PGVCW 31

Playing God in Various Catastrophic Worlds

Chapter 31: Sword, Come Forth! (Part 2)

"Mother..." The city lord gazed at the spectacle, subconsciously calling out to his mother, though she offered no response because she was concurrently calling out to her own mother. To state it with absolute precision, the entirety of the municipal populace was engaged in calling out to their mothers.

The Cangming world possessed no pulp entertainment web-novels equivalent to Those Years When I Cultivated Immortals, nor did anyone recognize that the phenomenon unfolding before them was formally designated as [Myriad Swords Return to Origin]. Because technological industrialization remained entirely undeveloped, the Cangming world's imaginative constructs concerning [Immortals] were naturally confined to ancient texts and verbal oral traditions. Yet when an auditory and visual spectacle—surpassing even the boldest reaches of mortal conceptualization—manifested directly within material reality, the sheer psychological shock left the populace entirely devoid of any verbal expression save for invoking maternal ancestry.

One must recognize that even grand cinematic blockbusters renowned for audiovisual sensory immersion remained strictly bounded within projection screens. Yet what the populace witnessed here was a living, breathing immortal formation executing a simultaneous discharge of thousands of flying swords. As numerous flying swords plunged downward from the upper firmament, they swept past the upper perimeters of the spectators with extreme velocity, enabling countless individuals to clearly perceive the fluorescent sword qi radiating from the blade-edges.

Though entirely ignorant of the technical terminology for spiritual energy, observing Xia Wang'an suspended above while treading upon a luminous Daoist Bagua matrix made it abundantly clear that this radiant manifestation transcended ordinary worldly phenomena. Furthermore, the blade surfaces of each individual flying sword were inscribed with esoteric, sublime runic patterns, heightening an aura of cold, lethal chill. The transit of a solitary blade proved sufficient to overwhelm the onlookers. Yet several thousand flying swords woven together into an expansive, dense spiritual net plummeted at breaksonic velocity, dedicated exclusively to obliterating the crop tides threatening the lives of the populace. Who could fail to be utterly captivated by such a display!

Even the remaining members of the Five Tongs Squad stationed aboard the flying vessel found their visual focus locked in absolute fixation by the cataclysmic scale of the myriad swords in flight. "Utterly sublime..." Even though intellect dictated that these flying swords were mass-produced industrial components manufactured via assembly-line fabrication—acting functionally equivalent to self-detonating ordnance—intellectual comprehension mattered little when the visual aesthetic possessed such overwhelming impact. Much like watching a cinematic feature where one remains fully cognizant that the visuals constitute digital effects, yet one's psychological engagement remains irresistibly drawn to the cinematic grandeur.

Caicai was visually conquered by the spectacle, radiating deep reverence and yearning: "Wang'an genuinely resembles an authentic master executing Myriad Swords Return to Origin." To reiterate a fundamental theatrical axiom: assuming they were actively recording a cinematic production intended to maximize audience immersion, aside from the meticulous labor invested by prop and special effects divisions, the "actor" constituted the paramount focal element. And presently, evaluated from both the perspective of the operational team and the vantage of the urban populace below, Xia Wang'an's physical posture and facial micro-expressions achieved absolute perfection. It genuinely engendered the profound psychological illusion that she was actively exerting sovereign control over the entire aerial armada.

Xia Wang'an operated with supreme operational fluency. Whether attributable to genuine historical mastery or simply her absolute self-persuasion of contemporary omnipotence remained unverified. The black-haired maiden stood elevated upon the high vantage, observing countless flying swords collide directly into the dense vegetative biomass. The urban citizens raised their gazes upward, registering not only her weightless levitation across the void but also capturing the tranquil, almost desensitized expression upon her features—a composed detachment mirroring an absolute sovereign who held the destiny of all creation within her palm. Amidst the fluttering of her immortal vestments, observers paradoxically perceived a profound undercurrent of cosmic compassion.

"An Immortal!! That is unequivocally an authentic divine immortal!!" Though unfamiliar with the precise theological concept of divine spirituality, multiple individuals within the throng instinctively dropped into prostrate prostrations before the elevated silhouette.

[Ding! Host Faith Power +1876] [Ding! Host Faith Power +2389] Xia Wang'an—who was deeply engrossed in committing the flight trajectories of the thousands of swords to memory, refusing to forfeit a solitary pedagogical opportunity—was startled back to awareness by the system audio: [Faith Power generation has initiated already?] This municipality fully merited the rigorous analytical screening executed by the evaluation division; merely evaluating demographic volume, the yield delivered profound satisfaction.

Yet Xia Wang'an temporarily deferred further calculation, prioritizing her observational studies. Though her aesthetic sensibilities regarding humanity had suffered structural distortion to the extent that she routinely embraced mutant beasts while declaring them endearing, confronting this magnificent, macro-scale execution of Myriad Swords Return to Origin still catalyzed genuine psychological appreciation. Which remained entirely logical. The operational parameters governing how thousands of swords deployed, the precise aerodynamic angles required to maximize the visual exposure of their polished blade faces, and the integration of luminescent chemical compounds to generate supernatural brilliance—every macro-structural deployment and micro-detail represented the collaborative synthesis of the exterior design, mechanical engineering, and kinetic simulation divisions, amalgamating over ten thousand specialized technicians across an indeterminate temporal span to synthesize this flawless aesthetic deliverable.

Observe the civilian populace stationed below—each individual manifesting hyper-stimulated emotional agitation. Xia Wang'an lacked excessive emotional volatility, yet her consciousness experienced the distinct sensation of having a portal to a novel paradigm unlocked. Her historical combat methodology historically lacked stylistic embellishment; engaging in physical engagement constituted her baseline reflex, and should operational failure manifest, she simply engaged in stationary somatic regeneration before resuming engagement. Though diverse anomalous combat arts had been acquired across her interdimensional travels, when executing serious kinetic engagement, her preferred, highly streamlined tactical combo remained overwhelmingly direct and brutal: ——Sever one's own upper limb initially, followed by decapitating the adversary.

Confronting such intricate, visually optimized artistic arrays ignited a profound sense of intellectual satisfaction within her developing psyche. The black-haired maiden maintained an elevated aerial posture, mentally cataloging the flight vectors and tactical geometric formations of the thousands of flying swords, experiencing escalating joy with every data point archived: [Such exquisite spatial arrangement; the adversary possesses zero probability of operational evasion. Why did my cognitive processes fail to conceptualize this geometric deployment previously?]

007: “……” Retaining a fractional vestige of objective cognitive lucidity amidst the dense volumetric storm of flying, explosive ordinance: [Host, this appears to represent a quantitative anomaly rather than a sophisticated tactical formation.] This operational execution functioned purely as a "saturation bombardment guaranteeing zero survival parameters"—how could any tactical target possibly evade such volumetric density?

[How erroneous your deduction is!] Xia Wang'an steadfastly maintained absolute conviction in the existence of an intricate sword array: [Prior to departure, the production division explicitly informed me that the flying sword inventory remained critically constrained, proving inadequate to establish comprehensive defensive perimeters, and cautioned us to prioritize personal survival upon encountering lethal indices.]

007 struggled to process the assertion; did the active inventory metrics genuinely qualify as constrained? The concentrated destructive output approached nearly five percent of the Host's historical maximum operational capacity. Did the observer fail to note that the terrestrial crust below was actively undergoing localized topological flattening?

Despite housing an interior repository of contradictory commentary, observing that her Host remained deeply immersed in the joyful euphoria of "clandestine academic acquisition," 007 instantly pivoted its philosophical stance to offer unconditional validation: [Though the sword array originated from external design specifications, the Host undeniably constitutes the primordial entity to master its operational deployment!]

Xia Wang'an acknowledged the validation with appropriate modesty, integrating the matrix configurations while optimizing internal conceptual adjustments, amplifying her internal gratification: [I am merely exerting supplementary effort upon the accumulated empirical foundation of preceding technicians...]

To conventional observers, the descent of the flying swords manifested as an instantaneous kinetic flash; yet from Xia Wang'an's ocular perspective—provided cognitive activation parameters were engaged—all spatial movement subjected itself to immediate chronological deceleration. The exact spatial coordinates of every individual blade, its directional orientation vector, and the maximum thermal radius generated upon detonation registered with absolute crystalline clarity.

Scarcely a single minute elapsed before Xia Wang'an—surrounded by the rhythmic percussive concussions of continuous detonation—satisfied her cognitive acquisition protocols and closed her eyes in serene contentment. The pedagogical dynamic mirrored academic environments of antiquity: while secondary students momentarily averted their gaze to retrieve a writing instrument, Xia Wang'an had already mastered advanced curricular frameworks unattainable via conventional academic trajectories.

With intellectual appetites successfully satiated, physiological appetites naturally surged to the foreground. Xia Wang'an executed a delicate nasal inhalation. As the crop tides disintegrated beneath high-tech explosive ordinance, the surrounding atmosphere saturated with the rich, savory aromas of hyper-heated organic matter.

Every constituent member of the Five Tongs Squad—including Xia Wang'an—simultaneously experienced an involuntary deep pulmonary inhalation. Caicai—the singular recognized scion of substantial familial wealth among the group—vocalized an unvarnished declaration: "The sensory profile generates the distinct psychological impression that we are participating in a grand barbecue banquet." Qiuzhuang maintained fixed ocular fixation upon the diverse roasted botanical anomalies carpeting the terrain, swallowing excess salivation: "Characterized more accurately as an unrestricted buffet." Linke maintained active operational deployment of local atmospheric currents around Xia Wang'an to preserve the graceful elevation of her immortal vestments, concurrently experiencing aggressive physiological salivation. Though harbouring an intense operational impulse to descend immediately for nutritional consumption, he strictly adhered to the paramount behavioral axiom—execute unconditional compliance with Xia Wang's directives—restraining his impulses while projecting an expression of profound destitution: "Wang'an, nutritional deficit has achieved critical thresholds."

Yuanning operated the master command console with a vacant, glazed ocular expression, effectively converting high-level intellectual telemetry into exhaustive physical labor as his phalanges hovered near thermal combustion thresholds. Even an individual characterized by exceptional emotional stability found himself entirely compromised by the ambient culinary fragrance, prompting an immediate verbal transmission: "Supplemental calorie intake mandatory."

Despite having ingested roasted corn mere moments prior, compelling a populace trained to abandon all cognitive control upon encountering accessible food resources to ignore an open, unrestricted agricultural harvest bordered upon supreme cruelty.

Xia Wang'an monitored the auditory channel saturated with nutritional lamentations, manifesting mild perplexity: "If nutritional acquisition is desired, descend and execute consumption." "Negative execution protocol," Caicai massaged her abdominal region: "We maintain official status as disciples of the Immortal Sect; maintaining elite aesthetic prestige remains mandatory." Xia Wang'an offered palliative framing: "Discard apprehension; based upon my historical experiential metrics, provided physical combat output achieves sufficient thresholds, auxiliary behavioral anomalies universally receive societal validation."

Concluding the declaration, she executed a direct spatial descent from the upper atmosphere, generating a secondary wave of audible gasps from the municipal populace below. ——THUD!! Amidst the cascading concussive reverberations of ongoing detonations, Xia Wang'an's physical impact upon the terrain generated a dense, muffled kinetic thud.

The assembled citizenry—terrified of forfeiting visual data—scrambled aggressively, scrambling across residential roofing structures or compressing densely around the perimeter gates to maintain visual lock. Xia Wang'an maintained absolute indifference toward external gazes; had she processed the psychological focalizations of every individual within her field of vision, executing tactical eliminations would inevitably induce distracting mental noise, such as idle retrospection regarding prior civilian encounters.

The black-haired maiden effortlessly vaulted outward from the impact crater she had autonomously generated, utilizing advanced dust-repellent functional fabrics that preserved her sartorial pristine condition despite surrounding particulate dispersion. She strolled leisurely across the spark-emitting operational theater, harvesting roasted tubers and cereal ears while selectively plucking exotic botanical produce. Her unhurried perambulation mirrored a domestic consumer navigating an urban farmers' market.

Discovering a solitary botanical specimen that had miraculously avoided thermal combustion, she severed it with a casual dental bite, instantly triggering another wave of vocalized awe from the civilian spectators clustered upon the architectural roofs.

Not a solitary individual articulated criticism questioning why combat operations were being interrupted to facilitate nutritional consumption; conversely, the populace spontaneously mobilized to romanticize and glorify Xia Wang'an's behavioral profile. "Observe such transcendent immortal nonchalance! Should our mortal personnel enter that operational zone, immediate consumption by the crop tide remains guaranteed; yet the Immortal Sect master executes navigation with supreme ease." —— This represented a mixture of profound reverence and burning envy. "The immortal actually consumes earthly fruits; I recall possessing an identical varietal within my private arboreal inventory!" —— This reflected a desperate psychological attempt to establish mundane commonality with a celestial entity. "My residential compound preserves residual agricultural stores! I shall immediately tender them as sacrificial tribute to the Immortal!" —— Preparations for ritualistic devotion were actively manifesting.

Xia Wang'an finalized consumption of the unripe fruit, determining her provision caches had achieved volumetric saturation. Balancing dual nourishment roles, she amassed a substantial armful of provisions, engaged internal spiritual circulation, and executed vertical levitation back toward the suspended flying vessel. "Whoosh—" The operational maneuver provoked renewed structural astonishment from the spectators below, who expressed their emotional processing via unreserved verbal praise. "Surpassing brilliance." "The immortal sustains such massive payload capacities via personal physical mechanics alone—unquestionably deserving of her immortal classification!"

The auxiliary members of the Five Tongs Squad monitoring the audio feeds: “……” Negative! By what mechanical logic did carrying an armful of provisions qualify as a foundational metric for divine validation? Concerning their capacity to monitor civilian auditory channels, Yuanning had strategically deployed acoustic sensors disguised as inert architectural stone aggregates throughout the municipal grid hours prior. The underlying operational strategy prioritized total environmental telemetry integration, permitting adaptive tactical calibration contingent upon audience feedback loops.

Xia Wang'an maintained absolute, unshakeable self-confidence irrespective of exterior commentary, depositing her nutritional haul directly onto the central compartment table. "Commence nutritional processing!" The operatives converged upon the provisions with the predatory urgency of famished carnivores. "Aghhh!! Wang'an, you represent my absolute theological deity!"

The Five Tongs members joyfully partitioned the provisions, concurrently monitoring the audio transmissions relayed by the ceramic-disguised listening devices secured above the city lord's administrative chambers. Within the administrative hall, the city lord continued his vocalized lamentations: "Mother... divine powers above, how shall we navigate this existential crisis..." "Direct your maternal invocations elsewhere!" The elderly matriarch manifested acute shock, though her historical tolerance for a son exceeding forty rotational years who retained a compulsion to invoke maternal authority rapidly dissolved into unadulterated disdain. "You occupy the administrative seat of City Lord; why direct inquiries toward my person?" The city lord exhibited utter disorientation: "Father... did you not previously assert that true immortals do not exist within this mortal sphere..." The octogenarian patriarch smoothed his garments with calculated casualness, stepping toward the internal staircase: "Did I articulate such a declaration? Memory fails to retain such parameters." The city lord: “……” "Father, your physical destination—?!" "Secure an equestrian mount; I intend to pay formal respects to the immortal adepts. Historical records indicate that occurrences of authentic immortal ascension are exceptionally rare across celestial epochs, implying high-tier immortals maintain mutual societal recognition. Perhaps she retains operational familiarity with the ancient Feudal King!"

Proceeding halfway down the scaling ladder, the patriarch experienced localized impatience regarding descending velocities, executing an unmitigated physical drop directly over the architectural perimeter. "Father! You possess advanced chronological years! Cease disregarding basic somatic preservation!" A sharp, agonizing shriek echoed directly through the audio receptors, terrifying Lin Ke—who was actively consuming a maize cob within a secluded bulkhead corner—into violent physical spasms. Exhibiting the rapid reflex metrics characteristic of a Tier-4 ability operator, he instantly... concealed the corn cob behind his dorsal posture.

Xia Wang'an—who was simultaneously masticating a roasted sweet potato while monitoring visual data feeds with the acute visual acuity of an apex predator treating the administrative drama as cinematic entertainment—directed an immediate physical correction toward his cranium. Suppressing her baseline neurological impulse to physically twist the cervical structure completely off his torso, she articulated a calming evaluation: "Cease agitation; his maternal counterpart has similarly launched herself from the roofing structure."

Across the audio channel, the city lord's physiological control completely fractured upon witnessing his elderly mother execute an identical physical drop from the elevated elevation, his vocal register scaling absolute registers of terror: "Mother! Exercise caution, careful—someone execute immediate physical interception!"

The elderly matriarch violently batted away auxiliary security personnel attempting physical stabilization, completely ignoring her eldest son who was scrambling down the scaling ladder in an ungraceful state of visceral panic: "I similarly require an audience." Though maintaining physical markers appropriate to her advanced chronological age, her ocular matrix burned with the crystalline clarity and fervent aspiration characteristic of youth: "The Imperial Princess would never willingly abandon her subjects; perhaps they retain intelligence regarding the Imperial Princess's operational status."

The two octogenarian figures refrained from mutual physical support, exchanging a single definitive, resolute gaze before marching purposefully toward the municipal perimeter. Though cognitive reasoning recognized the probability of securing positive validation remained vanishingly marginal, human agency perpetually demands adherence to the fragile contingency of "what improbable alternative remains".

Xia Wang'an executed an immediate visual assessment: "Their foundational high-wuxia cultivation baseline remains intact." "High-wuxia? Constitutes that the anomalous kinetic energy framework native to this specific dimensional plane?" Qiuzhuang queried, having engaged in intensive foundational theoretical study prior to operational deployment. "Affirmative." Xia Wang'an exhibited fractional regret: "Their foundational architecture displays structural excellence, yet intentional systemic erosion has crippled its expression." Qiuzhuang registered confusion: "Explain the parameter—did anomalous Polluters execute destructive interference?" "Negative; Polluters lack sufficient systemic clearance."

"All dimensional realms maintain intrinsic systemic elasticity, analogous to Lin Ke." Xia Wang'an casually requisitioned Lin Ke's cranium to serve as a physical pedagogical prop. Lin Ke—clutching his inventory of perfectly segregated corn kernels—maintained absolute cognitive passivity, allowing his cranium to rest passively within Xia Wang'an's manual grip. "Should an external agent forcibly confiscate Lin Ke's nutritional reserves, he initiates aggressive kinetic retaliation. Under such parameters, Lin Ke's kinetic output scales exponentially from subduing eighteen Yuannings to overpowering one hundred and eighty Yuannings." Yuanning—who remained intensely occupied managing the automated robotic battalions—interjected without lifting his focus: "..." Choosing verbal silence due to simultaneous mastication of provisions.

Xia Wang'an sustained her academic lecture with absolute gravitas: "Conversely, should an external agent execute a calculated maneuver returning the confiscated corn to Lin Ke prior to completing the eighteen-Yuanning subjugation protocol, his operational priority immediately reverts to finishing the consumption cycle before resuming combat execution." "Planetary systems operate via identical operational mechanics. When Polluters initiated their initial dimensional incursions, their actions functioned equivalently to seizing the domain's fundamental nourishment source, prompting the planet to manifest systemic resistance and spontaneously generate the High-Wuxia cultivation framework." "What the Polluters executed subsequently was a calculated systemic deception—feigning the return of the nourishment source, which induced the indigenous planetary system to voluntarily dissolve the high-wuxia defense matrix."

Caicai's ocular receptors illuminated with intellectual realization: "Comprehension achieved!" "Consequently, when our native world approached absolute existential crisis, human subjects spontaneously began expressing specialized ability manifestations—does this similarly represent our planetary system executing automated immunological defense?"

Xia Wang'an validated the deduction with an approving nod, conferring a high-achieving scholar designation: "Caicai's intellectual assimilation metrics exhibit superior performance; upon returning to the home plane, we shall jointly execute secondary-level academic examination modules!" Caicai's expression registered immediate internal friction: "Examination modules... remain structurally optional, presumptively."

Qiuzhuang manifested empathetic solidarity, observing Xia Wang'an's visual focus drift toward her persona, instantly triggering the intense psychological pressure of an unprepared student caught daydreaming during instructional delivery. She executed a tactical evasion, rapidly approaching Yuanning and physically extracting a fraction of a baked sweet potato directly from his oral cavity: "Yuanning, your facial expression communicates an urgent desire to articulate supplementary academic commentary—proceed with your intellectual contribution." Yuanning: “……” Though thoroughly cognizant of Qiuzhuang's overt deflection strategy, he successfully integrated his cognitive focus into the academic discourse: "Consequently, the analytical division's predictive modeling stands verified. The disappearance of the Imperial Princess fifty years prior, paired with the subsequent anomalous half-century of fabricated geopolitical stability, shared a direct causal nexus." "To suppress the continuous emergence of martial sovereigns equivalent to the Imperial Princess, the Polluters engineered a fifty-year systemic dormancy. Absent active combatants contesting the appropriation of our foundational nourishment, the indigenous high-wuxia framework suffered systematic atrophy."

Xia Wang'an patted Lin Ke's cranium approvingly: "The analytical framework approximates absolute accuracy." She shifted her ocular focus toward the two aged mortals stumbling resolutely across the terrain toward the landing coordinates of the flying vessel: "The Polluters systematically severed the sole internal survival vector accessible to this world. Their previous descent constituted an exploratory harvest." Executing a slow extraction of the minimalist wooden hair ornament from her coiffure, she permitted the artifact to elongate into the familiar dimensions of the 2.8-meter heavy blade. The black-haired maiden positioned her physical frame atop the elevated safety rail of the flying vessel, manifesting an uncompromising villainous facial expression: "A world's indigenous systemic self-rescue opportunity manifests precisely once." "However—the opportunities distributed via my personal operational mandate possess infinite plurality."

Complete acoustic silence saturated the compartment. Exclusively Lin Ke—reclaiming absolute physical control over his cranium while retaining possession of a half-consumed maize cob—extended his upper extremity to register dissent: "Your theoretical formulation contains a minor parameter error."

Xia Wang'an's academic pride registered immediate defensive activation—mirroring a student confronting an imperfect examination score, her cognitive systems initiated instantaneous defensive protocols: She executed a high-velocity pivot: "Specify precisely where my theoretical framework deviates!"

Lin Ke directed his gaze toward Yuanning, projecting absolute unvarnished pride: "The arithmetic is erroneous."

"My operational capacity is not eighteen Yuannings."

"I possess the kinetic metric to subjugate nineteen Yuannings!"