Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

Fu Hua had never imagined such a tactic was possible.

She had thought of many things, prepared for everything from benefits to battles.

But she never, ever expected a plan that involved having an 'immortal' pretend to be an 'immortal.'

"Fu Hua, haven't you always put on a good performance throughout China's history? You're not bad-looking either. When the time comes, just act the part, put on the air of an otherworldly fairy who doesn't partake in worldly affairs. Then we'll arrange for one or two high-ranking, pot-bellied officials to stage an absurd play of seeking you out on Mount Tai or Mount Hua for your love, only to be rejected."

"Just say that in the face of the grave trend of more and more superhuman Honkai-powered individuals, you need to unite all the nations of the world to establish a sect and recruit disciples."

Fu Hua pushed her jaw back into place and said as calmly as possible, "But I'm not actually an immortal. I don't even know what cultivation is, let alone all that other nonsense. And as for disciples..."

She really had no confidence in this. After all, it just didn't seem very reliable.

Noldrei pulled over Sirin, who had been watching cartoons off to the side. The girl was a little annoyed, feeling like Noldrei had interrupted her TV time.

"Look, she's a Herrscher, right?"

"Uh, yes, I know Sirin is a Herrscher."

"What is a Stigma? It's the physical manifestation of the mental will of humans who have Honkai resistance, meaning they can withstand the Honkai factor. Through Stigmata, humans can gain the ability to use Honkai Energy, am I right?" Noldrei said as he pulled aside Sirin's clothes, pointing to the Stigma on her. "This, this is a 'Congenital Spiritual Root'!"

After he finished, he pulled Rita over, revealing the artificial Stigma on her body. "And this is a 'Postnatal Spiritual Root'!"

Fu Hua's brain froze for a moment, then she suddenly felt that Noldrei might actually have a point.

"People with spiritual roots are one in a million, but now that we've developed postnatal spiritual roots in the modern era, we can turn that one in a million into one in a hundred thousand, or even one in ten thousand." Noldrei recounted the history of a sect that never existed.

Noldrei smiled. "So, couldn't we just say that Schicksal is a cultivation sect?"

Fu Hua took a deep breath and shook her head. "But aren't immortals supposed to live forever?"

"Exactly! Schicksal couldn't grant eternal life before, but ever since we refined the 'Stigma Battlesuit' and used it to fake cultivation, haven't we been able to explore the path to eternal life?"

Noldrei said with great seriousness, "Isn't the cultivation of a Stigma Battlesuit just like that? The Self, the Signifier, Need, Request, Desire—the five major stages. 'Refining Essence into Qi,' coursing through the hundred meridians, breaking through the self to recognize the Stigma's will. 'Refining Qi into Spirit,' letting the Yang Soul leave the body, freeing oneself from life and death, and from then on, the Stigma's will and your Yin and Yang souls support each other."

"'Refining Spirit back to the Void,' returning from infancy to reality, separating from the mother's body, achieving primal unity and perfect completion; after this stage, the human body surpasses its limits and receives the Stigma's blessing. 'Refining the Void to merge with the Dao,' shattering the void, digesting the mortal body, and from then on, mastering Honkai Energy."

"This perfectly aligns with the characteristic that one can use Honkai Energy after passing the fourth stage of the Stigma. In this way, after passing the fifth stage, one can create new 'Stigma Spiritual Roots' to benefit the masses, thus establishing a sect and becoming a grandmaster of an immortal sect."

Fu Hua thought her jaw could stay intact, but who would have thought Noldrei could actually make it all sound so logical.

The more Noldrei talked, the more he felt this idea had potential. "The Stigma Battlesuit is like a 'Spirit Treasure.' An armor created from an artificial Stigma is a 'Postnatal Spirit Treasure.' An armor created from a congenital Stigma is a 'Congenital Spirit Treasure.' Only the founding patriarch of a sect has the authority to create Stigma Battlesuits. This kind of classification is practically tailor-made for China!"

"We just need to change the names, and we can easily transform the Stigma system into something the people of China can accept."

Rita's small mouth formed an "O," and her beautiful hands applauded Noldrei's world-shaking wisdom.

Regardless of whether this stuff actually fit the imagination of the Chinese people, just the initial image of an immortal battling foreign superhumans would be enough to drive them wild.

"Third Brother! You are a genius born to rule humanity!"

After witnessing Noldrei's capabilities, Rita was completely won over. She had never imagined that there would come a day when she could infiltrate China in such a way.

Fu Hua wanted to add a few words, but no matter how she looked at it, she felt that Noldrei's method had an eighty percent chance of success.

"When the time comes, we'll change our names and can easily infiltrate the local Chinese population. Then we can facilitate some internal and external communication, raise the banner of joint development, and push the craze for cultivation in China to its peak. Then we'll have 'Taiyin Star Lord' Sirin descend to the mortal realm to repair the canals, and everything will fall into place logically."

Sirin never expected she would be deified just like that. She was suddenly at a loss for words.

But, um...

There really was a 'god' on the moon.

She didn't dare reveal this secret. To protect that god, Sirin felt it was best not to tell Noldrei about it.

"Fu Hua, what do you think of this plan?"

What could Fu Hua say? She felt that it seemed, maybe, just possibly, to have a chance of success.

But the problem was, where should she go to display her powers? And why would an immortal suddenly appear now? Why didn't the previous government allow for stories of immortals? Why did they even crack down on feudal superstitions?

Wouldn't that imply the Chinese government had been lying to people?

Fu Hua voiced her doubts to Noldrei.

Who knew that Noldrei already had a contingency plan for this. He waved his hand dismissively. "A small problem. Just say it's a 'Spiritual Qi Recovery.' Foreign countries are rampant with superhumans, human experiments, and gun violence. Our China needs its own 'superhuman organization.'"

"Doesn't that instantly raise the stakes? Then we can hype up your achievements as an immortal protecting China, fighting against legendary 'Mountain and Sea Demonic Beasts' and whatnot from historical records. That will grant you a high enough political status."

"Besides, many rich businessmen and officials don't want to 'die young,' do they? The number of people secretly going to Academy City for medical treatment is unstoppable."

"Fu Hua, you don't want all your friends from this era to die of old age and sickness, do you?"

They're good words, but why do they sound so strange coming from him?

Rita saw Old Sister Fu Hua's struggle. She had never seen this honest woman so hesitant.

The Stigma-based ruling system built by Academy City almost completely countered Honkai Energy, the foundation of the Honkai. Unless the Honkai stopped using Honkai Energy—but could the Honkai even create a Herrscher that didn't use Honkai Energy?

Not possible. The Honkai couldn't even create power that exceeded the upper limit of its own Honkai Energy.

Otherwise, the Previous Era wouldn't have been able to accurately calculate the exact amount of Honkai consumed by the SELENE engine.

Kevin and the others... were just one step away from defeating the Honkai...

Fu Hua thought about it. In the end, it was just a matter of sacrificing herself to be a figurehead.

"Alright, I'll do it!"