Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

“You are the future head of the Shaniat family, and you will understand these things sooner or later. I’m sorry to have saddened you. But if you don’t even have the courage to face reality, you will never grow up.” Karen looked at her and sighed softly. “However, Cecilia completely regards you as her own daughter, and she has never let you down in that respect.”

Xilin looked up. She was currently hugging Shen Liang's neck and nestled in his arms for warmth. When she looked up, she could see the boy's tense gaze with his brows furrowed. She stared at him for a while before grinning.

"Human, stop with your pitying act. Am I really that fragile?"

Shen Liang didn't dare to relax just yet. Xilin was an arrogant young lady, and she might actually be on the verge of tears inside, but she was just pretending to be calm.

At this moment, you must continue to look at her with compassion.

"If you keep staring like that, I'll beat you up. Is this how you treat the head of the family?" Sirin reached into the slits on both sides of Shen Liang's shirt—actually, Shen Liang didn't know why the tailor of the Shaniat family had made two empty pockets on the waist of his clothes. Later, he discovered that Cecilia, Anna, Kiana, Sirin, and many other girls he knew liked to hug him from behind, press their chests against his head, and then their little hands would just slip in and touch his stomach. This way, they could be intimate without restraint and avoid being discovered by outsiders. This made Shen Liang wonder if the tailor aunt, who knew so much about little boys, should be called in and arrested—anyway, Sirin's icy little hand touched his waist directly. As Shen Liang shuddered, she deftly pinched the flesh of Shen Liang's waist with her fingertips. As everyone knows, pinching someone with the fingertips instead of the fingers hurts a lot.

Shen Liang was so provoked that he let out a loud scream.

"Whether it's an artificial human or a clone, what does it have to do with me? I am the eldest daughter of the Shaniat family, the acting head of the family. Do you think a mere story can make me weep and abandon my status to flee in disgrace? What kind of fool do you take me for?" Sirin stared at him, a cold smile on her face. "Human, you don't expect me to be unable to handle the blow and run away, handing the family over to Kiana, do you? So you and Kiana could become adulterers and control trillions of dollars in assets? Everything in this family is mine! Do you understand!"

Shen Liang smiled with relief, "That's good, that's good, I'm glad you're alright."

"Does it matter whether I'm that stupid woman's daughter or not? It doesn't matter! What matters to me is that the family fortune is in my hands. Durandal? How much can she get? She won't get a single penny!" Sirin proudly raised her small face, refusing to look at Shen Liang. "You're still a long way from trying to disrupt my Dao heart with this. Human, you should stop scheming and just obediently try to please me. Only by my side will you have a future and everything you want. I will always be the one calling the shots in this family!"

"Yes, yes, yes, Sister Sirin, you have to have this spirit! What is Durandal compared to us? Let's go kill her right now, and if you kill her, you'll be the most precious child of the Shaniat family!"

"Of course! Daring to lay a hand on my mother... cough! Daring to lay a hand on the Shaniat family, even forcing that woman to intervene, this crime is unforgivable!" Sirin gritted her teeth. "We siblings will join forces! You must save Anna, and I will save that woman! We have a common enemy now!"

Shen Liang looked down at the little queen in his arms, who was clenching her little fists and waving them with an air of majesty. This rare cuteness made him subconsciously hallucinate with Kiana.

But he had never actually hugged Kiana like that. When he was with Kiana, she usually hugged him. The white-haired ball of fur had never shown any intimacy like a couple, and they had never kissed... In fact, they had never been a couple. It was just that outsiders kept talking about it, and they themselves gradually accepted it.

Shen Liang suddenly felt a strong urge to lower his head and taste Xilin's lips.

But he quickly realized his mistake and dismissed the idea. He was joking; the little queen wasn't his Kiana. Given his relationship with Kiana, if they actually kissed, she'd probably just smack her lips and say, "Junior brother, you taste pretty good, but I'm wearing lipstick. Can you taste anything? Tell me, it's my first kiss, I need to learn from you." But if he did that to the little queen, she'd probably be stunned, then pale, then furious, and then he'd have to be publicly executed. Even Cecilia wouldn't be able to stop him from being banished to the Arctic to raise penguins.

He quickly raised his head, pretending nothing was wrong, and glanced at Xilin out of the corner of his eye. Xilin's expression didn't change, as if she hadn't noticed his impulsive lowering of his head. He was somewhat relieved.

Gan Yu and Karen on the screen both shut up. The former smiled and the latter was speechless, but they both saw, from Shen Liang's perspective, the white-haired little queen's neck turning bright red, and her innocent look as she subconsciously sat up straight and tilted her head back, as if she were about to welcome something.

"Kiana's sister?" Kallen asked Gan Yu with her eyes.

"Where's my sister?" Gan Yu responded with her eyes.

"Is she really my biological sister?"

"She really is my older sister."

"Uh...that's really my older sister."

Just then, everyone in the car saw the sky change dramatically in the distance, as well as the highway toll station sign in Bavaria.

"We're almost there, get ready," Celine whispered.

"I still have some questions about the Siberian War. For example, just how strong is the Herrscher of the Void you mentioned, and how does she compare to Anna now?" Shen Liang asked.

“The key information in this incident is actually what I should be telling you. I shouldn’t have told you this information in the first place, as it would have seriously violated the interests of Destiny and my authority would not have allowed me to do so,” Karen said. “However, within the scope of Destiny’s database, the Shaniat family still belongs to Destiny’s forces, and persecution of the Shaniat family can be considered persecution of Destiny through certain means. So I’m telling you as much as I can.”

"What?" Shen Liang and Xi Lin perked up their ears.

"The Herrscherification of Anna is a joint scheme between Schicksal and the World Serpent Organization. Kevin, the Lord of the World Serpent and holder of the Paradise of the Past, traded the Black Abyss White Flower and experimental data from the Herrscher of Death of the previous civilization to Otto in exchange for the possibility of controlling a Herrscher." Kallen looked at Shen Liang's cold face and said apologetically, "Yes, it's only a possibility. Controllable Herrschers have always been the ultimate goal of many forces because everyone has witnessed the power of the Herrschers. Kevin is executing a plan that spans from the previous civilization to the present, and controlling a Herrscher would greatly increase the success rate of his plan."

"Who is Kevin? And what is Paradise of the Past?" Sirin frowned.

“It’s a plan left over from the previous civilization.” Before Karen could introduce it, Shen Liang spoke slowly and deliberately, “One of the necessary conditions for the previous civilization’s ‘Son of Man’ plan, that guy named Kevin is the leader of the Thirteen Heroes of the Fire Chaser, one of the few heroes recorded in the previous Fire Chaser era who survived to the present day. Sister Sirin is also the ancestor of your Kaslana family.”

Karen looked at him in surprise, her tone one of shock, "This isn't publicly available information!"

Shen Liang did not answer, because just five seconds ago, the "system interface" that had been hanging at the bottom of his field of vision disappeared in an instant.

Before he could react, his field of vision refreshed and the system interface reloaded.

A line of semi-transparent large characters appeared right in the center of his field of vision.

[The Stigmata System v2.0 is now officially operational.]

Chapter Sixty-Six: The Liberation of the Herrscher!

This was followed by lines of explanation in small print, in the familiar Microsoft YaHei font.

[Given that the Executor has had excessive contact with Herrschers on Earth, has obtained necessary information about the Pure Land of the Past, and has not traveled to Teyvat to carry out the 'Child of Man' Project for an extended period, the Earth-based content has been upgraded for the Executor. The Executor is requested to accelerate their exploration process.]

[The second version of the system was entirely developed by Alicia, the second member of the Firemoth faction. Any issues should be addressed to Alicia. This is not the responsibility of Dr. Mebius, Ms. Aponia, or Ms. Eden.]

[The second version of the system has opened up Herrscher eligibility. Executors are requested to find Herrschers as soon as possible. The progress requirements for Earth Herrschers and Teyvat Stigmata eligibility are the same.]

[Herrscher Core - Ice has been discovered.]

[Current Herrscher of Ice: Ana Schariac]

[Progress: 100%]

Even if it means losing myself, I still yearn to be your caged bird.

The system displays this information and then refreshes the page again.

[The Herrscher's ability is singular and exceeds the system's copying limit, making it impossible to extract.]

[For each Herrscher captured, you can travel to the 'Paradise of the Past' to extract the pheromones of a historical Heroic Spirit or Heroic Warrior, transforming them into your Stigmata. The stronger the Heroic Spirit or Heroic Warrior, the more difficult it is to materialize. Unmaterialized Heroic Spirits or Heroic Warriors will reside within your Stigmata space; while they cannot become your direct allies, they can provide you with buffs.]

The existence of heroic spirits or valiant heroes is bound to you, sharing life and death. Please treat those heroic spirits or valiant heroes who are willing to follow you with kindness.

[The Stigmata System v2.0 is about to unlock the Paradise of the Past for you. Please explore both Earth and Teyvat simultaneously.]

[A message to my dear Eve: Keep striving to be a boy that everyone loves! Luck always favors those who are at least exceptionally good-looking.]

Shen Liang finally witnessed the opening of the "Paradise of the Past".

He knew long ago that the system had laid a trap here. Every time he tried to get information from the system, it would always stop at the level of "Paradise in the afterlife". The system had always been unwilling to let him access any information related to Paradise in the afterlife.

But there are always unexpected things in the world; information that can't be found may just come to you.

The system clearly operates on a certain logic. This logic is that if he comes into contact with the Paradise of the Dead from other angles, the system will grant him access to the Paradise of the Dead. Just like in Teyvat, after he maxed out the progress of the Coral Palace Song, he was only informed of the information about the Ley Lines.

He is about to come into contact with Kevin, the owner of the Paradise of the Past.

Shen Liang wasn't surprised that he was able to form a contract with Anna. If there was anyone on Earth who could be his suitable candidate, Anna would definitely be one of them. Not only was their affection for each other incredibly high, but their connection was also extremely close, even more so than with Kiana and other girls. Most importantly, he had indeed seen his own Holy Mark on Anna before.

He had a vague suspicion at that time.

The system's judgment criterion is surprisingly the Herrscher.

He currently only knows of Anna as a Herrscher. The last Herrscher that humanity encountered in this era was probably the Herrscher of the Void during the Siberian War. In this relatively peaceful era, it's highly unlikely that such a powerful weapon as a Herrscher would emerge unless it was clearly artificially catalyzed like Anna's case.

He stumbled upon one of the few Herrschers in this generation, which explains why Anna, despite being so weak, could persevere and play for hours on end with her delicate body.

Even the Teyvat girls, whose physical abilities are generally superior to those of Earthlings, such as the Fatui warlocks and ladies, often only last ten or twenty minutes. Then they'd curl up in bed, rolling to one side, teary-eyed, saying their brains would break if they kept going.

Perhaps in response to Shen Liang's answer, Kallen explained, "Paradise of the Past is a database of a pre-civilization controlled by the World Serpent Organization. As is well known, Destiny relied on the Key of God, the 'Key of Revelation: Void Treasury,' to obtain countless pieces of knowledge from pre-civilizations and used them for development. The World Serpent Organization, however, is different. Their leader himself comes from a pre-civilization and is a warrior who survived to this era. Therefore, they are even stronger than Destiny in some scientific research capabilities. Paradise of the Past contains a lot of knowledge from pre-civilizations. Destiny has also sent people to the World Serpent Organization to conduct many guest investigations, but they have found nothing."

Shen Liang remained silent, his brain rapidly receiving a wealth of information from the system.

The Land of the Dead is an organization similar to the ley lines of Teyvat. Just as the spirits of past heroes from Teyvat can be extracted from the ley lines, the spirits of past heroes from Earth can be extracted from the Land of the Dead.

In other words, this is a product of the system, something that should belong exclusively to him. I don't know why Kallen would say "Kevin, the owner of the Paradise of the Past".

“The Rebirth Paradise database isn’t open to the World Serpent either. Aside from Kevin, no one else can enter Rebirth Paradise to retrieve data. That place is a sacred ground for many researchers; understanding some knowledge of pre-civilizations from it would be a leap forward for Earth’s civilization,” Karen said. “But Kevin hasn’t retrieved much data over the years; you could say he’s pretty useless. However, given the fighting strength of the warriors from the previous civilization, Destiny doesn’t want to antagonize the World Serpent.”

"Unable to enter the Paradise of the Past?" Shen Liang repeated.

"The Past Paradise Database is different from ordinary databases. This database seems to be a place used by the Fire Chasing Era to preserve the seeds of civilization, so it does not use a server... Destiny does not know how the Past Paradise exists, only that it does exist and stores information that even the Void Archives may not have. After all, the Void Archives only stores knowledge and not other data."

Shen Liang's mood suddenly turned sour.

He didn't know why, but even though he had only just begun to learn about the Paradise of the Past, he had a vague feeling that it belonged to him.

It is only natural that others cannot access the paradise of past lives; that is perfectly justified.

Because the Pure Land of the Past... was a gift given to him by certain people. A gift represents a sentiment, how could he betray those sentiments?

“Kevin dared to put his hands on my things…” Shen Liang murmured, his eyes cold and sharp.

Then he suddenly shuddered. What a joke! What did this have to do with him? Kevin was the leader of the Fire Chasers from the previous civilization, a super-strong warrior who had survived to the modern era. Even though he didn't know him, Kevin was someone even Destiny had to befriend. He was definitely not someone a mere ordinary person like himself, who only stood firm because of Cecilia's backing, could possibly mess with! Stole my Paradise of the Past? Why did such a disrespectful thought suddenly pop into his head?

A soft, cute laugh seemed to come from the darkness, just as those cold, arrogant words were uttered from his mouth.

Shen Liang subconsciously turned his head, but saw nothing. The girl's melodious laughter, almost like that of a loli, gradually faded away, as if she had whispered something in his ear.

—Yes, Eve, that's how you should be.

Those who are abandoned will grow up. Those who are meant to return will inevitably return.

--------------

The battle lasted for about thirty minutes.

Durandal knelt on one knee, supporting herself with her lance, her golden hair disheveled, panting heavily.

She and her mother used the same weapon, but not the same stance. Cecilia wielded the lance with elegance and lightness, while Durandal was fierce and ruthless, for Cecilia's spear skills came from the family tradition of the Shaniats, while Durandal's were inherited from the database of destiny.

Essentially, her skills should be superior to Cecilia's. Shaniat's weak approach to progress is far inferior to Schicksal's scientific and efficient cultivation, but in the end, it was her Honkai Energy Gun tip that dimmed.

Cecilia maintained her elegance throughout, her attacks as beautiful as a flurry of flowers, but the difference in strength was still obvious. Cecilia was at the pinnacle, and the pinnacle is simply invincible. In truth, Destiny never had a particularly good way to deal with Cecilia; all plans had to yield to the strongest force.

Durandal was also confused about how the plan could proceed if she couldn't defeat Cecilia.

“Very, beautiful marksmanship,” Cecilia said softly.

Durandal was wary of Cecilia heading towards Anna, so she kept her lance in front of her, ready to intercept her at any moment. Cecilia put away the Black Abyss White Flower and walked up to her, then reached out and pressed her hand against her wound, and Honkai energy flowed.

“The healing ability of the Black Abyss White Flower is useless to me, but it should work well for you.” Cecilia looked at Durandal’s cuts with some heartache. “It will make you feel a little better.”