Chapter 8: The Distinction Between Substitutes and Practitioners

Double Chapter day!

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—Am I the Herrscher of Sentience within Fu Hua's body? Am I Senti now?

Luo Lin fiddled around for a bit, confirming her current situation—she and Fu Hua shared senses, but she couldn't yet control the other person's body. She was like a ghost behind Fu Hua; she could only watch Fu Hua and Otto interact.

The girl's mood was somewhat complicated. Finally, it was her turn to possess someone like her stigmatas?

"Don't worry, I've been prepared," Otto stood in front of Fu Hua, stroking his chin. "This memory deep dive device behind you can help you recall those memories buried deep in your mind."

Fu Hua sighed. She lowered her head, looking at the obviously modified chair, and picked up the helmet placed beside her. The pale blue goggles shielded her vision; the mechanical hum gradually rose, and the green indicator lights lit up.

"Alright, close your eyes and have a good dream, Guardian of 'Shenzou'…"

With Otto's words, Luo Lin's vision plunged into darkness, but soon it changed again. As if she was flying in a colorful tunnel, finally freezing in a scene with a strong chinese atmosphere.

In front of her was a set of chinese furniture—wooden tables and chairs, ink paintings hung on the walls, and two scrolls.

[With lofty aspirations, embrace the true essence.]

On top, there was a huge plaque with three characters—[Cloud Monastery].

Luo Lin looked out from the open door. Incense burners were placed on the open ground, stone lamps were placed along the road, and in the distance were picturesque green hills and waters.

What a beautiful scenery!

"Huh? I can move?!"

Luo Lin just realized that she had just controlled this body to start moving, so she tried to walk and bounce, touching the screen beside her, and even performed a set of Kaslana Gunmanship. The whole process didn't feel stiff or hindered at all.

Dressed in the Immortal Phoenix attire, "Fu Hua" wore a strange smile that would never appear on her face. She enthusiastically hopped around the house and the open ground. This scene looked eerie no matter how you looked at it.

Should I change my voice and say, "I will reverse all creation?"

"This is Cloud Monastery, your former residence."

Otto's voice suddenly sounded in Luo Lin's ears, startling her.

She thought she would be caught red-handed by the blond man, but she found that he continued to explain as if nothing had happened: "It is now 1475, the furthest memory we can trace back to."

"Snooping into other people's memories is not something to be praised, Bishop Otto."

Luo Lin covered her mouth. The words just came out uncontrollably, as if Fu Hua had temporarily gained control of her mouth.

What mechanism was in this chronicle? The girl was puzzled.

"Don't be so indifferent, I'm here to help you." Otto chuckled, "There are risks in retracing memories. If no one guides you externally, you'll be trapped in your own memories."

"So, why send me back to Cloud Monastery?"

Otto explained to Fu Hua: Memory tracing is done in segments. In order to jump to deeper memories, specific items with clear characteristics that can trigger her memories must be found to ensure the safety and stability of the entire process.

"Alright, hurry up and explore this temple."

Luo Lin waited cautiously for a while, realizing that Otto indeed had nothing more to say after that sentence, so she followed his instructions and began searching in Cloud Monastery.

The most noticeable thing was the ink portrait under the plaque of Cloud Monastery. Perhaps because Fu Hua's memory of this thing was also a bit fuzzy, the faces of the two girls painted on it were not clear.

But Luo Lin knew that these two should be Fuxi and Nuwa, survivors from the previous era like Fu Hua, who served as assistants to the renowned scientist Mobius...

Of course, replacing "renowned" with "deadly" wouldn't be a problem.

But the endings of the two girls weren't so good. They accompanied Fu Hua in implementing the "Project Ember," imparting advanced knowledge to the ancient people excessively, leading to a large number of Honkai Beasts.

"Project Ember" even gave birth to the first Judgenent-level Honkai beast of this era, Chiyou, and in the end, Fuxi and Nuwa sealed it at the cost of their lives. That thing is still squatting in the southern waters of Shenzou in the real world.

Luo Lin sighed and wandered around Cloud Monastery, finding nothing else worth noting.

Then, as if triggering a cutscene, Fu Hua spoke again: "I've checked everything, there's nothing special here, just ordinary household items."

"...It seems our target isn't here."

Fu Hua sighed, "So I've said it before. I've forgotten it."

"Have more confidence in human memory. Even if you can't remember for a while, they do exist in the depths of your brain." Otto said, "Go outside the room and look around, but... you have to hurry."

"What?"

"Staying in memory for too long will have a detrimental effect on the brain. You must return to reality within 30 minutes."

"Why are you telling me this important thing just now?!"

Luo Lin pursed her lips, this indeed seemed like something Otto would do, first forcing someone onto the train, then making them continue to run according to his instructions.

However, the next moment, a bunch of weird-looking humanoid monsters made of fragments suddenly appeared—these things were called Nightmares.

Fu Hua asked in confusion, "What's going on? I don't remember having these things at home."

Otto's voice appeared timely, "This is the interference of your implicit memory on space. Don't panic, this is a normal phenomenon in memory tracing. Such a small number of enemies can't pose a problem for you, can they?"

Luo Lin took a deep breath, ready to pick up the assault rifle and use Taixuan Ki bullets on these guys' faces, but when she raised her hand, she found that she couldn't open the system storage. She couldn't take out any remote weapons or projectiles.

"No, wait a minute, these monsters may not be a problem for Fu Hua, but they are for me! I can't handle this kind of melee combat, can I?!"

The girl was sweating profusely, staring at the approaching Nightmare Modules, clenching her fists, the Kestrel gloves on her hands condensed the burning essence of Honkai.

Luo Lin gritted her teeth and kicked sideways—

"Crack!"

It was just like kicking a block of tofu. The monster she kicked shattered into several pieces, flying out with a whistling sound, leaving conspicuous pits on the open ground, like a bowling ball knocking over a string of Nightmares.

Luo Lin stared at her body with an incredulous look.

Oh no, Fu Hua's body—although it looked clean and ordinary, without exaggerated muscles, the kick she just made didn't require much effort, but the result was astonishingly exaggerated!

Luo Lin straightened her back, suddenly gaining confidence.

"Hah!"

Jabs, hooks, straight kicks, side kicks...

Luo Lin meticulously executed the basic combat techniques taught by the Schicksal Martial Arts instructor, interspersed with some close-quarters moves from the Kaslana Gun-Fu. She used her fists as if they were holding gun handles, smashing them onto the monsters.

Unfortunately for the opponents, the Immortal Phoenix's physical attributes were too outrageous. The ordinary moves were powerful, creating a whirlwind of attacks. The Nightmare Modules were torn apart and dissipated within the shadow of Fu Hua's punches, leaving behind fragmented flames that followed Fu Hua's movements, drawing out long and faint light shadows, dazzling and full of beauty!

In less than half a minute, the Nightmares in front of her were completely annihilated.

Fu Hua stood there majestic and ready to continue exploring, but the whole world paused.

The familiar system prompt box appeared in front of Luo Lin:

[Do you want to replay the tutorial battle?]

[Yes/No]

Luo Lin raised an eyebrow, seeming to understand something. She decisively tapped on the "Yes" option— the next moment, she was sucked back into Fu Hua's body, and the world around her rewound to the moment she stepped out of Cloud Monastery.

Luo Lin clenched her fist, and the flames ignited. She imitated the attacks she had just seen Fu Hua perform, viciously unleashing them on the appearing Nightmares.

She didn't have to put in much effort to make some moves look decent, perhaps because she was using Fu Hua's body, the whole process was unexpectedly easy.

Soon, the Nightmares were wiped out completely, and the system prompt box appeared again, presenting three options:

[Replay tutorial battle]

[Replay this battle]

[Continue with the storyline]

Luo Lin murmured, "This... is a tutorial level?!"