Regarding the question of whether one thousand lives are enough to beat Honkai Impact 3rd.

Further away, there were dozens of other bodies, all of which were created through the technology and experiments provided by Otto, and through adjustments made by the Black Abyss White Flower under Su Qing'an's control.

The reason for doing this is to keep the original variables as similar as possible.

To prevent any unexpected events, he also tried to observe thousands of possibilities and scenarios of Theresa's birth in other world bubbles, and selected the route that was closest to the original world. He then meticulously replicated the corresponding data, perfectly reproducing this experiment.

Even Vishnu, who was originally at the end-of-days level, was weakened back to the emperor level through repeated adjustments, thus conforming to the original quantitative level.

At this moment, these synthetic humans, who cannot yet be considered life forms, lack the most complete elements.

This is also to target the same timeline, making it precise to the second, so that all synthetic humans can be defined as living beings.

Among them, the one who can depict the soul map the fastest is Theresa Apocalypse.

20. Soul, birth.

Su Qing'an stood with the blond man in front of the incubation chamber. His eyes reflected the dim light as he indifferently surveyed the many bodies he had personally nurtured. The white flowers in the Soul Hall swayed, intertwining with the Black Abyss to form a complete power, eagerly awaiting its later use.

Otto, meanwhile, was observing the data on the virtual panel.

According to the analysis, today's synthetic humans are merely realistic carbon-based dolls and cannot yet be defined as life in the true sense.

However, with the help of the Black Abyss White Flower, the organs and body parts of these synthetic humans were cultivated to be quite perfect. Even the most precise testing data could not determine which link went wrong, causing the heart in the chest cavity to fail to beat for a long time.

Men hold a rather complex attitude toward this, for it is the power that controls life and death.

—Black Abyss White Flower.

These synthetic beings can be born into the world in perfect health and without any defects, provided the person next to them is willing.

Although it is unclear why the other party does not hold perfectionism in this regard, and even prefers to let the current limited level of technology replace the proliferation of power in many experiments, Otto himself has no objection to this.

The situation is better than people.

Even though his memories had been partially altered and the key to his soul had been forgotten, Otto still couldn't help but harbor some fond hopes for this experiment. For him, it was a path he needed to take to prove certain things.

Therefore, it is not a bad thing that Su Qing'an is willing to use the Black Abyss White Flower to assist him. As for the other party occasionally letting go and not interfering, that is also his own freedom.

Of course, this was merely the attitude Otto was forced to project on the surface.

This bishop of destiny was ultimately only stripped of some of his knowledge about the soul by the Manas consciousness, and his steps toward his original trajectory were temporarily fixed, but his character and wisdom remained unchanged.

Regardless of the original timeline or the evolving path, a large part of the reason Otto thought of creating clones using Kallen's DNA was that he believed Kallen's genes contained powerful forces, and with certain scientific technologies, it might be possible to take control of the forces against the Honkai.

As for reviving Kallen?

This was, of course, his lifelong obsession and wish, but what good would it do to merely replicate a body exactly like Kallen's?

Regardless of whether he possessed any knowledge about the soul, Otto Apocalypse inevitably fell into this philosophical dialectical problem before he had a truly meaningful means of observation.

However, the humans replicated in this way could never be the saintess he knew back then.

In other words, Otto's core goal in creating these synthetic humans was to build powerful warriors. The ideals he held were merely delusions and fantasies born from the recollection of objects, and there was no real basis for them.

Even before Su Qing'an sent Vishnu's genes, this experiment had already failed twice. He had already turned his attention to fusing Kallen's DNA with the genes of Honkai Beasts in preparation for the next experiment. He had even arranged for various related Emperor-level Honkai Beast genes to be placed in the laboratory.

But before that, at Su Qing'an's request, they had to use Vishnu's genes as the main body.

Of course, judging from the progress of the experiment and the abilities shown by the Vishnu gene, this choice seems to be far superior and more perfect than the other Emperor-class Honkai Beast genes.

However, Su Qing'an's interference and assistance were clearly not a good thing for the core purpose of this experiment.

It's like a weak country actually intending to develop a strategic weapon like a nuclear bomb to change its international standing and turn its fortunes around. When another powerful country learns of this, it not only doesn't stop it, but also sends relevant technical personnel to assist in the development and provides resources.

The leader of that country would probably not be happy to learn of this, but rather feel that it was strange and creepy. Even if the weapon was successfully developed, he would not think that it could belong entirely to him, and he would not dare to use this weapon, which the other party had participated in developing, to wage war against them.

This is Otto's mindset now.

Even if Black Abyss White Flower only spearheaded part of the breeding process for these synthetic humans, no one can prove whether there were any hidden tricks left behind.

This means that no matter how successful this experiment is, his goal has already failed.

The reason Otto continued to conduct experiments under these circumstances, or chose to deal with them perfunctorily, was simply to accumulate relevant data and experience in the process.

This way, it can be put to good use next time.

On the other hand, he can also gain a deeper understanding of Su Qing'an's information and abilities through working with her.

The records in "The Legend of the Immortals" are almost all fabricated fictional events, full of fantastical elements of cultivation and immortality. It is obviously unreliable to speculate on the true abilities of the two characters based on these accounts.

In the limited historical materials available, the origins and background of the other party are made even more mysterious.

At first, Otto guessed that the other party was also a predecessor from the previous era, just like the Crimson Kite Immortal, but through past conversations and some information, he overturned this conclusion.

However, if we're talking about humans from this century, the reason why the other party possesses another half of the Divine Key, and even the ability to stabilize the Shards in that form, seems incredible.

--mystery.

The more you think about it and explore it, the more mysterious it seems.

Otto shifted his gaze to the incubation chamber and asked:

"How much time is left?"

Su Qing'an, following the predictable timeline of fate, responded:

"It'll be soon. Just wait a little longer, and the experiment will produce the results you want."

The bishop's enthusiasm and attitude towards the experiment had waned. He had no objection to his "partner's" almost mystical approach, merely smiling faintly:

"Okay, I'm looking forward to it."

Su Qing'an had no objection to Otto's attitude. He himself wouldn't have been happy at this moment either. At the same time, he had no time to care about that. He just seized the opportunity to absorb the Honkai energy in the Herrscher core, and a large amount of white mist reappeared in the room, which poured into every body in the cultivation chamber.

At this point, on a timeline accurate to the second, all the synthetic humans had their last suppressed element filled, and were qualified to move towards becoming complete life forms.

Su Qing'an listened to the beating of multiple hearts and said softly:

"here we go."

Otto looked at the analytical instruments and data, which displayed the current status of each synthetic human. His actions were like pressing the start button for the experiment, turning the once lifeless pool into a flowing stream.

However, the bishop's understanding of the beginning differed somewhat from Su Qing'an's own description of the beginning.

At this moment, Otto could only see the subtle changes in the synthetic humans in the incubation chamber, as well as the large amount of analysis produced by the corresponding data reports.

From Su Qing'an's perspective, one could see countless fireflies-like substances emerging from the void, slowly flowing into the bodies within the various incubation chambers, attempting to weave together a complete nascent soul.

These synthetic humans are the real hurdles they need to overcome to become human, but they themselves are not entirely clear about the key conditions that play a crucial role in this process.

However, judging from the current situation, it seems that no reincarnated soul has come to descend into a certain body. This means that either Theresa did not have a reincarnation in the original timeline, or the butterfly effect she caused led to the failure.

But until everything settles down, there is no definite answer yet.

Otto asked:

"How many of these synthetic humans do you think will successfully develop self-awareness?"

Su Qing'an observed more than a dozen cultivation chambers that were absorbing firefly matter. Four or five of them had already lost the ability to continue drawing soul maps during the brief absorption, dispersing all the matter they had consumed and letting it flow into the remaining cultivation chambers.

Seeing this, the boy considered for a moment and said:

"It is not clear at the moment, but very few can generate their own will, maybe only one or two, or none at all."

Otto didn't seem to have much to say about the answer; he simply sighed.

"Mr. Su believes that the composition of human consciousness depends on what? Is it derived from the electrical signals and chemical reactions of neurons, or something more ethereal and impractical?"

The man gazed at the data streams in the incubation chamber, seemingly generating brainwaves and electrical signals that were beginning to emerge, and murmured softly:

"For example... a concept in a religious sense, the soul."

Otto had seriously explored this question over the past few centuries: how could he prove the existence of the soul, and how could he deny its existence?

Su Qing'an didn't mind the other party discussing this issue, and he said softly:

Is your current form of existence the reason you think this way?

Otto Apocalypse, having long ago achieved immortality by transmitting his consciousness and existing in a body of Soul Steel.

In the context of our current understanding, surviving in this way is meaningless. The human brain is not a von Neumann computer; it does not have a dedicated hard drive partition for storing consciousness and memories.

Instead, it is a wondrous structure composed of 860 billion neurons and 22.5 quadrillion synaptic connections, so complex that it is beyond the scope of comprehension. The sum of the extremely vast electrical signals transmitted within it constitutes memory and consciousness.

Currently, apart from the Soul Steel quantum computer, no other device can simulate or store the operating state of this structure, let alone store human consciousness and memory.

Neurons cannot regenerate because the shutdown of such a sophisticated machine as the brain inevitably leads to irreversible damage, and there is no way to transfer this extremely delicate organ to a petri dish to achieve immortality while it is shut down.

Otto initially gained immortality through the Soul Steel Quantum Computer and the Black Abyss White Flower freezing neurons. However, now he can freely enter and exit the other backup bodies prepared for him, clearly having broken free from the constraints and shackles that existed within them.

But this has led to a problem.

If a soul exists, then is each change of body simply a transfer of the substance called the soul?

If the soul does not exist, then Otto Apocalypse, who transforms himself into an extremely complex data of soul steel, is still Otto Apocalypse?

Otto responded:

"Maybe."

“But more than myself, I care about the inheritance of my obsession. As long as I haven’t forgotten my original purpose and feelings, Otto Apocalypse will still exist.”

"So from this perspective, I don't care about the answer to this question."

"But if we want to revive the real Kallen, we need to trace back to the answer to this question."

Su Qing'an answered clearly and firmly:

"The soul exists."

"And if you truly want to believe this answer, how would you like to resurrect her?"

Otto did not expect the other party to give such a direct answer.

However, Su Qing'an's aura was too special and sacred. Just by slightly hearing the seriousness in his tone, it was as if one was witnessing his soul, which made people involuntarily believe in him.

The man was silent for a moment before responding:

"Whatever the answer is, my goal will not change."

Otto, as if aware of the other's ability to see through people, smiled without any hesitation and said:

"As for the method? If there were a way to turn back time by 500 years, I would probably choose to do it without hesitation, even if the price was to sacrifice the entire world."

Su Qing'an's expression remained unchanged, showing no surprise. His gaze, however, lingered on the few remaining cultivation chambers still absorbing soul matter, and he said:

"Even if she returns and makes a long atonement for all the crimes you've committed?"