Chapter 1: The Omniscient One

[First meeting, family—I, who have wandered far, make my debut]

Don’t overthink when reading novels; just leave your brain here for a better reading experience.

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This is the world of Star Rail, a world where Path Lunatics run rampant.

At this moment, a massive starship, located in a remote star system, hovers silently beyond the gravitational pull of a black hole.

Gazing out the starship’s viewport, where the horizon appeared as if bitten by a colossal cosmic beast, Hermes tidied his silver bangs, and blue light specks reappeared on his irises.

The cold light of the lab outlined the youth’s form—white hair like refined moonlight falling before his brow, emerald pupils filled with swirling nebulae like shattered jade.

“How many years have I been in this world?”

Looking at his current form, a long-forgotten sorrow rose in his heart: “I still remember how Mother teased me, saying I’d grow up to walk the Path of Purity—but who knew I’d first tread the Path of Exploration, then turn to the Path of Knowledge?”

The Path of Purity embodied Mother’s hopes for his character, appearance, and virtue in adulthood.

In this reincarnation, he shared deep affection with his mother.

Even after developing over a dozen techniques for longevity and rejuvenation, she still passed away at 150.

Immortality is not something every short-lived species can bear.

Even the celestial travelers of Xianzhou, with their naturally long lives and leisurely pace, rarely live beyond eight hundred years in spirit.

He shook his head, swept away his melancholy, and returned to his research.

The artificial intelligence [Alpha] operated at full power.

Under [Alpha]’s immense computational power, Hermes’ deep green eyes reflected collapsing data models.

“The Imaginary Flow has breached the safety threshold.”

[Alpha]’s voice, calm and synthesized, spoke: “X’s shadow is spreading; the protective barrier is fluctuating rapidly. Recommend initiating evacuation.”

Hermes ignored [Alpha]’s alarm; numbers flickered rapidly in his gaze, and new books formed swiftly in his mind-palace.

These were precious insights he had gathered under the crushing pressure of the Void Star God.

Had he not advanced far enough along the Paths of Exploration and Knowledge, he would already have been engulfed by X’s shadow, fallen into an irreversible abyss of self-destruction.

Hermes’ eyes glowed faintly—Exploration’s power had opened a higher path of wisdom, and wisdom’s light, in turn, guided Exploration.

They mutually perfected each other, forming a perfect Taiji.

After his transmigration into Star Rail, his innate talent—Heaven Rewards Diligence—had begun to activate…

Though Hermes walked both the Paths of Exploration and Knowledge far enough, he was still not a Messenger.

For other top-tier Pathwalkers at this stage, only two paths remained to advance further.

One, naturally, was to beg the Star God’s favor and receive the Messenger’s authority.

Otherwise, one must walk the Path endlessly, like Huangquan, becoming a self-crowned Messenger.

But both paths were exceedingly difficult.

Especially the second—such beings were so rare across the cosmos that most believed they didn’t exist.

But Hermes was different; he possessed the talent [Heaven Rewards Diligence], allowing him to break through barriers endlessly with effort alone.

When Hermes first transmigrated, his intellect was already impressive—on his home planet, he was hailed as a once-in-a-century genius.

But Fangyanwujinhuanyu , such talent was as common as fish crossing a river, utterly insignificant.

Not to mention compared to the geniuses of the famed Genius Club.

Yet now, Hermes was confident his talent rivaled that of members like the Tower.

This was the terrifying power of [Heaven Rewards Diligence]: effort always brought reward.

And this was still far from Hermes’ limit!

At that moment, alarms shrieked, red warning lights flashed wildly inside the cabin.

“Imaginary Flow overflow is spreading—the protective barrier is about to shatter!”

[Alpha]’s calm synthesized voice spoke again: “Initiate the Möbius Ring.”

And at that instant,

Hermes’ consciousness was pulled into an unknown temporal fold, witnessing the collision of Imaginary Flow and Quantum Tides.

A faint joy stirred in Hermes’ heart—he had finally glimpsed a sliver of the Tree Sea’s multiversal truth after years of research!

Seizing this chance, the Path’s power surged; he seized a thread of power more fundamental than Imaginary or Quantum.

The data in his eyes collapsed and rebuilt rapidly…

Finally,

He constructed a complete formula: [Emerald Tablet], and forged from it a fist-sized [Philosopher’s Stone]!

At that exact moment, a colossal mechanical phantom descended above the starship.

The Star God of Knowledge—The Omniscient One—gazed silently at Hermes through the starship’s hull with his mechanical eye.

An hour later, Hermes finally completed his Messenger transcendence, crystallizing his own Messenger Authority: [Alchemy], and began to respond to the Omniscient One’s gaze.

The Omniscient One looked at Hermes, and his mechanical voice spoke: “Question: What substance have Itachi created?”

Hermes: “This is the Philosopher’s Stone—it can exchange all phenomena in the world at equal value.”

The red light flickered.

Then, the great machine-head spoke again.

“Do Itachi wish to become a Messenger walking the Path of Knowledge?”

Am I not already a Messenger?

Hermes almost said this, but fell silent.

He began to think.

Is a self-crowned Messenger truly different from one certified by a Star God?

Could I, perhaps, get a second Messenger Authority for free?

“Fine. I’d like to see what a conventional Messenger is like.”

Hermes nodded, accepting the Omniscient One’s invitation.

The Star Gods of Star Rail are not conspiracy theorists.

As the originators of their Paths, every Star God is a steadfast walker of their own Path.

This Path does not waver; this resolve does not change.

He had no reason to fear some hidden scheme from the Omniscient One.

As a red light flowed into Hermes, the Omniscient One vanished.

Simultaneously, a strange lottery ticket landed before him.

Artifact: Invitation to the Genius Club!

This invitation was bound to every member of the Genius Club.

Like the Masked Jester’s [Tavern], the Doctor’s faction had a similar gathering place—a venue for meetings with other Genius Club members.

Hermes paused, a strange feeling rising in his heart.

A Path, seemingly endless, stretched before him with unprecedented clarity.

His scale began to rise without limit!

And with it came the Knowledge Authority: [Astrology].