—
Because of this information, Yoriichi suddenly feels relaxed and comfortable. He knows he doesn't need to race toward an ever-expanding infinity, which he understands he would eventually be unable to keep up with. This assurance means he can still protect his daughter Ember, no matter where she chooses to go in the future. Since the Dao itself is now helping him, he has no concerns about his innocent one in the future, regardless of how high the ceiling might be.
That's why he earlier acted to cut ties with everyone, just so he could protect Ember. But now that infinity itself provides him with calculations, he no longer needs to isolate himself and sever his karma with the world. This is also why Yoriichi decided to live in the middle of a remote mountain. By reducing the variables as much as he can and making himself small, he aims to see the bigger picture more clearly and win the race against infinity in order to protect Ember.
"Th-then that m-means?"
Smiling at Nadine, Yoriichi answered, "Yes… We don't need to stay on this mountain or become hermits." Seeing her eagerness for the next statement, he nodded and added, "And yes… We don't need to cut ties with Moiraine and Narishma anymore."
Laughing giddily and making gestures of giving incense toward the skies, Jaina hugged Yoriichi tightly while crying non-stop, making a mess on the new kimono she had made for him. Not only that, her childhood sweetheart's wife joined the hug as well, knowing they no longer needed to torture themselves in this remote mountain, unable to move, just to calculate day and night about Ember's future.
After wiping a single tear from her eye, knowing that she still wanted to be part of society, Rita smiled and said to her husband, "It seems… we will still be able to see our daughter up close, isn't that right?"
Nodding his head, Yoriichi smiled and answered, "Yes. We don't need to limit our contact with Ember just to reduce the variables that need to be calculated." Recognizing that his wife couldn't bear to be apart from Ember for even a month, Yoriichi added, "And yes, you can go back and see our daughter now."
Seeing her already opening a portal, eager to see her daughter whom she hadn't seen since last November, Yoriichi quickly took her hand and kissed her to calm her down. After a few minutes of breathless excitement and hidden joy, he finally broke free from the passionate kiss and said, "Patience, my love… There's no need to rush. You will have eternity to be abel to see her."
Nodding her head, Rita simply said, "Right."
Pausing and letting out a breath of bittersweet sadness, Yoriichi continued, "But it will be a long time before you two will be able to see me."
"W-what do you mean?"
After calculating the crystal-clear yet obscure future of Ember and making a rough guess about how his own future might unfold, Yoriichi finally answered, after a long period of contemplation, "It's because of how the new world operates."
Frowning upon hearing Yoriichi's statement, Jaina suddenly realized, "Wait. Didn't you say in the past that we couldn't clearly calculate what the new world would be like?"
Nodding his head, Yoriichi replied, "Yes. But now, with the additional calculations provided by the Dao, I was able to glimpse other multiverses that are not our own. Because of that, I can somewhat see the future, but only in terms of our daughter's safety."
Letting out a breath of sadness, but knowing it is only temporary in the span of an eternity of experiences, he continued, "And because of that, I can confirm our previous conjecture: the new world will be similar to Xianxia or Xuanhuan in terms of how it operates. Because, it is the only template good enough to contain our powerful and magical abilities, which will continue to grow stronger over time."
Stunned by the implication, Jaina asked, "Wait a minute. Does this mean there will be a stage of breakthrough for ascension?" Seeing Yoriichi nod, she continued, "And after ascension, will we become no more than mortals who cannot do anything, even though we have an abundance of energy inside our bodies?"
Trying to think hard but giving up since the answers were already at hand, Yoriichi answered, "Instead of relying on my calculations of what the world will be like, let's just check the content of the Sonic Screwdriver."
Forgetting to read the rest of Ember's message, Margarita said, "I-I forgot. L-Let me check it again."
Opening her own translucent watch, she then read aloud the content: "Most of the world will become flat ones and considerably bigger. To protect the little, people who have reached a certain threshold will be dragged into the next world. There will be no three Realms; instead, there will be natural pocket dimensions for resources and places to meditate on the endearing laws of understanding. We hope everyone enjoyed our world, and stay tuned for the next gen update well."
Realizing what Yoriichi meant, Jaina exclaimed, "Ah… I see. So it depends on what the next breakthrough world is like, doesn't it?"
Nodding his head, he answered, "Yes. Whether we become mortal or not depends on the next world."
Taking Yoriichi's hand as if she didn't want to let him go, Margarita suddenly choked up and said, "D-Does this m-mean we w-will be separated?"
"No, dear."
"Huh?"
Raising her eyebrows, Jaina had a puzzled expression and asked, "What do you mean by not being able to see each other for a long time then? Isn't that the same as being separated?"
Shaking his head and calculating every possible future using Ember as an anchor, Yoriichi said, "No, it's different. Remember how someone who cannot adjust to the timescale well when they transform into a higher-level being?"
Knowing that it is true that, even though her true cultivation level is now ranked four among the highest and already in the billions-digit range, she only holds a low amount of atoms and energy, which keeps her on the same timescale as everyone else, Jaina then realized something after contemplating how it might relate to the new world.
"Wait. So this means the world will also be divided by levels with different timescales? And that timescale will prevent higher-level beings from invading lower ones because they would need to permanently disperse their cultivation to become that lower level? Which also means that one day in a higher world could correspond to one eon in a lower world, and vice versa?"
"Yes. But I think this time, the dispersion will be permanent. Unlike now, where we can do everything we want with our level."
—