The second person was the Great Oracle they had long since arranged.
At the Dictator’s inauguration ceremony, a grand spectacle unfolded, the likes of which hadn't been seen in a century. Politicians and clans from all seven seas—the Storm Sea, Red Moon Sea, Starry Sea, Winterfell Sea, Resurrection Sea, Bodhi Sea, and Sky-Rift Sea—were in attendance. During the intermission between the two main events, Fanli’s eyes met Randy Rose’s. Just as she was about to greet her with pleasant surprise, Fanli and Xitian were intercepted by reporters.
“Prince Gath, what are your thoughts on Jeli’s appointment? Do you feel it was a bit hasty to decide on a new Dictator so quickly?”
Gath Xitian was dressed in military uniform, looking less like a "Prince" and more like a triumphant commander fresh from the battlefield. His snow-white, heroic brows relaxed slightly, though his sculpted features remained as rigorous as ever. “The Gath clan does not intend to involve itself too deeply in politics for the time being. We will only commit ourselves to upholding the faith of the Lord of the Great Ocean, striving to maintain the peace and the relationships between the clans of the Light Sea, centered around the Holy Capital.”
“Does that mean the clans will achieve the unification of Saint Yegana and the Seven Seas?”
“There will be no unification; we respect our differences. However, the position of the Great Oracle of the Light Sea will no longer be a mere figurehead.”
“The previous Great Oracle passed away seven months ago. Will someone be stepping in to fill that vacancy?”
“Yes.” Xitian placed his hand around Fanli’s waist, drawing her to his side. “My fiancée, Academician Sui.”
The moment those words were uttered, even the reporters from the Hunter race nearby came racing over within seconds, surrounding Xitian and Fanli so tightly that not a drop of water could pass. Although Fanli had guessed Xitian would arrange a position for her, she hadn't expected it to be something this significant—the Great Oracle, the Sovereign of Saint Yegana, the supreme religious leader of all the clans in the Light Sea!
Moreover, everyone noticed something else: the Grand Arcanist Sui had become a member of the Sea God race! Not only did she possess a deep blue tail unique to the Sea Gods, but the light of her caudal fin was the Holy Spirit Light—a trait previously unique to Su Shiye!
“Academician Sui, may we ask why you suddenly became a Sea God? Does this have anything to do with your long-standing commitment to social equality?”
“Academician Sui, why do you possess the Holy Spirit Fin? Are there reasons regarding your bloodline and Arcane strength that you are not yet ready to make public?”
“To the future Great Oracle: when did you become engaged to Prince Gath? Why did you choose to remain hidden among the Ocean race for the past two hundred years?”
...
This position was far too high-profile; her first instinct was to resist. But in the gaps between the reporters' rapid-fire questions, she came to an understanding: the Gath clan’s plan was to remain entirely behind the scenes while keeping both the Dictator and the Great Oracle under their thumb. With her support, they could suppress the opposition from Su Shiye’s supporters. Furthermore, the Light Sea had always functioned through the mutual cooperation and restraint of politics and religion; the same would apply to her and Jeli. As long as she and Jeli balanced each other out, the Light Sea would belong to the Gath clan.
It was a masterfully played hand. They were certain she had her own goals and desires and wouldn't refuse, so they hadn't even bothered to notify her in advance. The Gath father and son were far more shrewd than she had imagined.
However, she was no pushover either. She would make a demand they couldn't refuse.
“Academician Sui, when did you get engaged to Prince Gath, and when do you plan to hold the wedding?”
Hearing the reporter’s question, Fanli linked her arm with Xitian’s and leaned her head on his shoulder, looking every bit the picture of a happy woman. “I would like it to be as soon as possible, of course, but the Great Oracle’s inauguration ceremony won't take place until next year. Our focus right now should be on Lord Jeli—and his wedding.”
Hearing this, Jeli looked at her with a face full of confusion: *Huh? I’m getting married? Why didn't I know?*
“Lord Jeli’s wedding?!” The reporters grew even more excited. “Then his wife is...?”
“She’s right there; you all know her.” Fanli pointed behind them and waved at the blonde Sea God diva. “Randy Rose, the future Madame Dictator.”
Randy Rose’s mouth fell open in shock. She pointed at herself, and before she could even process what was happening, she was swarmed by reporters.
Xitian glanced at Fanli, a smile that was part annoyance and part admiration crossing his face. He cast an isolation spell to shroud them. “Clever. Truly worthy of being my wife—you never let yourself fall into a passive position.”
“I’m not your wife yet. As for the question of marriage, we should both give it more thought.” Fanli released his hand.
“The news has already been announced, and you’re telling me to think about it?!”
“I’ve slept with Su Shiye,” Fanli said calmly.
“What do you mean...” Xitian froze. “What happened? Didn't he deny it?”
“He did it to protect me. But the fact is, I slept with him—in the sea, on the land—my first time is gone in both ways. Given how much you care about whether your wife is a virgin, you should reconsider our relationship.”
“You... what do you mean? You want to break the engagement now?”
“No, I mean there are many ways for us to cooperate. Using Jeli’s marriage as a bridge is just as effective; it doesn't have to be through the two of us. Of course, if you still want to marry me, I agree. The decision is in your hands.” Fanli patted his shoulder and swam toward a less crowded area.
But as she passed a small lounge, she saw Ye Jia through the half-open door. He was facing the entrance, hands on his hips, looking with indignation at a girl whose back was turned to Fanli.
The girl had long, straight hair reaching her waist, tied in a half-up princess style and adorned with an elegant row of golden starfish clips. Her hair color was so pure, it looked as if someone had taken the snow from the peaks of the December Mountains and applied it to her head.
That silhouette was so familiar—so familiar that Fanli blurted out a name that shouldn't have been possible here: “Fengjin?”
Then, the girl turned around. Her seaweed-shaped platinum earrings swayed in the seawater, and her large eyes, which drooped slightly at the corners, widened even further.
The impossible had become possible.
Seeing Fanli, Ye Jia shot Fengjin a glare. “She’s here. Explain it to her yourself.”
Santi Fengjin’s eyes reddened. She said softly, “Sui, I’m sorry. I used you.”
Finally, Fanli learned the full story of the famous love triangle of the Burning Era.
Su Shiye had once purchased five thousand tons of Fireseed Alloy from the Santi Sovereign. The raw material for Fireseed Alloy originated from the deep trenches of the Winterfell Sea; it was expensive and had many uses, one of which was the ability to extract extremely faint Arcane divine power from biological bodies. Not long after buying the alloy, Su Shiye began commissioning the construction of that ominous-looking Great Smelter.
Three years later, Su Shiye began making indirect inquiries to Fengjin about the location of the Santi clan’s Deep Blue Shards. He was very skilled at managing the flow of conversation, asking questions as lightly as footsteps on snow, and he managed to trick the information out of her. But after the conversation ended, one of his secretaries forgot to use an isolation spell while on the phone. Fengjin heard him mention the Deep Blue Shards and felt something was wrong.
After secretly tracking and investigating for a while, Fengjin roughly guessed Su Shiye’s twisted plan.
At the time, she was so terrified she had nightmares every night, more than half of which involved Su Shiye grabbing her by the tail and throwing her into the smelter. But Princess Fengjin was, after all, Princess Fengjin—she was steady. She knew Sui would surely have a way, so she didn't tell anyone. Instead, she thought about how to make Sui accept and handle the situation.
However, before she could tell Sui, Carnation started making trouble.
In the mid-to-late stages of the love triangle, Carnation became increasingly arrogant due to Su Shiye’s perceived favor. She felt she had a real chance of becoming the Madame Dictator. Publicly, she provoked Fengjin multiple times from afar, saying things like, “Your fiancé is at my house again,” and high-profile singing performances to celebrate Su Shiye’s birthday. But none of these actions managed to provoke Fengjin.
Because Fengjin knew that even if he obtained an Ethereal Body, Su Shiye’s weight was still not enough. The Light Sea was a world ruled by the descendants of the Deep Blue; the most authentic Supreme Deity was the Lord of the Endless Ocean. The Lord of the Ether belonged to a pagan faith, and the Fel-energy Hunter body he created, which required the Eye of Flame to stabilize, had no right to act willfully. Su Shiye had once been willing to give up Sui just to marry her because she had a clan background; the entire Winterfell Sea supported her. Only after announcing his engagement to her did he finally gain 12/12 command over the Glazed Legion.
Like Fengjin’s parents, their union once again verified the formula of the upper-class sea races in the Light Sea: “Clan Reputation + Political Power = Supreme Status and Authority.”
No matter if Carnation had the fame known to 2.3 billion Light Sea citizens, hundreds of millions of fans, and seventeen Best Actress trophies, she was still just an actress. She could steal Su Shiye’s affection from Fengjin, but stealing the marriage was absolutely impossible.
But Carnation was much more simple-minded. She always felt that because Su Shiye was so gentle and romantic with her, he must be gradually falling in love with her. Thus, she developed the delusion that “if Fengjin dies, I can take her place,” and privately arranged multiple assassination attempts on Fengjin.
Fengjin had grown up amidst intrigue and deception; her sensitivity to such dangers was no less than Su Shiye’s. Carnation failed.
Fengjin grew furious. She decided that if Carnation wanted to play big, she would let her die for good. She invited Carnation out and informed her of Su Shiye’s secret. To give Carnation a greater sense of crisis, she intentionally expanded Su Shiye’s intended massacre targets to include “all Sea Gods.”
She had originally thought Carnation would choose to break up with Su Shiye, but instead, Carnation went to negotiate with him—essentially saying: *If you don't kiss me and make me your official wife, I’ll reveal your secret.*
At this point, Fengjin laughed from sheer anger. “Can you understand the brain of a movie queen? She seemed so grand and sophisticated, so socially adept, yet after hearing something so terrifying, she went to negotiate with Su Shiye—and what she negotiated for was love.”
Fanli, however, found it quite easy to understand.
Though Carnation and Fengjin were rivals, what they pursued was diametrically opposed. Fengjin wanted clan glory and the power to maintain it; for that, she could sacrifice all trivial emotions, including love. Carnation wanted love and status within that love; for that, she was willing to shed blood and take risks.
Moreover, if Su Shiye was willing to seduce a woman, few could resist. Fengjin wasn't a victim, but Carnation lived year-round within the radiation of his sexual charisma; she might have long since loved herself into madness.
Su Shiye was also a very dominant man. One could imagine how much he loathed being threatened by Carnation. He told her bluntly: *If you speak, you will die.* So, Carnation backed down and said: *I don't need you to marry me, but can you kiss me?*
Su Shiye granted her request.
That day, Carnation called Fengjin to tell her about it, crying hysterically. “He kissed me. But he told me that when he kissed me, his mind was full of someone else. I asked him who it was—do you know whose name he said? Princess Fengjin, what was the point of us fighting all these years? We both lost!”
Hearing this, Fengjin only wanted to roll her eyes. She had known long ago that Su Shiye liked his sister. But which descendant of a clan god measured the win or loss of their life by such a standard? She felt heartfelt contempt for this "Carnation" who had never seen the world of the upper-class sea races.
Then, the event known to all the Light Sea occurred: Carnation threatened to reveal the secrets of the Holy Capital Party and then died.
But the one who killed her wasn't someone from the Holy Capital Party; it was Fengjin. The claim that “Carnation said she would reveal the party’s secrets” was itself a fake rumor planted by Fengjin. As soon as the news broke, while Carnation was still at home crying and missing Su Shiye, before she could react to what was happening outside, Fengjin sent someone to kill her. Compared to Carnation’s multiple failed attempts on Fengjin, Fengjin’s strike was swift, ruthless, and precise.
Su Shiye naturally knew everything, but he didn't offer a single word of comment. He didn't even attend Carnation’s funeral, merely having his subordinates send seaweed in the name of commemorating a famous and outstanding artist.
Next, Fengjin waited for her second opportunity. After the soldiers from the Resurrection Sea captured her, she played along with the situation, staging a grand drama of "dying for the party," and intentionally let Fanli find the letter she had written.
From beginning to end, Su Shiye knew Fengjin wasn't dead, but he didn't tell anyone, especially Fanli. If she knew Fengjin was alive, Fanli would likely have forced him to bring her back. But this also fell into a dead end—if Fengjin was dead, Fanli wouldn't forgive him; if Fengjin was alive, Fanli wouldn't want him.
Fanli looked no different than usual, and he wasn't sure if she actually knew about his plan. He was waiting—waiting for her to ask him about it herself.
“Sui, I’m sorry. I didn't know if you were helping Su Shiye, so I didn't explain everything to you immediately.” Fengjin looked at Fanli timidly. “But you really didn't disappoint me. You saved the entire Light Sea.”
“Are those the things you need to apologize for?” Fanli asked, bewildered. “I don't think you did anything wrong.”
“That’s not doing anything wrong? Have you forgotten how hard you cried when you heard Fengjin was dead?” Ye Jia exclaimed in amazement.
“There’s one more thing.” Fengjin took a deep breath, bracing herself for a long time before whispering, “I knew from the start that Su Shiye liked you, and I didn't tell you.”
“Ah? How did you know?”
“It was obvious. The way he looked at you was too obvious. Others might have thought it was just a brother’s affection for a sister, but maybe because I always liked him quite a bit, I was particularly sensitive to his emotions. At first, I wasn't entirely sure, but later I bribed a servant at the White Eagle Palace and learned he had forced himself on you... I immediately had my mother pressure him into the engagement.”
“So that’s how it was...”
“Fengjin, you really are a stinking bitch,” Ye Jia sneered. “It’s no wonder I’ve looked down on you for all these years.”
“I’m sorry, Professor Bu Ke, for disappointing you.”
“Still playing the weak, innocent act. Save that for someone like Gath Xitian; I’m not buying it.”
Fengjin performed a very standard left-hand salute to Fanli, bowing more than ninety degrees. Her long, snowy hair drifted back over her shoulder blades, swaying gently in the water. Then, she maintained that position, not rising.
Fanli swam to her, helped her up, and pulled her into a hug. “No matter what you did, nothing compares to the shock of knowing you’re still alive. As long as you’re alive, I’m satisfied.”
“Sui, I missed you so much.” Fengjin’s thin shoulders trembled slightly, her voice thick with tears. “I’ve been staying in a small village in the Resurrection Sea for these past decades. I was so lonely, I missed home, I missed you all... but I knew you would definitely find a way, so...”
Fanli nodded vigorously. “You did well.”
“Actually... do you also like Su Shiye a little?” Fengjin whispered.
*A little?*
Fanli smiled. “Maybe. But that’s not important. You know what I care about most.”
“I know. Sui-yi cares most about academics and the future of the Light Sea. Sui-yi is the greatest.”
“Fengjin-jin is also great. A pampered little princess suffering for so many years—it wasn't easy. Look at you, you’re so much thinner than before.”
“Speaking of which, you’re actually a Sea God! You’re too good at keeping secrets.” Fengjin pulled Fanli around in a circle. “The tail color is so beautiful! it suits you perfectly! Our Sui-yi really is the most beautiful.”
Fanli looked down at her tail. “Really? You don't think the caudal fin is a bit too big?”
“Not at all. It looks great. Your aura is so elegant; a large fin looks even better. Once you’re done being busy these next few days, let’s go buy some fin ornaments. Do you think blue and gold would look good together?”
“That sounds wonderful! I’ll have a blue tail with gold ornaments, and you’ll have a gold tail with blue ornaments—matching bestie outfits?”
“Wow, that’s a fantastic idea! I can't wait!”
Ye Jia: “...” It seemed there was no place for him here. He didn't want to swallow this "bestie" dog food. Better to leave.
The two chatted for a while before Fanli and Fengjin returned to the ceremony hand-in-hand. History books recorded that Princess Fengjin had passed away; it went without saying how much of a stir her return would cause.
Fengjin was quickly surrounded by reporters. Although she had been a village girl for decades, she had grown up facing such grand scenes and quickly slipped back into a state of effortless grace.
Randy Rose also swam over and gave Fanli a big hug, her excitement still palpable. “Thank you, Sui! You don't know how long I’ve wanted to be the Madame Dictator. My dream has finally come true, haha!”
“Once you become the Madame Dictator, you can't take photos that are too sexy anymore. You have to be a bit more dignified, you know?”
“Okay, I’ll do whatever the Great Oracle says!”
Although Randy Rose was a "budget version" of Carnation and they both wanted to be the Madame Dictator, Randy Rose was much luckier than Carnation.
Carnation’s failure lay in only wanting to be *Su Shiye’s* wife.
At that thought, Fanli forced herself to shift her attention to other matters. What she needed to do now was stay busy and calm, ensuring she didn't waste too much energy on past emotions.
After the ceremony ended, Xitian said to her, “Accompany me to a social banquet tomorrow.”
“In what capacity?”
“As my fiancée.”
Fanli thought for a moment, knowing he had made up his mind, and didn't ask further. “Fine.”
“This is merely a political marriage; there’s no need to talk about feelings. We’ll register for a polygamous license—no problem with that, right?”
“No problem.”
Over the next few days, she adjusted her mindset well. She hardly let herself have a moment of idle time: she began preparing the proposal to overthrow slavery, accompanied Xitian to various events, helped Fengjin settle into her new life, and returned to the Research Institute to check on Professor Wennan’s work...
Finally, she contacted her old friends from school for a gathering.
The Ocean race Fanli had suddenly become the Great Oracle Sui; naturally, they were shocked. But once everything was laid out, they slowly accepted the reality.
Due to the reporters and interviews, Fanli had been staying in a hotel for the past few days. Once everything was settled, she finally had a moment of peace. Realizing she couldn't stay in the dorms anymore, she had Feisi accompany her to pick out a house in the Sea Mist Woods.
The plan to buy a house in the Holy Capital, which she had considered for so long, was finally realized. After finishing all the procedures, she sat in a private vessel returning to the dorms, finally getting a chance to catch her breath.
Her heart was heavy and complex, but not grief-stricken.
“Actually, Li-zi...” Feisi held her hand. “If you’re sad, just cry. You’ll feel better if you let it out.”
“Huh? Why would I cry?”
“Stop pretending. Do you think I don't know how much you loved Xinghai?” As she spoke, Feisi’s eyes reddened. “If I had to push Lansi into the deep sea like that, I’d probably want to jump in with him. I could never sacrifice him for the sake of the Light Sea; he’s the most important person in my life. So, I understand your pain right now. Don't bottle it up; it breaks my heart to see you like this.”
“I’m not bottling anything up, don't worry.” Fanli squeezed her hand back and smiled slightly. “You’re a good, devoted girl, but I’m not.”
“Li-zi, *waaaaah*, why...” Feisi’s gaze became even more sorrowful.
“Being devoted doesn't fit my persona. I’m the smart, cold type, you know.”
“...” *Damn it, she even has an 'idol burden' about her image. I wasted my sympathy on her.*
In truth, she had thought that losing Su Shiye would make her wish she were dead. But after actually experiencing it, it didn't seem as painful as she had imagined. she just felt exhausted, her spirit hollowed out. Aside from the moment she sent him into the sea, she wasn't actually that sad. In such a terrible physical state, she hadn't even shed a single tear.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 大神使 | Great Oracle | The supreme religious leader of the Light Sea clans. |
| 火种合金 | Fireseed Alloy | A rare material used to extract Arcane power. |
| 深蓝碎片 | Deep Blue Shards | Sacred relics of the Santi clan. |
| 圣提 | Santi | A high-ranking clan, specifically from the Winterfell Sea. |
| 琉璃军团 | Glazed Legion | A military force mentioned in the context of Su Shiye's power. |
| 海雾树 | Sea Mist Woods | A residential area in the Holy Capital. |
| 多偶制 | Polygamy / Polygamous system | A legal marriage system mentioned by Xitian. |
| 偶像包袱 | Idol burden | A slang term for someone who is overly concerned with maintaining their public image/persona. |
