When she recalled the night she had sought out Ye Jia for help, Fan Li felt she had truly been something else. It was a story of "being so ruthless I even played myself." In the process of becoming the human "Fan Li" she had hallucinated, there had been many things that caused her headaches, but looking back now, they were almost laughable.
For instance, the Reverse Spacetime Soul Exchange Potion hadn't worked because she had never actually exchanged souls.
For instance, that transfer student was a boy she had conjured out of thin air. Her original goal was to have her new self mislead Su Shiye into thinking that underage Sea Clan members had also infiltrated the human world, thereby diverting his attention. But because the youth who had left the deepest impression on her since childhood was Xing Hai, her imagination had been impoverished in that regard. Not only did the boy she envisioned look seventy to eighty percent like Xing Hai, but she hadn't even managed to forget that beauty mark on the tip of his nose.
For instance, the reason she had felt nauseated whenever she studied Arcana was because she had previously placed a secret seal on her own body, making it unable to withstand rapid progress in the mystic arts. Otherwise, if this fictional soul progressed too quickly, she might have drawn the attention of Shenyegana and been forced to stay. If that happened, it would have been difficult to evade Su Shiye’s pursuit.
For instance, the photo of her so-called "mother" was actually what she looked like as an adult, a gentler, modified version; and the face Fan Li had lived with for eighteen years was simply her own appearance from childhood.
The process had been full of blunders. She had even given her first aquatic mating to the simulated Xing Hai, only to gain absolutely no intelligence on the Holy City Party. Tsk, Su Shiye had really gotten a bargain for nothing.
But regardless, she had indeed successfully bluffed her way through. As long as the goal was achieved, it was enough.
This was also thanks to the fact that she had once kept a card up her sleeve against Su Shiye.
*Memory Fragment Eight*
My brother was too fierce. His so-called "Comprehensive Plan to Murder the Dictator" actually involved having Arno pose as the representative of the Karyu Principality and shooting the man point-blank during the signing of the armistice agreement. Moreover, after the assassination, he had successfully pulled off a "golden cicada shedding its skin" escape. The combat effectiveness of a special ops soldier was truly something one had to respect.
Grand Duke Asa and the Dictator of the Light Sea died unnatural deaths one after another—the former killed by the latter, and the latter killed by the former's subordinate. One could imagine the shock and terror this caused among the populace.
But upon hearing this tragic news, I laughed uncontrollably. I went to Asa’s coffin and offered a massive basket of algae, wishing him eternal rest.
Of course, this matter couldn't just end there. The Dictator was old and had seventeen children; his eldest son was old enough to be a grandfather to my brother and me. By killing the Dictator like that, my brother might have kept the truth from the public, but it was impossible to hide it from the Dictator’s family. One could also imagine the immense trouble he had brought upon himself.
He was hunted by the Dictator’s government and the Dictator’s entire extended family, fleeing all the way back to the Starry Sea, yet he still couldn't outrun the army of assassins.
By the time I received news of my brother, I learned from Arno that he had already died once.
He had been attacked by enemy venom and fell into a coma. His body slowly floated upward as he exhaled all the air in his swim bladder. Seawater rushed into the bladder, and he sank like a stone to the seabed plains. When people found him, he had no heartbeat and showed no signs of life. Medical personnel performed cardiac and swim-bladder resuscitation on him; his heart fluttered weakly a few times before stopping again.
They rushed him to the best hospital in the Starry Sea at maximum speed, but he remained in a coma, his brain having suffered irreparable, devastating damage. The doctors informed us that he retained only the most basic neural reflexes and metabolic functions, having completely lost all cognitive abilities, including his sense of self.
Seeing my brother lying on the hospital bed, my mind went blank; I couldn't produce any reaction.
I couldn't imagine a world without my brother.
It wasn't that I didn't dare to think about it; it was that I simply couldn't conceive of it.
Upon hearing of this, Sect Master Oda immediately rushed to the hospital to check on my brother's condition. He made a decisive judgment and prepared to send my brother to the Ether Altar to attempt fusion with the Ether Body.
"Wait!" Seeing those people preparing to transport him, I rushed out and said, "I’ll go get the Eye of Flame!"
Returning to Hot Sand Island, Qusha held a grand proposal ceremony that very night. In the marriage culture of the Fire Clan, there was no engagement period; once a proposal was accepted, the two were officially considered husband and wife.
As Qusha knelt before me and placed a floral wreath around my ankle, he carried me back to the bridal chamber amidst a chorus of cheers.
Before entering the room, lightning flashed and thunder rolled. The dusty sky was brewing another "crying scene." But this was not a natural phenomenon; it was an illusion created by a team of thirty-six Great Arcanists.
Leaning in Qusha’s arms, I looked out at the vast, endless sea. Tears welled in my eyes as my mind filled with the image of my brother lying pale on the hospital bed, his heart stopped. At the thought of losing him, I would have been willing to cut out my own heart for him if it meant he could recover his health.
A torrential downpour submerged Hot Sand Island. The Fire Clan members poured out, intending to accept another "rebirth" after being irrigated by the rain.
"It’s raining again so soon," Qusha said, holding me. "In all these years, I’ve never undergone rebirth because I had to watch over the clan."
"Don't you have me now? I can look after everything for you. Go."
"But, we haven't even..."
I covered his mouth and said softly, "Wouldn't it be better... to come back after you've been reborn?"
"Though a volcanic eruption is predicted for the day after tomorrow... can you wait? No, I can't make my wife wait."
"It’s only a day or so; I can wait. Who knows how long it will be until the next rain and eruption coincide? I’d rather you undergo rebirth now so you don't have to go next time."
"True... Alright! Then I’ll go first. Wait for me, wife!"
After Qusha went out, he soon turned into white bones.
I ran all the way to the guarding site of the Eye of Flame and told the guards to go out into the rain as well, saying I would watch over the place. They hesitated for a moment, and I took the opportunity to use Arcana to blast them into the rain, rushing into the cave in one breath.
On a stone pedestal, two clusters of greenish-yellow flames rotated alternately like ghosts. I walked over slowly and took them down. Then, a rumbling sound echoed; the cave shook several times, and debris began to fall as all the light inside the cave extinguished. Terrified, I rushed out, only to find that nothing had changed outside. I breathed a sigh of relief and hid the Eye of Flame within a pair of transparent gemstone earrings. Once the flames were fully absorbed, the gems turned golden. Clutching them, I ran out of breath to the shore and dove back into the sea.
The Ether Altar was in the deep sea, over eight hundred meters down. It was the first time Arno, myself, and the others had dived to such a depth.
In the deep sea, plants cannot survive; the water contains only animals and minerals. As the depth increased, the pressure on the vessel grew. With every minute of descent, our breathing felt heavier, and we had to constantly balance our ear pressure to prevent our eardrums from bursting.
After being confined in that narrow space for over an hour, everyone began to hallucinate and lose their grip on reality.
The walls of the vessel were icy cold, covered in a layer of mist. Outside the window, it looked as though a heavy snowstorm had begun.
In the ocean, anything that cannot float—the carcasses of plankton, marine waste and skin, fish remains, and so on—sinks toward the depths. They are broken down by the waves into white "snowflakes," spiraling and drifting endlessly until they reach the seafloor.
This phenomenon is called "Marine Snow."
Furthermore, the deeper we dove, the faster the marine snow drifted. The scene outside the window looked like a dense meteor shower.
From time to time, a "thump" would sound. Like something out of a horror movie, members of the Abyss Clan would slam against the window, their skin pale and fangs sharp, staring at us with terrified eyes before pressing themselves tightly against the hatch or window, refusing to leave for a long time.
The deep sea was truly terrifying. I didn't dare look at the scenery outside anymore, only leaning beside my brother, praying we would reach the Ether Altar as soon as possible...
Finally, a mechanical glimmer flickered outside the window.
The seawater turned into a night sky, and the bioluminescence of marine creatures became like fireworks, bursting in clusters of purple, pink, green, and white light within the pitch-black abyss. These marine creatures were drawn to a suspended structure hundreds of meters away, dancing and swirling around it.
The suspended structure was built of heavy stone blocks, like an ancient tomb that had slept for hundreds of millions of years. The stones were corroded by seawater, riddled with cracks. Red fel-light seeped from the crevices, swaying in the flowing currents. The stone doors were massive, looking as if they might collapse at any moment and swallow any greedy opportunists inside.
"I’ll take him in myself." Arno hoisted my brother onto his shoulder and stopped me as I tried to move forward. "The fewer people involved in something that might mean death, the better. Arcana can't be channeled well here, and you can't carry him. Don't come."
Then, Arno adjusted his pressure-resistant armor, passed through the pressure-buffer hatch, and entered the stone doors with the earrings containing the Eye of Flame and my brother.
I then spent the longest few minutes of my life.
I was so afraid the fusion would fail—so afraid that my hands and tail wouldn't stop shaking, and I couldn't think rationally.
Lord of the Endless Ocean, I beg of you, it must succeed. As long as my brother can come back, I am willing to do anything, even trade my life for his...
As long as he comes back, please, let him live...
"Academician Su Yi, you are too tense." The pilot looked at me with concern. "Relax a bit. The outcome is not for us to decide. We are in the deep sea; oxygen in the cabin is already a bit low. If this continues, I’m afraid you’ll faint, and that would be trouble."
"Right, I’ll relax, I’ll relax, I’m fine..."
Suddenly, Arno rushed out of the same door with a panicked expression. Behind him, fel-light overflowed from the cracks in the stone structure, which shook slightly as if it were about to explode. We hurriedly opened the hatch to let him in.
"Quick, quick, quick! Escape!" Before the pilot could react, Arno had already rushed to the helm, driving the vessel like a missile.
Through the hull, I heard muffled explosions. The structure was blown into countless stone fragments, which struck the vessel several times, nearly destroying it. Bioluminescent creatures either died or fled. We were tossed around inside so violently we nearly got concussions, seeing only the fel-light flooding in, dyeing the cabin blood-red...
After a long minute, everything settled into calm.
We slowly steered the vessel back toward the Ether Altar.
Like a gift box being blown open, the structure that had lost its four walls had vanished, leaving only countless massive stone slabs floating up and down. They surrounded an ancient and magnificent deep-blue altar: it was encircled by four marble pillars with thousand-year-old scallop-column bases. The floor was mirrored, white-veined on a black background. A fel-lantern hung above the altar, illuminating a man suspended in the seawater.
The man was unclothed, in land-dweller form. His physical lines and muscle composition seemed as perfectly designed as a masterpiece. His nose bridge and brow bone were so prominent that his sharp profile could be seen even from a distance. His white hair and yellow gemstone earrings rose and fell in the current, and his chest rose and fell slowly with his breath. The water pressure of the eight-hundred-meter deep sea seemed non-existent to him.
"Did it succeed?" Arno pressed his hands against the window, trying to see more clearly.
"That’s for you to tell us," another of my brother's comrades said.
"The moment I placed Su Shiye’s body next to the Ether Body, there was a tendency to explode. To be honest, I thought it failed... Given the current situation, is... is it a success?"
"It’s a success."
The man swam toward us, casually snapping the necks of two Abyss Clan members who were preparing to attack him. I shrank back in fear for a moment, and then I saw him press his long fingers against the window, catching my gaze instantly.
His face was so beautiful yet so strange. His golden pupils were narrowed into slits by the light from the cabin, his lips were pale to the point of being colorless, yet the tip of his nose retained my brother's beauty mark. Even though he was naked, just looking at his face and those cold eyes that seemed to hold nothing but predatory instinct, our biological impulses told us that this was a true apex predator of the ocean. Arno and the others, being from a hunting clan themselves, had the sharpest reaction; their pointed ears twitched several times.
Just like that, he stared at us for dozens of seconds. Arno’s voice trembled slightly: "Should... should we open the door for him?"
"Oh, oh, I... I’ll go open it." A comrade swam over.
"Stop!" I raised my voice, startling him so much his hand jerked. "Even if it succeeded, can you be sure this is still the Su Shiye you know?"
They immediately froze and said nothing, only looking at me with pleading eyes. I swam back and forth in the cabin, my brow furrowed into a knot, occasionally glancing back at the white-haired man waiting quietly.
The Ether Body—the killing machine created by the Lord of Ether—had been revived.
If my brother's consciousness had already been devoured by it, then even if we didn't open the door now, he could return to the Light Sea on his own. Whether we saved him or not made little difference.
If you choose to open Pandora's box, you must be the first to take responsibility for it.
Finally, I took a deep breath: "Let him in."
With a "hissing" sound, the hatch opened, and the pressure-buffer water gate shimmered. The white-haired man swam from the window, passed through the water gate, and entered the vessel. Then, the "hiss" sounded again as the hatch closed.
Everyone held their breath; a murderous aura permeated the cabin.
"Su Shiye...?" Arno waved a hand at him. "Is it you?"
"Yes."
Arno hurried to get some clothes to drape over him. But the man watched me with a neutral expression the entire time. I looked back at him suspiciously, slowly swimming toward him: "...Is it really you?"
"Yes, we succeeded." The white-haired man smiled slightly. "Let’s go back. Shenyegana is ours."
We all knew that for any Sea Clan member to merge with the Ether Body, they required extraordinary mental and physical willpower.
Why my unconscious brother was able to complete this mission became an eternal mystery.
Soon, the news that "Su Shiye, the Archon of the Starry Sea, has successfully merged with the Ether Body" spread throughout the Light Sea. My brother returned to Shenyegana and participated in a new round of the Dictator elections.
I, however, had a very bad premonition. Without waiting for the voting to begin, I rushed back to Hot Sand Island.
A horrific phenomenon had occurred.
On the entire Hot Sand Island, there was not a single living Fire Clan member. Thousands of withered skeletons lay where they had been; some had already been washed into the sea by the waves. The thick volcanic ash covering them proved that the volcano had erupted at least once.
"What... what happened here?" I looked around, my spine tingling, muttering to myself.
Hot Sand Island had turned into a literal graveyard. No one answered me.
I ran everywhere, trying to find a trace of Qusha amidst the vast expanse of forest-white, but it was impossible to tell who was who based on skeletons alone.
"What happened here?!!!" I collapsed to my knees, cradling a child’s skull as volcanic ash drifted into my palms. But the more unstable my emotions became, the more rapid my breathing grew, and the pungent ash made me feel as if I were suffocating.
"Because a devil named Su Yi stole the Eye of Flame."
Hearing this voice, I immediately turned around, but I nearly vomited at the sight of the Fire Clan girl before me—her forehead, nose, shoulders, collarbones, and the tops of her feet looked as if they had been soaked in acid, oozing pus and exposing white bone.
"What do you mean? Why did you become like this? Why didn't any of the Fire Clan come back to life?!"
"The Eye of Flame is the foundation of the Fire Clan’s life. Once its connection to the main volcano is severed, we completely necrotize after being rained upon." The girl’s face was a deathly gray, her voice ghostly. "Except for me, there are no survivors left in the Fire Clan. We are extinct. There is no point in me living on, for I cannot touch water, and there are no Fire Clan members left to procreate with me. If you see Su Yi, remember to tell her that this is all her doing. Let her never forget that the Fire Clan ended at her hands."
With that, while I was still in shock, she leaped up and dove into the sea. Not long after, her white bones drifted to the surface one by one.
Later, I buried these bodies one by one while wiping away tears, kneeling on the ground, never returning.
Half a month later, while I was digging a pit, I heard someone shouting in the distance: "Reporting to the officer, Academician Su Yi has been found!"
Then, a group of soldiers in red and gold uniforms ran over. On the swords hanging at their waists was an emblem of an eagle spreading its wings across the moon.
"Which army... are you from?" I asked, bewildered.
"Reporting to Academician Su Yi, we are the Holy City Red Guards, the personal guard of the Lord Dictator."
"The Lord Dictator?"
"Yes." One of them stepped forward and held up a communication device. "Academician Su Yi, the Lord Dictator has something to say to you."
Then, as purple light flickered, a familiar voice rang out:
"Lili, where are you?"
Looking at the skeletons remaining on half the island, the setting sun gradually merged with the vast sea, dyeing the countless bones orange-red. I stood up, my body aching, and stared stiffly at the horizon where the sky met the sea. I let out a soft laugh: "I am burying the skeletons of an entire island, Lord Dictator."
My brother was silent for a long time before changing the subject: "Do you want to learn Ether Arcana? It’s the ultimate Arcana that can predict the future to a certain extent. Come back; I will teach you in Shenyegana."
"You knew the consequences of taking the Eye of Flame all along, didn't you?"
"The Fire Clan and we have been mortal enemies for over four hundred million years. They were only so vulnerable because they lost the protection of the Lord of Fire; otherwise, the Sea Clan might have been gone long ago. So, there is nothing to be sad about."
"This is my late husband’s hometown. I truly have nothing to be sad about."
"Late husband?" My brother’s voice grew more guarded. "...You married Qusha?"
"He’s dead," I said weakly.
In truth, I knew in my heart that even if I had known the consequences before taking the Eye of Flame, I would have still done it to save my brother’s life.
No matter how much I did for him, even if I became a criminal for the ages, I would have done it gladly.
What drove me to despair was that my brother had suggestively guided me to wipe out the Fire Clan and Qusha to complete his grand plan of unifying the Light Sea.
In the grand scheme of things, our directions were still aligned. Moreover, my brother’s near-death was related to our plan to assassinate the previous Dictator; I had no standing to reproach him. But we both knew in our hearts that we could never go back to the way things were.
I had frequent nightmares. There were too many dead people in them. Mr. Asa, the twenty thousand slaves who had just been reborn on the Karyu Plains, the former Dictator, the large numbers of soldiers from the Dictator’s government, Qusha, every single Fire Clan member on Hot Sand Island... Every day I was startled awake by nightmares and the condemnation of my conscience, spending the long hours of the late night in silent panic and weeping.
I was exhausted. I owed too many people. Too many had died because of me.
Perhaps I wasn't as strong as I thought I was.
In the year 24622 of the Burning Era, Su Shiye became the Dictator of the Light Sea. By the time I became "Fan Li," he had been in office for 107 years.
During the era of Su Shiye’s government, the strength of the entire Holy City Party and the Light Sea climbed rapidly, effectively reaching the pinnacle of the Sea Clan’s 430-million-year history.
Su Shiye’s government had four proud achievements.
First, during Su Shiye’s tenure, the Light Sea’s economy achieved high-speed growth for 1,260 consecutive months. This so-called high-speed growth meant low inflation and low unemployment; compared to all previous Dictators in history, it was practically perfect.
Second, starting from the 178th generation of the Gath Clan, the Light Sea had split, entering the Seven Seas War that lasted over three million years. During this period, Shenyegana, as the heart of the Light Sea, had existed in name only. But after Su Shiye became Dictator, he not only handled Shenyegana’s internal affairs with order and unity but also brought the Red Moon Sea, the Starry Sea, the Resurrection Sea, and the Bodhi Sea all under the submission of the "Holy City Party." The power and territory of Shenyegana reached their zenith during this time.
Third, during Su Shiye’s tenure, Shenyegana’s military strength also reached its extreme. The Glazed Legion under Su Shiye’s command was the only army in the Light Sea with the entire ocean as its combat range, establishing eleven maritime regional commands covering the whole ocean, including the Twilight Zone where sunlight barely reaches. The Holy City Party’s active-duty military personnel reached a peak of 2,737,800.
Fourth, the economic surge of the Light Sea eventually ended with the Resurrection Sea financial crisis of 24727, but Su Shiye broke tradition by establishing the Light Sea Macroeconomic and Financial Exchange Center, successfully halting the crisis. He delivered such an impressive performance that when the next Dictator took office, a fiscal surplus appeared for the first time, rewriting the history of every previous Dictator taking over a deficit. Of course, that Dictator quickly spent the 223.7 billion Flumen Su Shiye had left behind, and fifty years later, when handing over to the next Dictator, they were deep in debt again.
Su Shiye was the only Dictator from a hunting clan in the history of the Light Sea, and the Dictator with the most glorious record.
However, aside from introducing the policy of marriage between the Sea God Clan and outsiders, he did almost nothing more for equal rights or the liberation of slaves.
It was only much later that I learned that after Su Shiye seized power in the Holy City Party, the Storm Party’s quick declaration of war wasn't actually their intention, but rather because they were forced to resist by Su Shiye—if they didn't resist, the Glazed Legion would have marched right to their front door.
Su Shiye simply wanted to become the sole hegemon of the Light Sea to complete his terrifying plan. To achieve this goal, he used any and all means necessary.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 海洋雪 | Marine Snow | Organic material falling from upper layers of the water column to the deep ocean. |
| 以太祭坛 | Ether Altar | A location in the deep sea used for fusion with the Ether Body. |
| 以太之躯 | Ether Body | A powerful physical vessel or "killing machine" created by the Lord of Ether. |
| 琉璃军团 | Glazed Legion | Su Shiye's elite military force with global reach. |
| 浮卢门 | Flumen | The currency used in the Light Sea. |
| 圣都红衣卫 | Holy City Red Guards | The elite personal guard of the Dictator. |
| 燃烧时代 | Burning Era | The calendar era used in the setting. |
| 复活海 | Resurrection Sea | One of the seas mentioned as part of the Light Sea territory. |
| 菩提海 | Bodhi Sea | One of the seas mentioned as part of the Light Sea territory. |
| 黄昏区 | Twilight Zone | The mesopelagic zone of the ocean where light is very dim. |
| 财政的黑字 | Fiscal surplus | Literally "black ink," indicating profit/surplus. |
| 赤字 | Deficit | Literally "red ink," indicating debt/loss. |
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