PGVCW 15

Playing God in Various Catastrophic Worlds

Chapter 15: Everyone Will Love Me

What left them utterly shell-shocked was that this colossal cluster of majestic architectural structures rose directly from the mountain summits, suspended loftily in mid-air.

From the vantage point of the mortals standing below, those unprecedented sect edifices appeared anchored straight inside the clouds, wreathed in perpetual mist, half-hidden and half-visible, radiating an aura of profound mystery and majestic solemnity.

Because the structures were overwhelmingly vast and numerous, their sightlines could not even encompass the distant extremities, instantly triggering memories of what Xia Wang'an had previously declared.

The Heaven-Saving Sect possessed two hundred million disciples.

It... it actually existed.

So hyper-realistic that it felt as though one could reach out and physically graze the colossal, sword-engraved grand gateway.

Leading downward from the massive portals was an endlessly protracted flight of stone steps whose termination vanished into the horizon, instantly evoking the visceral realization that ordinary mortals would likely lack the stamina to scale even a fraction of those ascents.

And standing atop that boundless stairway was an enormous monolith.

Inscribed across its upper expanse were three sweeping, magnificent characters that seemed poised to violently shatter out of the stone face:

— Heaven-Saving Sect —

The entire delegation stood paralyzed by speechlessness. While they hailed from a different geopolitical sphere, this world similarly subscribed to the philosophical principle that calligraphy reflects the soul; the unrestrained, wild indulgence of those brushstrokes unmistakably mirrored a spirit of absolute untamed liberation in the writer.

Suddenly, their field of vision rippled, as though a phantasmal projection was unfurling outward directly from the calligraphy itself.

An indistinct, unidentifiable silhouette materialized: holding a wine gourd in one hand and grasping a pristine sword in the other, she stumbled forward with swaying footsteps. Despite the intoxicating aura of inebriation, amidst her drunken stagger, she smoothly unspooled a fluid sequence of sword forms.

The sword maneuvers appeared chaotic at a glance, yet every single strike radiated an exquisite, matchless elegance.

"What breathtakingly refined sword techniques."

The Wheat-Excision Sect disciples, who had been frozen in terror moments prior, found their eyes hopelessly ensnared, utterly incapable of blinking.

That intricate sequence of forms played out like child's play within the vagrant's grasp until, finally, rather than terminating the stance, she leveraged the residual momentum of the blade and cast her gaze toward a towering, human-sized boulder standing nearby.

"Heaven saves humanity through self-reliance; humanity assists Heaven through heavenly salvation."

Throwing her head back in roaring laughter, she swung her blade mid-sentence. Razor-sharp sword-qi erupted, kicking up a furious gale of sand and shattered stone, directly carving the three grand characters—Heaven-Saving Sect—deep into the granite block.

The phantasmal sword shadow dissolved into mist, leaving the awestruck spectators drifting in a daze for a long, protracted silence.

"Wh-Whose projection was that?"

Ultimately, it was Senior Sister Miao Xinghe who managed to forcibly resurrect her stiffened tongue, her cardiac rhythm hammering like a war drum while her voice trembled violently.

Yuanning stepped forward to provide exposition: "That was our Sect Master. It was precisely the Sect Master who originally founded the Heaven-Saving Sect."

Grandpa Ga wore an expression of profound disorientation: "Then... then why is she trapped inside the stone?"

"The Sect Master is not physically present here; what you witnessed just now was merely a residual projection of her sword intent left embedded within the monolith a decade ago," Yuanning explained smoothly. "As for the Sect Master herself, she successfully transcended her mortal coil and ascended into immortality ten full years ago."

Grandpa Ga's eyes locked into a glassy stare: Not inside the stone... Eleventh Junior Brother's eyes glazed over: Ascended into immortality... Senior Brother's eyes went blank: Residual sword intent projection...

A single exchange instantly lobotomized three separate individuals.

Yuanning nodded with an innocent, gentle smile.

Indeed, the so-called "residual sword intent projection" was simply an automated holographic feed. To guarantee synchronized sensory immersion, its playback required manual real-time trigger inputs; beneath his exterior facade of warm, polished jade and refined scholarly elegance, Yuanning had actually been hammering the physical control interfaces with finger movements fast enough to generate thermal smoke.

Fortunately, the engineering design division had styled the trigger console into the shape of a traditional hand-warmer brazier, perfectly concealing his blur-speed button-mashing from view.

Senior Brother remained frozen in a catatonic loop: "That set of sword techniques... it possesses a refinement I have never witnessed in my entire life. I feel as though... as though I have attained an epiphany..."

Yuanning politely pretended not to notice the agricultural sickle dangling from the man's belt: "It is historically documented that prior disciples frequently experienced sudden enlightenment upon observing the Sect Master's sword intent projection. This brother possesses remarkable innate aptitude; who knows, perhaps you truly are on the verge of an epiphany."

Senior Brother: !!!

Hearing an authentic immortal sect disciple explicitly validate his innate talent—while confirming that successful precedents of experiential enlightenment genuinely existed—ignited his entire physiological circulatory system into a fever pitch of adrenaline.

Off to the side, Xia Wang'an—who was still intensely holding her heroic posture—blinked, casting an aggrieved, disgruntled glare toward the wanderer.

Even she hadn't achieved enlightenment yet, yet this random outsider had managed to stumble into it.

[Abominable!] [Shortly, I am going to command Yuanning to assign me individual tutoring! I shall stare at that sword intent phantom continuously until I achieve enlightenment myself!]

007 interjected cautiously: [Host...] It desperately wanted to remind its host that this so-called [sword intent projection] was entirely synthetic!

That faceless "Sect Master" was a completely fabricated entity; to state it bluntly, every single micro-movement executed by the "Sect Master" had been extracted directly from the sleep cycles and hair follicles of several thousand overworked technicians within the [Holographic Simulation Bureau].

Xia Wang'an continued mentally reviewing the sword forms with fierce determination: [Such exquisite maneuvers; I must master them.]

007 sighed internally: [...] Those refined sword forms were the culmination of exhaustive, iterative motion-capture trials executed by elite martial artists recruited nationwide! To engineer combat choreography that balanced lethal aesthetic impact with high visual fidelity, Great Xia's research apparatus had scoured every historical text containing esoteric blade diagrams.

Back during the initial design phase, Xia Wang'an herself had actively contributed sparring data to calibrate the motion sets.

However, it was well aware of its host's relentless competitive streak; moreover, once Xia Wang'an accepted a specific narrative parameter, her mental framework locked onto it with one-hundred-percent unwavering conviction.

Hesitating briefly, 007 pivoted immediately: [Splendid! Host's cognitive assimilation capacity is peerless; mastery is guaranteed!] [Furthermore, look at this Wheat-Excision Sect fellow—he is clearly vastly inferior to your intellect! If the host applies maximum diligence right now, the honor of achieving the inaugural breakthrough enlightenment shall belong exclusively to you!]

Emboldened by her system's tactical encouragement, Xia Wang'an's confidence surged exponentially: [Precisely. They maintain unusually early sleep schedules; tonight, I shall exploit their unconscious state and engage in covert, accelerated training!]

While her internal strategic monologue with the system executed with flawless precision, her physical vessel remained locked in an unyielding, statuesque pose.

At that moment, down within the sprawling perimeter identified as the Outer Sect quarters, a pair of disciples radiating formidable, disciplined presence led a patrol detachment across the stone pathways.

Miao Xinghe possessed acute situational instincts; she instantly deduced that these enforcers maintained administrative clearance vastly superior to the civilian throngs trailing behind them.

The moment the patrol entered visual range, the two lead enforcers abruptly halted, their brows furrowing in synchronized suspicion as a sharp challenge rang out: "Who trespasses and surveils the sect grounds!"

The contingent from Gao Village and the Wheat-Excision Sect experienced an involuntary visceral spasm of terror.

Before anyone could formulate a defensive posture, they watched the lead enforcer's piercing gaze slice through the ethereal mist, locking directly onto their cluster.

The next second, the previously stern expressions of the enforcers melted into instant deference; they stepped backward in unison and executed a deep, immaculate archival bow.

"An unexpected encounter with Master Wang'an; this subordinate pays respects to the True Person."

The assembled outsiders, who had been bracing for imminent lethal hostility, suffered a secondary wave of shock.

While the conceptual nuances of the honorific "True Person" (Zhēnrén) escaped them, the stark behavioral inversion—shifting from aggressive hostility to absolute, reverent submission—was blindingly transparent. Even individuals utterly detached from mundane hierarchical protocol could easily deduce that this youthful maiden possessed extraordinarily elevated administrative weight within the Heaven-Saving Sect.

As a storm of speculative hypotheses churned within their minds, they watched the celestial-robed maiden nod with casual nonchalance: "Pay me no mind; I am merely conducting a casual ocular sweep."

An attitude so utterly organic and dismissive could only be forged through lifelong habitual conditioning within the highest echelons of a supreme sect.

"Understood."

Though instructed to disregard her presence, one of the enforcers paused to execute a secondary parting salute before leading his contingent of black-robed disciples away into the mist.

Grandpa Ga trembled visibly: "Wang'an, what precisely is the implication of them addressing you as a 'True Person'?"

Yuanning stepped in to translate: "The reality is that Junior Sister Wang'an serves as the direct personal disciple of the Sect Master herself. While the rest of us hold status merely as elder-tier disciples, she alone carries direct lineage ties to the Sect Master. Consequently, within the hierarchy of the Heaven-Saving Sect, Junior Sister Wang'an holds the formal honorific of True Person."

Grandpa Ga rapidly translated the parameters within his cognitive framework: Translation—his little sister held astronomical generational seniority within that immortal organization.

If Grandpa Ga could independently bridge that logical gap, the members of the Wheat-Excision Sect—who were professionally immersed in martial hierarchies—arrived at the conclusion with instantaneous clarity.

As they redirected their gaze toward the ethereal maiden, their pupils constricted further, laced with acute cautious reverence.

Not only was her generational ranking absurdly elevated... Her master was an entity who had successfully ascended into literal immortality.

Xia Wang'an flicked her wrist; the jade pendant suspended mid-air responded instantly to an invisible magnetic tether, autonomously snapping back into her palm.

The maiden re-secured the pendant to her belt and pivoted to survey the delegation, whose expressions remained frozen in structural shock.

"Observe. Does our sect possess sufficient volumetric capacity to accommodate two hundred million disciples?"

Everyone: "..."

[Ding! Host Faith Power increased by 10.] [Faith Power increased by 15.] [23.] [17.]

The inhabitants of Gao Village were rendered entirely mute by astonishment. The Wheat-Excision Sect disciples fared no better, their cognitive faculties drifting as their entire worldview underwent systemic structural re-engineering.

Naturally, under these environmental conditions, the Faith Power output harvested from the collective far exceeded baseline projections.

The system tasked with logging Faith Power metrics had initially maintained meticulous logging intervals, but the overwhelming deluge of ambient faith data crashing into its servers forced an immediate protocol adjustment, compressing the broadcast string for operational efficiency.

Processing the influx within micro-seconds, the system tallied the active headcounts in the sector and announced with high-frequency excitement: [Host! They have achieved absolute ideological conversion! Furthermore, their conviction depth is exceptionally robust! Multiple subjects have generated double and triple-multiplier Faith Power yields!]

Xia Wang'an experienced a pleasant surge of gratification: [Splendid! Exactly what is our current deficit relative to the one hundred million Faith Power threshold?]

007 responded with high-energy metrics: [Ding! Host current Faith Power: 1,209.] [Remaining deficit: 99,998,719 units!]

Xia Wang'an nodded with supreme satisfaction: [That constitutes phenomenal longitudinal progress.] Though the contemporary absolute metric appeared modest, anyone acquainted with Xia Wang'an's historical decade-long struggles to harvest even fractional yields across dead worlds understood precisely what this conversion velocity signified.

Previously, she had systematically rescued entire planetary populations, yet the cumulative Faith Power extracted frequently failed to clear one-thousandth of the total native demographic baseline.

Yet presently, she had avoided executing brutal extermination campaigns, abstained from sustaining severe physical trauma, and maintained an uninterrupted dietary supply of gourmet snack rations.

And yet, unadulterated, ultra-pure Faith Power poured into her repository in torrential volume.

Xia Wang'an's eyes sparkled brilliantly; while her emotional state trended upward, she remained mindful that a substantial civilian population remained distributed across the broader expanse of Ming County.

While she recognized that the Gao villagers and Wheat-Excision Sect disciples would organically function as zealous promotional vectors, she harbored a personal desire to deploy direct field engagement.

At that precise micro-second, a timid, tentative voice punctured the acoustic space.

"Pardon me... do you people genuinely possess true flight capabilities??"

Xia Wang'an snapped her gaze toward the source: it was none other than the stubborn Eleventh Junior Brother, whose frame was presently swaying unsteadily, his facial expression broadcasting the universal subtext: This reality has drifted too far into systemic fantasy.

The ultimate operational window to harvest regional Faith Power across the entire county had materialized!

Furthermore, Xia Wang'an harbored a persistent personal itch to experience authentic sword flight.

Yuanning extracted her underlying intent instantly from her expectant ocular telemetry, casually unbuckling his ceremonial blade: "What is there to doubt regarding physical reality?"

"Wang'an, are you harboring operational security concerns regarding the perimeter topography? Perhaps the three of us should execute an aerial reconnaissance sweep? Junior Brother Linke, what is your operational assessment?"

Linke—who was currently industrially masticating a mouthful of popped corn kernels—swallowed his snack, blinked vacantly, and nodded.

Fifteen minutes later—

Xia Wang'an balanced stably atop her hovering flying sword, flanked immediately by Yuanning and Linke, who maintained parallel flight vectors.

Her expression radiated unbridled liberation, deeply inhaling the exhilaration of spatial traversal while her immortal vestments fluttered gracefully against the slipstream, amplifying her transcendent immortal aesthetics to an absolute peak.

Exquisite.

Far below, a civilian inadvertently tilted their gaze skyward, instantly locking onto the airborne silhouettes with eyes dilating in sheer disbelief: "Look upward!! Are there actual human figures traversing the airspace?!!" "Are they... are they executing active atmospheric flight?!!"

Directly inside Xia Wang'an's auditory cortex, the system broadcast loops accelerated into a deafening cascade of explosive Faith Power increments, washing over her consciousness with intoxicating euphoria.

Forming a precise manual seal with one hand in accordance with standard sword-piloting manuals, she leaned into the rushing gale and murmured with profound contentment: "Utterly exhilarating."

Yuanning closed the trailing spatial interval with an easy smile: "Profoundly blissful."

Linke brought up the rear; utilizing his specialized [Wind Manipulation] ability to hydro-dynamically stabilize all three practitioners and their respective blades against atmospheric drag, he maintained a vacant expression, privately concluding that basic conversational protocol mandated a verbal contribution: "You lot..." "Are exceptionally heavy."