Chapter 237

Until the battle mage candidate from the Blazing Flame Academy couldn't help but ask:

"Didn't they say that you, [Rep-Man], changed the requirement from having only one spot for further studies to if seven candidates join forces to defeat you, all seven can pass the exam and go for further studies?"

"What?" Qi Xing frowned. "How could such a thing be possible? Wouldn't that mean you could just slack off? There's no such thing as an easy exam like that. Who did you hear that from?"

Huh?!

This isn't what was agreed upon at the beginning!

—But then again, who did they hear it from in the first place?

Suddenly, the candidates from the Blazing Flame Academy felt unable to say, unable to recall, completely confused, and at a loss.

"Fine, I think I understand now. You don't actually want to win through combat; you want to muddle through, waiting for me to get tired of fighting, for the time to run out, or for me to be in a good mood so you can just find a loophole."

Qi Xing shook his head.

"Without the goal of striving for victory, simply not wanting to lose—what's the point of talking about that? Not qualified. Get down."

No one answered.

Vike and Devika exchanged glances, but neither spoke.

They were already standing in combat positions, no longer in the same formation as those in the back.

As for the other five candidates, their expressions were unpredictable, yet no one was bold enough to talk back to [Rep-Man]…

Qi Xing looked at their cowardly appearance and just felt it was extremely boring.

Even if you've practiced combat techniques your whole life and learned exquisite combat magic, if you only dare to fight things weaker than yourself, and if you don't even understand what you truly desire, what's the use of all that hard training?

Ignoring the others whom he no longer cared about, Qi Xing turned his head to look at Boudica, who was protected behind her summoner, and the ancient Rome Emperor Elagabalus, suddenly asking them:

"These magic test-takers, who only think about further studies and ranking up, that's one thing."

"You spirits, you're not competing for any Holy Grail, nor do you have a chance to realize your wishes, so why wade into this muddy water?"

At first glance, Qi Xing's question was quite strange—whether it be spirits or Heroic Spirits, once summoned, they are just summoned objects, mere tools for the mage; how could they talk about their own wishes?

But Boudica, by this point, knew that Qi Xing wasn't a bad person. Hearing his question, although she hesitated for a moment, she still answered honestly: "To be able to live again is a gift in itself; to be able to face the regrets of my past life once more is an even greater fortune."

Qi Xing nodded, indicating he understood.

The ancient British Queen Boudica was a defeated queen who had suffered a crushing defeat in her past life, watching helplessly as her own daughter was raped. If she could protect Vike, whom she regarded as a daughter, this time, it would certainly count as making up for the regrets of her past life.

"How about you? Rome cross-dressing emperor?"

Qi Xing asked the other spirit.

The Rome male emperor Elagabalus lived a very wild life. The result of living so wildly was that he was betrayed by everyone and abandoned by his kin.

Like many failed Rome emperors, Elagabalus was eventually rebelled against by his own Praetorian Guard. The men who "played" with him were all captured by the guards, castrated, and their back doors were destroyed.

As for him, he hid in a cabinet wearing women's clothing, trying to escape, but was still discovered by the rebels. After being brought to the square, gathered women cut off his long hair and insulted him, also subjecting him to violence, kicking his groin, and some women even exposed themselves to provoke Elagabalus,

Finally, he was castrated and raped by the soldiers, and his body was dragged through the streets before being thrown into the river.

…In a way, he really was a person who experienced things in reality like a hardcore doujin.

Regarding this question from [The Strongest Man on Earth], the Rome male emperor covered his flushed cheeks like a shy young girl: "Me? I actually just want to do the things I couldn't do in my past life~"

"What things?"

Qi Xing asked, frowning.

"Of course,"

The male emperor answered with a smile,

"I want to become a woman!"

Volume Six: Rep-Man · Lunar Expedition: 217: Exam Function

Wanting to become a woman?

This kind of desire, in this lewd Sasa Universe, cannot just be laughed off after hearing it.

Qi Xing couldn't help but frown.

But he still patiently asked: "You are a spirit body now, your body is just shaped through transformation. Is your actual gender that important?"

Gender is a biological, material attribute. How can a pure soul have a distinction of "gender"? At most, there is only a distinction of "character," right?

However, the male emperor shook his head and insisted: "Other people's opinions are also very important."

Qi Xing thought about it for a moment, and then he understood.

—Actually, these seven spirits, strictly speaking, are not the real people themselves.

Whether they are Heroic Spirits or spirits, any spiritual body whose great achievements remained as legends after death and which can be re-summoned by the living and manifested in the world is, in fact, not the "original person."

In the Sasa Universe, when people die, their souls fall into the [Dream of All Living Beings], are gradually decomposed, dissolved, and scattered into the vast sea of dreams; there is no "reincarnation" in the folklore sense.

The deceased only leave a record in the Creator's database, and fragments of their residual souls might be reused in the [Dream of All Living Beings].

Because they lack a subject and are just an aggregation of fragments, this cannot be considered reincarnation in the folklore sense. There is no such thing as "someone" being reborn as "another person" with their complete consciousness after death. It does have a bit of a Buddhism flavor to it.

As for those heroes and spirits summoned or manifested by various spells—these Achilles, Lancelot, Boudica—they are not "the original people from history."

They are just fragments of residual souls, mixed with the world's "imagination," "understanding," and "description" of them, constructed in the [Dream of All Living Beings], and then manifested through summoning spells.

As Qi Xing said: [Death] is inevitably accompanied by irreversible changes.

The spell of manifestation might be able to call back the dead, but that is no longer "that person from the past." What is summoned is, at most, only a part of the deceased—a certain obsession, a wisp of echo, or some symbol magnified by others' views on history.

Living people, if their will is firm, can reject the opinions of others and live out their own way.

But these spirits are no longer complete people; they have long been mixed with the understanding of others and the labels of historical evaluation.

Qi Xing can say to a living person: "Caring too much about how others see you is a form of weakness," but to these spirits reshaped after death, he cannot say such things.

Because this is already the necessity of their way of existence.

"So,"

Thinking of this, Qi Xing was truly a bit surprised,

"You seven spirits fighting each other, the one who wins—can the Hermes Society really help you rewrite your own way of existence? How do they do it?"

The male emperor shrugged: "I heard that as long as you defeat everyone else, you can take away their 'attributes.' Finally, The Society will help the winner refine these attributes into a new state, allowing them to become the attribute they want."

Attributes.

The attributes here likely refer to the labels and symbolic meanings bestowed upon these "spirits" by the world.

It might sound a bit mysterious at first, but in the system of the Sasa Universe, this is actually quite easy to understand:

Achilles is a hyper-masculine spirit who plunders and rapes women; if I defeat him, can I take this attribute from him?

Just like cannibals believe that eating an enemy allows one to gain their strength; or like ancient warriors who liked to take the weapons of defeated enemies—defeating someone, in a sense, is inheriting their power.

This is a kind of "plunder" in a symbolic sense, a kind of metaphysical "annexation."

Lancelot is an adulterer who had an affair with his monarch's wife, a cuckolder. This is also an attribute.

Chevalier d'Eon is a man who wants to become a woman; Pharaoh Hatshepsut is a woman who wants to become a man;

Elagabalus, this cross-dressing trap emperor, is a bit more complicated… but regardless, they are all historical legendary characters with special attributes.

Their attributes are all "sexuality" that is forbidden.

And forbidden things possess power.

The fact that these spirits can be summoned itself explains their power in matters of "sexuality."

But what Qi Xing really couldn't figure out was—how exactly does the Hermes Society intend to use this gathered power to change a person's historical evaluation, to change the world's "imagination," "understanding," and "description" of them?

You have to know, the root of a spirit's existence is precisely the "impression" left in people's memories and legends after death. That is, in the [Dream of All Living Beings], the concepts and evaluations that all living beings have of them.

Qi Xing really couldn't imagine how to rewrite such things with magic without using [silver coin].

Thinking of [silver coin], Qi Xing simply asked again: [Sasa?]

[There are no [silver coin].]

The Loli Evil God immediately said lazily from the shadows,

[I can't sense any [silver coin] in the entire UK.]

This is quite a large area. Apart from the Sanctuary where only inner-circle members have the chance to enter, the Hermes Society's largest headquarters on the surface is in the UK. If he can't sense any other [silver coin] in the entire UK, I'm afraid Qi Xing really needs to figure out how the Hermes Society managed to come up with such strange ritual magic.

"Interesting."

Qi Xing pondered,

"If it were a living apprentice wanting to become stronger, even without the Hermes Society, I could grant them power; if they just wanted money, that would be even easier."

"But as for the state of existence of you dead people, I really don't have a good way to change it yet."

…If we're talking about capability, it's not necessarily true, after all, Qi Xing does have four [silver coin]s. The problem is he has never done this kind of thing; is he supposed to conduct human experiments on spirits on the spot?

Qi Xing felt this was unnecessary.

"[The Strongest Man on Earth], if I don't become a woman,"

Elagabalus was indeed a formidable character; having taken quite a beating from Qi Xing, he was not afraid at all, but instead actively leaned in to act spoiled: "How could I become the queen of such an excellent man as you?"

But Qi Xing immediately flicked out a ball of lightning: "I have no interest in traps."

"That's why I want to become a real woman!"

Qi Xing flicked out a second large lightning ball: "I have no interest in promiscuous sluts."

The male emperor, who was accustomed to holding great power in his past life, had never seen someone like Qi Xing who would just hurl lightning at the slightest disagreement. He could only hide away resentfully, yet still watched [The Strongest Man on Earth] eagerly.

Qi Xing couldn't be bothered to pay attention to this guy.

"If the Hermes Society has this kind of ability, then I'll have to follow their rules a little bit. However, anyway, there are only two of you candidates left."

He just looked at Vike and Devika,

"It's already boring for me to fight you, why don't you two fight another round yourselves? Boudica and Rome have some grudges, so they probably have a lot of motivation to fight."

"The winner, of course, can go for further studies and advance your rank;"

"But as things stand, I'll give the loser a runner-up consolation prize—I don't lack wealth, and I can share a bit of knowledge on how to become stronger."

Speaking of this, Qi Xing sneered first,

"There's no need to limit yourself to this environment where The Society is constantly pushing everyone. If you want knowledge, there's more than just this place in the world; if you want power, there are all sorts of ways to become stronger."

Clarifying one's heart—although it is a cliché, if this step can be achieved, power will naturally chase after you; those who cannot even do this, and are still desperately fighting in the crazy Sasa Universe, will probably sooner or later degenerate into barbarians who stick meat armor onto spear shafts.

This made Vike and Devika look at each other. The latter, that particularly charming little girl, raised her eyebrows, showing no particular attitude; she seemed to already have her own goals and heart; on the contrary, Vike, for a moment, seemed even more bewildered.

Seeing that a battle between them, the outcome of which could be seen at a glance, was about to break out, the two of them weren't in a hurry, and Qi Xing wasn't in a hurry, but the five candidates in the back, who were neither advancing nor retreating, started to get anxious.

Several candidates hurriedly sent secret messages to their respective academy principals, and some even took out their phones to send distress signals.

Perhaps because of this, or perhaps because The Society had actually been secretly monitoring all of this from afar—just a second before the battle between Vike and Devika was about to erupt, the church door was finally pushed open with a "bang" once again.

It wasn't someone else suddenly breaking in, but actually several old men pushing the door open in a panic, at a loss.

—It was actually five of the seven academy principals of the Hermes Society who had arrived together at this moment, pushing the door open and barging straight in!

"[Master Leipu]! Wait a moment, wait a moment!"

Standing at the very front was the old mage from the Blazing Flame Academy, the most tyrannical and combat-oriented one, yet his voice carried a rare hint of pleading.

Now that things had reached this point, finally, at this crucial moment, they could no longer sit still.

The other five candidates, seeing their academy principals finally arrive late, immediately swarmed over and started complaining to the principals.

"Principal! We didn't get the point wrong!"

"We were clearly working very hard, but then suddenly we were told we were eliminated…"

"The two of them were simply colluding and cheating behind our backs!"

Qi Xing sat on the throne, not angry at all, but instead asked with a smile that wasn't quite a smile: "What? Are we going to have the old ones come out after the young ones are beaten? Is it your turn to fight me?"

The air suddenly turned a little colder.

It's just a pity that these academy principals were not here to save the candidates from their own academies.

—Heaven help us, when could students ever really count on their principals to stand up for them? Where would you find such a good principal?

If the students really thought these principals were here to stand up for them, that would be too naive.