooded into her mind in the form of pure memory.
An unpolished gem who shared her blood feud with Shuhu;
An all-consuming hunger for strength;
An ironclad, top-tier mindset;
An unprecedented, history-defying talent.
After a long silence, Jingliu murmured softly to herself,
"A sword practice partner, is it?"
As payment for using this place to hide from the Cloud Knights' patrols... it was more than enough.