Wang Wei teleported to a mountain, where he saw someone waiting for him. And the moment he laid eyes on her, the world seemed to brighten as if her very presence embellished the surroundings.
“Ms. Xu Shi, I see you’re beautiful as ever.”
“Thank you, but are you saying that because you mean it or simply for pleasantry.”
“Of course, I mean it.”
“I found it hard to believe you.”
Wang Wei smiled before inviting her to sit as he manifested a table and served tea. “I was surprised when I did not see you during the Cleanup. Now, I understand why.”
Wang Wei was surprised after seeing her for two reasons. One, she was an Ultimate King by the standard of the previous game, with the strength of 5-Leaf, on par with Yin Gen. And given she was still in the Supreme Realm, she had some room for growth.
The second reason is that her aura was foreign to the Myriad Emperor World, meaning she was no longer a citizen.
“A lot of things change,” responded Xu Shi.
“I can see that. You seem more confident, relaxed, and even free,” stated Wang Wei as he took a sip of his tea. “Can you tell me what happened? If you don’t mind.”
“I don’t.”
A few thousand years ago, after the Deception Trial:
Xu Shi was in a deep slumber, experiencing her life over and over, analyzing it from a third point of view. After watching her life more than a hundred times, she recognized three defining moments or periods.
The first was her childhood. Xu Shi reviewed her childhood, experiencing this time of innocence and carefree one more time. Then, she focused on a core memory.
Xu Guan and his wife were teaching a kid Xu Shi.
“Listen up, Shi’er,” said the fat man, who seemed eternally in that shape. “Your beauty is unparallel, so one day, you will marry a man of unmatched talent: a future Great Emperor. This way, you can bring prosperity to the family and live a happy life.”
His wife nodded with him before teaching her how to be a proper lady and wife; she even taught her tricks to deal with a harem.
At first, Xu Shi did not find anything wrong with this message. However, after seeing it a few hundred times and taking a moment to analyze the situation, she realized this core memory’s detriment in her life.
‘Why did my father always believe me to one day be a wife? Why never treat me as a prospect Heaven Chosen?’
She frowned as she contemplated. ‘Even If I did not have the talent, he could have taught me to use my beauty to take other people’s talent. Why did he have to instill in me the idea that my value was based on marrying a talented Heaven Chosen.”
Xu Shi continued watching her life, and the same idea was deeply ingrained in her mind by the other people she encountered. They lusted after her beauty, and all believed she would be the wife of a future Emperor.
Soon, she saw the second memory of her life: the conference before the Heaven Chosen Selection Trial. She floated above the room, looking at her younger self and Wang Wei’s words.
“…she is nothing but a vase.”
“Vase?”
“A woman like her would offer nothing to a partnership. She is nothing but a beautiful decoration that added embellishment to me, but nothing of real substance. Let me ask you, what did you feel when you heard her playing the zither?”
Xu Shi reviewed the memories when Wang Wei figured out her personality after listening to her zither.
(AN: For a review, re-read chapter 201 Companion.)
‘He was completely wrong about me having been conditioned to only rely on men,’ thought Xu Shi as he reviewed this memory. ‘When he called me a vase, anger and resentment awakened deep in me. Why was that?’
Her life flashed in my mind as she pondered deeper, “I wanted to prove him wrong. No, I wanted to prove to myself I was not simply a beautiful face. Maybe, deep down, I also resent my father, family, and friends for viewing me as nothing but a beautiful accessory for someone else.’
Soon after that event, her father accepted marriage to her husband, Lin Fan. Xu Shi worked hard to be a supportive wife and redirected her resentment toward Wang Wei; she wanted to help her husband destroy him and show him who the vase was.
‘All this because I did not want to confront myself and look inward.’ Xu Shi shook her head before continuing to experience her life–focusing on her relationship with her husband.
‘I did love him. Although it was a political marriage, I grew fond of him because of how much he adored and pampered me. However…”
Xu Shi watched the last defining point of her life: Lin Fan’s death. She watched how he gave her the Dao-level Inheritance Seed, his parting words about their future, imagining their possible children, and his regret of not being able to experience it.
‘Did he love me? Maybe. But did he love me as much as I did him? Did he give me the seed out of pure love?’ Countless thoughts and ideas appeared in her mind.
‘After the Slaughter Trial, he was a different person than the one I married. He was more cunning, ruthless, and scheming. His last actions were not simply out of love. No, it was a desperate act to ensure his survival–to ensure he would be one day revived.”
Xu Shi felt something break from her mind as she broke some mental shackle. She finally understood her obsession to revive him and its roots: it was a calculated move on his part.
“You could have asked me directly instead of being so manipulative,” muttered Xu Shi with a disappointed sigh. Then, the memory world crumbled as she woke up from the formation.
“Daughter, how are you feeling?”
“Groggy,” responded Xu Shi, who felt slightly disoriented. “But I have some issues with you that I need to discuss.” Gu Xuan could only smile wryly.
Present Day:
“So, that’s what happened,” muttered Wang Wei, who was secretly embarrassed. He never cared about Xu Shi’s existence despite his words having so much effect on her. Although these words he said back at the Academy were his true thought, he only did this to impress Wu Hong.
And now, after reviewing his actions, he realized how hypocritical he was, given how he sneered at the Heaven Chosens for acting like a peacock trying to court the opposite sex (Xu Shi) when he was doing the same for Wu Hong.
“So, what will you do now about Lin Fan?”
“I’m still going to revive him, but only to repay my karma. As for our marriage, I have not decided yet.”
“I wish you peace in whatever choice you make. But, you have not explained why you were not at the Cleanup.”
“After my enlightenment, the Academy decided to send me to another Heaven Will World to prove the Dao.”
“Oh, where did you go?”
“The Martial Hegemony World,” replied Xu Shi, not hiding it. “The Academy helped find a struggling Emperor Lineage and paid them to acquire an Identity Token.”
“That’s a smart move,” added Wang Wei as he took a sip of his drink. “So, why are you willing to reveal all this information to me?”
“To make friends,” replied Xu Shi. “I know the conflict between the Academy and the Dao Opening Sect. I thought it would be best to ally with each other instead of fighting.”
“Something tells me it’s not your main objective.”
‘It is. Although another one would also be, I hope you allow me to acquire Lin Fan’s Imprints.” Xu Shu knew Emperors did not like others to intervene in their plane. So, although she is from the Myriad Emperor World, she is also a foreigner.
“An alliance, huh?” thought Wang Wei. He did not mind her taking Lin Fan’s Imprints under his supervision. After all, if his existence were not affected, the Academy would have already acquired his imprints–just like he did for Ancestor Wucheng.
As for an alliance with her? He did not care for her status as the Academy Headmaster. He never planned to eradicate the Academy because of Emperor Kong since he needed all the allies he could get to deal with the seven parasites. However, he cared about where she planned to prove the Dao: the Martial Hegemony World.
As the world community closest to the Myriad Emperor World, it was a strategic place for any attacks. As such, he predicted the parasites would send countless spies from the upper dimension to prove the Dao there and prepare to deal with him.
‘If Xu Shi could be the winner and even help me establish some foundation in that place, it would be to my advantage.’
“I would love an alliance between us,” said Wang Wei before the two discussed things and signed a binding contract. Of course, Xu Shi did not only want to revive her husband and placed her own requirements. Luckily, the two came to a reasonable argument.
“You need to be careful,” warned Xu Shi. “Someone seemed to be targeting the Myriad Emperor World.” She told him about the sudden appearance of the secret realm and how it teleported her here.