Chapter 16

After asking Aisiduo, Xing finally arrived at Heita's office.

Heita: "Yo, you finally came, I won't beat around the bush. I've been working on a big project with my colleagues lately; if it succeeds, we can in one fell swoop overcome the ultimate problem that has troubled us for several thousand amber eras: the secret of the 【Star God】."

"【Star God】! Just think, what a miraculous existence! Don't you want to know?" Heita grew more excited as she spoke, "Some Star Gods were once just like you and me, ordinary humans, but somehow they obtained power beyond our imagination! They are mysterious, powerful, silent, terrifying! The mysteries surrounding them cannot be explained in a few words."

"How were they born? Why were they born? What were they born for? … I ask you, Xing, have you ever pondered these questions?"

"Ordinary humans?" Maweika's eyes widened instantly upon hearing these four words.

Starting from the first fire god Xibalak a thousand years ago, all successive fire gods have been mortal beings; although they possess divine power, they still cannot escape the human cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death.

To become a god with a mortal body is a fantasy to people of other nations, but in Natlan it is a goal that even a three‑month‑old child can dream of and strive for.

But the "Star God" is of a completely different magnitude from the "Fire Archon"; the Star Gods of other worlds seem stronger in power and authority than these Teyvat gods. When the destructive Nanuke opened his eyes and gazed at her, even someone as mighty as Maweika felt a bone‑chilling cold.

"That dark‑skinned man, the destructive Nanuke… could he have once been human?" Thinking this, Maweika also suddenly became interested; if this little Heita lady could really uncover the secret of the Star Gods' strength, could such experience be applied to Teyvat's rules?

Regardless of whether it's possible, this is absolutely worth paying attention to and trying.

"The club's four geniuses jointly wrote a program—do you see that huge machine in the office? The machine contains a universe, only more streamlined and customized…"

At this point, a sly smile appeared on Heita's cute face, as if she were proud of her own brilliance; she put her hands on her hips, instinctively puffed out her chest, and declared proudly, "I call it: the metaverse."

Xing scratched his head embarrassedly and said, "Maybe we shouldn't hop on this heat?"

"Is that so? My partner said the same, so now I call it the 【Simulated Universe】. Go experience it now—it guarantees you won't suffer any loss, and I'll even pay you a generous reward."

Upon hearing "reward," Xing finally became interested. She walked over to the machine, about to ask Heita how to operate it, when suddenly she felt a wave of dizziness, as if her consciousness had been sucked into something in an instant; when she opened her eyes again, she was back inside the space station.

However, besides her, there was no one else here, and there were also some scattered virtual soldiers.

Just then, a light screen appeared before her, and soon Heita's voice came from it: "Xing, can you hear me speaking? If you can, tap the screen—"

"Your body is still in the office; this is a simulated universe generated from memory. Of course, it's only a test version for now—move around a bit, walk wherever you like."

"The body stays where it is, but the consciousness goes to another world. Hmm… if it were a cursed technique, it might be troublesome, but luckily it has nothing to do with us~"

Gojo Satoshi pushed up his sunglasses, tilted his head back, and gulped down the milk tea in his hand with a gurgling sound, letting out a satisfied "Ah—".

Yui Itto looked at the somewhat lax teacher, at a loss for words for a moment, and asked, "Does Gojo-sensei also have an interest in what's happening on the light screen?"

"Of course, I'm quite interested in those Star Gods they mentioned."

Gojo Satoshi gently pulled his sunglasses down, his eyes as clear as a blue sea hiding a faint smile, "Itto, you felt it too, right? That dark‑skinned man…"

Recalling how the destructive Nanuke opened his eyes, Yui Itto's forehead immediately began to bead with countless droplets of sweat.

"Haha, you don't even need to think to know that guy—absolutely overwhelmingly strong!" Gojo laughed heartily, seemingly unfazed, "He's that strong; even if I weren't curious, that guy would be curious himself."

Without needing to say it, Yui Itto could guess that the guy referred to was Ryomen Sukuna.

Indeed, that is exactly the case; on the other side, Ryomen Sukuna is indeed paying attention to every move of Xing in the light screen.

Rather than saying he's paying attention to Xing, Sukuna is actually more concerned with what Heita said about the "origin of the Star Gods." Compared to the earlier appearing Doom Beast, that dark‑skinned man called Nanuke interests him more.

Especially the moment his gaze crossed with hers, that instant's feeling…

Is it fear?

…He himself couldn't say. In any case, since his birth a thousand years ago, in that long life that could be called boring and dull, he had never experienced such an emotion.

On the contrary, the humans who died before his face had shown expressions almost similarly twisted moments before death.

"Some Star Gods also started as humans; maybe Gojo‑sensei is currently paying attention to that, researching how to become a Star God, huh?"

Kenjaku somehow managed to get hold of a rocking chair, lying back comfortably to sunbathe; compared to Ryomen Sukuna's serious demeanor, he appears far more relaxed.

"Boring." Ryomen Sukuna crossed his arms and let out a cold snort.

"Oh?" Kenjaku took off his sunglasses; his already small eyes narrowed into a slit in the sunlight, and he smirked, "Since it's boring, why bother staring seriously at someone else's little girl?"

"..."

Sukuna didn't bother to explain either; he pulled out his right hand from his embrace, pointed his index finger toward Kenjaku, and a blade of void‑born slash flashed, instantly cutting the two wooden legs of the rocking chair beneath Kenjaku's buttocks; the poor chair lost balance in an instant and flung the relaxed Kenjaku onto his backside in the dirt.

"Hey! You bastard…"

After Xing walked two laps following Heita's instructions, Heita was very pleased and said, "Good, I want you to play Archimedes; first go find a few monsters to fight, see which simulated Star God notices you first."

"That's easy, watch me." Saying this, Xing was about to swing her bat when suddenly two figures appeared beside her—March 7 and Danheng.

Although they are virtual, their skills are no less than in reality; under the combined attack of the several of them, the monsters were instantly cooled.

However, at the very moment the monsters fell, the surrounding environment changed abruptly.

Xing only felt her five senses instantly engulfed, and she found herself again in a pitch‑black void.

But soon an amber‑colored sky appeared, and countless copper ores, amber, and opals rained down before Xing. This was a worldwide‑noticed mineral rain.

In the steaming melt, a massive entity extended its spine from the earth's veins, its broad palms gripping a huge hammer; as Xing looked up, she saw in that vast void a golden figure gradually appearing before her, like a mythic heaven‑standing deity, revealing a corner of its grandeur.

——【Preserver】 Star God Clipe!

Outside the light screen, Gojo Satoshi, who had just finished his milk tea, suddenly coughed violently, nearly choking himself; he adjusted his slipping sunglasses on his nose bridge and stared in disbelief at the colossal figure that had abruptly appeared on the screen.

I had thought the Destruction Star God was already strong enough.

This… there are even stronger masters?!