Su Shiye slowly straightened his back and turned to look at her. For a long time, he offered no reaction.
Fanli did not dare to rush him, standing silently where she was. The light of the celebratory fireworks served as the electrocardiogram of Bamanboya—vibrant, flickering, and casting a rhythmic, rising and falling melody of light across their bodies.
Amidst the soft murmur of flowing water, Su Shiye’s hands relaxed slightly. "This child..." he said, his voice uncertain, "was conceived while I was still in the Light Sea?"
"...Yes."
"The child is still there?"
"Mhm."
"And so, for four hundred and forty-four years, you neither came to find me with it, nor did you give birth to it."
"I tried to find you, but I couldn't..."
"No, that isn't a reasonable excuse." Su Shiye paused, shaking his head as if confirming something to himself. "You have been in Bamanboya for over two years, yet you never thought to tell me."
"I didn't want to pressure you, and I didn't want to use a child to bind you..."
"What do you mean, 'use a child to bind me'?" Su Shiye’s voice rose with a hint of fury. "Is that child yours alone?!"
"No, but I..."
"Tell me, was this pregnancy an accident? Back in the Golden Floating Rainforest, did we not agree to have a child?"
"We did, but..."
"But what? But back then, you didn't expect that as soon as your Soul Potion scam ended, you would have to kill me, right? So, if I hadn't vented my grievances to you tonight, would the child have gone on forever never knowing who its father was?"
"I really didn't know you would care this much. If I had known, I would have told you from the start. I wouldn't have dragged it out until now..."
Fanli’s explanation was useless. Su Shiye only grew angrier. The number of times he had lost control of his emotions like this in his life could be counted on one hand.
"I proposed to you back then! I said I wanted a child! Do you really think I wouldn't care?! Great Envoy Sui, are you truly so divinely powerful that you can be pregnant all by yourself? What right did you have to hide this from me..." At this point, Su Shiye suddenly stopped. He turned toward the balcony and said softly, "Forget it. I have no right to criticize you. Let’s not speak of this topic anymore."
"Brother, please don't be angry." Fanli walked over and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, resting her forehead against the center of his back. "Regarding this child, whatever you decide, I will listen to you. Alright?"
"Let me be alone to calm down." Su Shiye’s tone softened slightly, but he sounded exhausted. "I don't want to talk right now."
"Alright... then I’ll head out first. I won't disturb you. Find me when you're ready to talk."
After leaving the Endless Palace, Fanli kept replaying the night's events in her mind.
Others might see Su Shiye as a man holding absolute power, handling everything with ease, but she felt she understood why he was so weary.
Throughout the banquet, Su Shiye had worn several different masks. He had simultaneously courted Xitian while slapping the face of Xitian’s loyal Dictator to subdue him. He had sowed discord between Xitian and Qiaoqiao, making Qiaoqiao utterly submissive to Fanli while giving Fanli immense face. Even with his rivals, his methods were entirely different: for Xitian, who was close to his own level, he used a "slap and a candy" approach; for Yujin, he took the route of the gentle older brother who wouldn't strike a smiling face, knowing Yujin was well-behaved and would retreat as long as Su Shiye showed off his intimacy with Fanli. Furthermore, in handling the relationship between the Dictator and Xitian, he had been testing the boundaries of a dangerous edge; a slight misstep in degree would have resulted in total failure.
Of course, Su Shiye had always been a master of political maneuvering; these things alone weren't enough to exhaust him.
What exhausted him was the purpose behind all this elaborate staging.
In the end, he had acted as though he would listen to Fanli in everything. It looked like a weak ruler lacking his own opinion, but his true goal was to delegate power to her, using their ambiguous relationship to shift the conflict between the Light and Dark Seas. This served two purposes: first, if friction occurred between the two seas in the future, the Light Sea could go directly to Fanli, allowing the Empire to avoid direct conflict; second, the power in Fanli’s hands was given by him.
He knew she would take on this responsibility. Like the myriad threads of royal power in his hands, he could manipulate her like a marionette. Yet, at the same time, he would fall into a new pit of self-doubt: was Fanli unable to leave him because of the man he was, or because of the thread he had tied to her?
Hearing his series of interrogations, Fanli realized that this indestructible man was, in fact, fragile and wanted to be comforted by her.
But she had been too impulsive. The way she chose to comfort him was to expose her own weakness and drop a massive bombshell on him when he was at his most tired. Why did she have to say so much? She should have just gone over, held him quietly, and told him, "I'm always here."
Now, it felt like everything was ruined...
To stop herself from overthinking, Fanli focused her attention back on her research to make time pass faster.
Two days later, she finally synthesized the results of multiple experiments. By using a solvent derived from the Fel Sandworms of the Dark Sea, she could synthesize thirty-six chromosomes for the trench worms. By integrating either Arcane or Fel energy, she could reactivate silent genes, giving the worms a super-powerful ability for biological mimicry. Consequently, the trench worm would transform into a miraculous magical creature with the ability to evolve within a short period.
In other words, if the right method was found to break through the bottleneck of racial differences, it would no longer be a pipe dream for lower and middle-tier races—like the Oceanic, Predator, Shadow, and Ghoul tribes—to possess the lifespans of the Sea God or Flame Demon races. It was highly likely to be achievable.
Furthermore, in this scenario, lower-tier sea races would no longer need to risk drinking the "Heart of the Styx" to change their race. Instead, they could gradually become stronger and narrow the gap between races by ingesting potions and stimulating their Arcane limits.
Upon discovering this major breakthrough, Fanli immediately contacted her team in the Light Sea for a conference call.
However, when he heard Fanli’s proposal, Professor Wennan was not happy; he was terrified.
"Academician Sui, forgive me for being blunt, but you're a bit mad!" Professor Wennan’s thin, withered face was pale. "Have you thought about the new conflicts this would trigger? I don't want to generalize all Oceanic tribes, but you should know that a large portion of them are quite foolish. What kind of social crisis will be triggered when they possess the abilities of the Sea God race? Have you considered that?"
"No matter the race, they cannot fully possess the abilities of the Sea God race. The Sea God race has an Arcane constitution; no race can replace them."
"No, no, no. You lived as an Oceanic for many years, so you might feel more sympathy for them. That is a good thing; I am moved by your compassion. But the Sea God race, in a sense, represents the elite class, not just a religious symbol. Only when a small portion of the sea races possesses supreme power can the balance of the ocean be maintained. If you attempt to change the genes of the Oceanic tribes, you are challenging the entire social system of the ocean. This is terrifying."
"Is... is it really that exaggerated?" Even as she asked, Fanli realized what this research result implied. If this news were made public, and such potions or Arcane techniques appeared on the market, it would be like throwing a few elixirs of immortality into a crowd or tossing tickets for Noah’s Ark into a sea of people. Anyone would turn into a monster for them.
"Academician Sui, I can understand you. Like every dedicated Arcanist and Potioneer, you have a strong academic spirit and are trying your best to eliminate class and inequality. But you must also know that 'becoming stronger' does not necessarily mean 'becoming better.' In this world where the strong prey on the weak, 'becoming stronger' can even mean 'becoming worse.'"
Fanli was nearly convinced. She looked at the phantom of Yejia sitting opposite her and asked uncertainly, "Yejia, what do you think?"
"I think you're great." Yejia blinked his violet eyes.
"And?"
"There is no 'and.' I've never had much of an opinion on these things. You know me."
"Then what *do* you have an opinion on? Tell me about your recent research."
"I haven't produced any meaningful research lately." Yejia shrugged and gave a nonchalant smile. "If I had to say something, it would be the discovery that cyanobacteria can also possess consciousness."
"Cyanobacteria possessing consciousness? How is that possible?"
Not just Fanli, but the other four scholars present all showed looks of disbelief. It was common knowledge that cyanobacteria were single-celled prokaryotes that couldn't even reproduce sexually and had no neurons. How could they have consciousness?
"Oh, I'm not saying the cyanobacteria themselves possess consciousness. Rather, I've invented an Arcane technique that can transplant a portion of a person's consciousness into the Aether, and then transplant it into cyanobacteria via the Aether."
"Wow," Fanli leaned forward, surprised. "That’s a huge invention. Tell me more?"
"This Arcane technique can exist beyond the Aether. That is to say, it can transcend time and space. Interesting, right?"
"Ahhh! You mean, through this method, we can distribute our consciousness to microorganisms, and then bring the memories of those microorganisms back to ourselves, thereby changing the past and the future? Isn't this similar to the Avatar technique of the Ethereal Body? But like, a powered-up version?!"
"Oh, that’s not quite the same. The main body of an Ethereal Body can harvest the memories of the avatar, but with my technique, once the consciousness is transplanted into the microorganism, there’s no follow-up. It’s not reversible, and you can't control it. After splitting the consciousness, the two of you have nothing to do with each other."
"..." Fanli’s smile gradually faded. "Oh, I see. Through your technique, I can share a part of my consciousness with cyanobacteria from a hundred million years ago, and another part with cyanobacteria a hundred million years from now, letting them drift in the sea with my consciousness for a few days before they die, right?"
"It can also pass your consciousness to the next generation through vegetative reproduction. Isn't it a novel Arcane technique?"
"...It’s incredibly novel."
"Interested?"
"...So interested."
"Then I’ll send you the scroll to learn this technique. You’ll grow to love it."
*So, why waste mental energy on an Arcane technique that’s the same as not casting anything at all...*
Finally, the meeting ended. As the others left one by one, Yejia blew a kiss. "I wish you sexual bliss. Remember to use contraception."
Fanli’s lip twitched as she called out to him, "I say, how do you manage to stay so Zen all the time..."
"Because I know that the world's imperfections aren't just because of race, Sui 'Top of the School' Fanli. Every great invention has the potential to make the world better, but it cannot eliminate the ugly side of biological nature. Once you figure that out, you can be as Zen as me."
Yejia’s words left Fanli deep in thought for a long while.
It was truly hard to imagine that someone so socially adept could have such a cynical side. But then again, considering Yejia was a standard Cynic and a committed bachelor, his mindset wasn't incomprehensible.
A while later, Qiong came to the lab to pick up Xiami. Fanli, still enthralled by her chromosome synthesis method, stayed behind for some passionate overtime, occasionally lifting the basin of experimental trench worms into the seawater for study. Because changing into a waterproof pressure suit was a hassle, she sometimes entered the seawater and simply used Arcane pressure resistance.
After shuttling back and forth between the seawater and the air pockets several times, one experiment took her into a metal cage within the seawater lab. To ensure the cultivation was correct, she entered the cage to check the hydrothermal vent simulator.
However, less than two seconds after she entered, there was a sudden *clang*. The deathly sound of a lock clicking made her spine slowly straighten.
Fanli turned around and found herself locked inside the cage. She grabbed the metal bars and shook them, but they didn't budge. Then, she used Arcane energy to attack the metal cage, but it had no effect—this was a Dark Sea alloy commonly used by the military, often paired with Abyss Cold Iron. With her severely weakened Arcane strength, she couldn't move it in the slightest.
She began to shout "Help" at the top of her lungs.
But unfortunately, the lab walls had the strongest soundproofing; even a Predator with the best hearing wouldn't be able to detect her presence. Her throat began to ache from shouting. She used Arcane energy to smash things in the lab, hoping to attract attention from the outside, but the effect was even worse than her cries for help.
At this water pressure, her severely suppressed mental energy wouldn't last long; the pressure-resistance Arcane would vanish like a depleted battery. Thinking of the scene after the Arcane vanished, goosebumps crawled across Fanli’s cheeks.
She tried various methods and persisted for eighty-seven minutes. Just as she was about to try throwing a different book at the door, a red light flashed.
Su Li appeared outside the iron cage, tossing a key up and down. She looked at Fanli with disdain. "You really don't give up, do you? Still struggling after all this time?"
"So it was you..." Fanli was nearly hallucinating from the strain, but she forced herself to stay conscious. "Princess Crimson Moon, what is the meaning of this?"
"You stinking woman from the Light Sea, you spend all day and night seducing my father. Now you've grown so bold you even dare to sleep in his bedchamber. What, being the Great Envoy of the Light Sea isn't enough to satisfy your ambition? You have to be the Queen of the Abyss too? Is the status of your Light Sea so cheap?"
Fanli tried her best to speak calmly. "Your father and I are not in the kind of relationship you think."
"Still lying?! He doesn't even associate with Auntie Gexi and the others anymore because of you! Wasn't it enough that you betrayed him back then? Now you have the face to seduce him? Truly disgusting!"
Su Li grew angrier as she spoke. When she tossed the key into the air again, she used a Fel attack to shatter it into pieces. "Today, you can properly experience the water pressure of the deep sea! Feel the pain of your mental energy being drained. The feeling of my father being stolen by you won't feel much better than this!"
"Princess, Su Shiye and I are not in a relationship where we can marry. I cannot replace your mother."
"You're already sleeping in the Hall of Eternal Night, and you're still making excuses?!"
"He won't marry me." Fanli shook her head, frowning. Her mental energy was draining too fast, and her body was beginning to feel slight discomfort. She looked like a pitiful little girl clutching an adult for candy. "Your father has gone through countless women like me in his life. I won't be the first, and I won't be the last. To him, the only one who can never be replaced is you. You are his blood relative."
Su Li wavered slightly, asking suspiciously, "You're the Great Envoy of the Light Sea. Why would you be willing to be someone he just plays around with? What are you after?"
"I love him."
"Love? You love my dad..." Su Li was stunned for a moment, but she soon said coldly, "You've been married several times, and you're still talking about love?"
"Did he ever tell you that he and I grew up together? In Phili Town of the Starry Sea, I was his parents' foster daughter..."
"Foster daughter? Impossible! Their family only had one foster daughter, named Fanli."
"I am Fanli. Sui is my surname; Fanli is my name."
"...What..." Su Li was stunned, shaking her head. "You're lying to me. I don't believe it. How could you be Fanli... Fanli was my mother. She passed away right after I was born..."
Fanli was also stunned for a moment, but she quickly deduced that Su Shiye might have made up a story to lie to Su Li, giving her something to look up to regarding her mother. But her head had begun to spin; her hands and tail felt weak, and the light on her tail flickered, gradually dimming.
"Let me out first... let me out so we can talk..." Fanli grabbed the bars, forcing her body to stay upright. "I... my head hurts so much right now..."
"Seventy years ago, did you see my father?"
"No... can we talk outside?"
"So he was lying to me." Su Li was utterly disappointed, her eyes hollow. "He was thinking of you, yet he had me with my mother and even wiped away my mother's name. That’s how it was, wasn't it?"
"Princess Crimson Moon, really, let me out quickly. Once my mental energy is gone, I will die instantly... Do you want to kill me?"
Seeing Fanli slide down weakly and curl up on the floor, Su Li said in confusion, "Kill you? How is that possible? Can't you last for a day?"
"A day?! Impossible. I've been working all day today; my mental energy was already empty. In this state, I'll be lucky to last half an hour."
"Wha—what... You're lying again. That’s not what they told me. You're a Sea God; how could you be so weak?"
"A Sea God below 7,800 meters is no different from being crippled."
Su Li swam over, wanting to open the door, but only then remembered she had impulsively destroyed the key. She used Fel energy to attack the metal, but the result was naturally the same as Fanli’s earlier attempt.
"If you don't get out before your mental energy runs out, what will happen?" Su Li looked up, her face turning pale. "This water pressure... you can't take it at all?"
"My organs will burst. My blood will spray all over your face."
"Oh my god!!" Su Li completely lost her composure. "Wait for me! I'll go find someone to save you right now! Wait for me!"
"Wait, do you know the Air Pocket technique?"
"N-no!"
"It's okay, it's okay. Listen, go find the security guards now, or call the lab's emergency number. They should have a spare key..." Fanli weakly grabbed the bars, reaching out. "Also, give me my communicator..."
Su Li went out, threw the communicator to Fanli, and rushed out in a panic. However, the communicator landed about fifty centimeters away from Fanli’s fingers. Fanli couldn't reach it. She called "Princess" twice, but Su Li didn't return.
The rate of mental energy consumption wasn't constant; it was accelerating. Fanli couldn't even lift her hand anymore. She felt the invisible barrier protecting her skin becoming thinner and softer. The presence of the deep-sea water pressure grew stronger, like a giant holding a hundred-story skyscraper on her shoulders, and now, the strength holding it up was being pulled away bit by bit.
She wanted to use Arcane energy to "grab" the communicator, but the energy she was constantly sending out to resist the pressure left her with nothing more to release.
*Princess, where did you go...*
*Come back quickly...*
No, she couldn't wait for Su Li to return. In thirty seconds at most, her entire Arcane system would collapse, and the water pressure would crush her.
Just then, the communicator suddenly lit up. Seeing the name flashing from a distance, she unhesitatingly used her last remaining mental energy to push the seawater, hitting the answer button.
"I'm locked in the seawater experimental cage in the lab. I'm dying. Help." After saying this, she knew she didn't even have fifteen seconds left.
There was only the sound of breathing on the other end of the line.
Because of the excessive mental energy consumption, her vision began to flicker between light and dark, as if her brain were about to lose power.
It was over...
She was dead.
But at the very last moment, just as she foresaw herself about to burst, a familiar figure appeared at the lab door. That giant suddenly hoisted the skyscraper back up. The surrounding seawater was instantly drained, and an air pocket rapidly expanded, shielding her inside.
A red flash of Fel energy flickered. There was a crisp sound of metal snapping, as clean as a machine cut. The cage was split in two and fell backward.
Then, she was pulled tightly into Su Shiye’s embrace. His chest heaved violently, his heartbeat so intense it felt like it would explode. The hands holding her were trembling. "Li Li, speak to me."
"I'm okay." Fanli curled her body, looking up with a self-mocking smile, but the fear that had seeped into her flesh made her body shake even harder. "Thank you... I actually survived. I almost thought I’d be pressed into a flatfish..."
Su Shiye didn't speak. He only tightened his embrace, gasping for air silently. His mental world was in chaos, having lost the capacity for rational thought. But he still instinctively picked her up, placed her on the sofa, and sat beside her. "You're very weak right now. Sleep for a while."
"Will you leave?" She grabbed his hand, like a pitiful little girl clutching an adult for candy.
"I won't."
The simple answer shattered her mask of forced optimism. She grabbed his hand with her other hand as well, pressing it against her face. "Just now... I was actually so scared..."
"It's alright. I'm here," Su Shiye said softly. "I won't let you get hurt."
In this instant, the man before her seemed to turn back into that youth from a glance that lasted ten thousand years.
That Xinghai of few words, who gave her a complete sense of security.
Fanli felt very happy. Even if the future was an unknown, having this one sentence from him now was enough to satisfy her.
Just moments ago, she had been terrified of death. But if she were to die now, holding his hand, she would have no regrets.
However, for Su Shiye, nothing was as calm as he appeared. He knew very well that during those ten-odd seconds while he was rushing over, one question had been repeating in his mind: *If Fanli dies, what should I do?*
There was only one answer.
And she wouldn't like that answer.
***
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