Chapter 340: Bai Fu’s Wings Increased
When she clicked open the official version notes, the first thing that appeared before Bai Fu was a small tree.
This tree grew in a very peculiar way. Not only was its shape unusual—it looked like two thick vines intertwined together—but its color was also extraordinary.
Half of it was white, half of it black. From above, the black and white entangled with each other, resembling the image of a yin-yang fish.
“？”
A question mark popped above Bai Fu’s head.
Although the officials released this image, they did not give any explanation for it.
So, what exactly did this tree represent?
Was it merely to fit the title of the version notes article, that 【Intertwining of Light and Darkness】?
Most likely not!
As far as Bai Fu knew, when it came to previews and promotional trailers, the officials were always stingy with words, never giving extra text or imagery.
Therefore, this tree was likely to play a very important role in the upcoming storyline.
“Better note it down first. Later, I’ll ask around and see if anyone recognizes this tree.”
Bai Fu continued reading further.
Next, the officials introduced the theme of Version 3.0.
Light and darkness intertwined in the Star Sea.
Light and darkness referred not only to the three major universe-level civilizations standing in the open and the Apostle Holy City and the Initial Covenant hidden in the dark, but also to this growing era and the exiled remnants of the past, as well as to Elijé and Bai Fu, those who fought for tomorrow and those who swallowed hope with their desires.
Clearly, in the eyes of the officials, light and darkness was an extremely grand theme.
But to make this theme clearer, they deliberately pulled out Elijé and Bai Fu as examples for illustration.
The bringer of light—Elijé, the new star of the Revolutionary Army, one who fought for a new order. Since her first appearance in Version 2.1, three versions had already passed. Many players thought they already knew her well—but was that really the case?
The bearer of darkness—Bai Fu, leader of the Garden of Silence, senior partner of the three major universe-level civilizations, Saintess of the Star Sea, watcher of civilization, Apostle? She had appeared before players far longer than Elijé—but did players truly understand her?
When civilizations surged like tides toward the east, under the crushing weight of greater currents, the many contradictions that had accumulated for so long would soon erupt fully upon the grand stage between Versions 3.0 and 4.0!
After building the atmosphere around the version’s theme, the second half of the article shifted to previewing what new content the version would bring.
For instance, the level cap would be raised to 95. For instance, players would now be able to establish their own factions, which could even attach themselves to larger factions…
These updates had nothing to do with Bai Fu, but combined with the earlier content, they had completely ignited the players’ excitement.
【Is this going to start a true all-out interstellar war?】
【What’s the deal with this tree?】
【It must be a hint, suggesting Fu-fu and Elijé will stick close like that tree!】
【Get lost, all you ever think about is “sticking close.”】
【But the fact the officials put the Calamity-level Elijé together with Bai Fu—who could already go toe-to-toe with the Apostle Holy City—doesn’t this imply Elijé’s identity is very special, far from what it appears on the surface?】
【666, I told you my Jie-bao was badass, not worse than Bai Fu, but you all didn’t believe me.】
【Damn, why is Elijé light and Fu-fu darkness? Is that reasonable? If even a Saintess can only count as darkness, then how damn high is the threshold for light?】
In no time, a flood of players @-ed Excavation-Princess, urging her to analyze what was going on here.
“Damn it, how the hell should I know what’s going on?”
Excavation-Princess was utterly stumped.
She pondered for ages but could not figure out how to analyze it. Helpless, she had no choice but to privately message customer service, hoping they might give her a hint on account of her popularity. But as always, customer service ignored her.
After racking her brain for a full two hours, she finally had inspiration—at that moment, she saw a ray of light pierce out from the darkness.
【Many people say the officials’ preview hints that Fu-fu and Elijé will fight in Version 3.0.】
【But, hear me out—what if light and darkness are not actually opposites?】
【Light can drive away darkness, but light can also give birth to shadows that represent darkness.】
【Flip it around: darkness can swallow light, but——】
【Light can also be born out of darkness!】
【Here’s my take: even though Fu-fu and Elijé currently belong to opposing factions, in Version 3.0 they will definitely intersect because of some event. After that event, Elijé will be moved by Fu-fu and become a practitioner of Fu-fu’s spirit!】
This post by Excavation-Princess gained much support from players.
Others slightly modified her theory.
【What if the plot is actually this: Bai Fu dies in Version 3.0, then Elijé inherits her will and continues forward. That is the true intertwining of light and darkness.】
“Bah, bah, bah! No way, Fu-fu can’t possibly die. New version, good fortune—don’t say such unlucky things!”
Of course, Excavation-Princess did not agree with such a storyline, but plenty of players still thought maybe that was the correct answer.
Fine then, let them think what they want.
Excavation-Princess simply stopped responding.
Bai Fu: “……”
She just laughed it off.
Whether it was Excavation-Princess’s guess or other players’ speculations, Bai Fu did not believe them.
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
Although Elijé was one of the officials’ designated protagonists, with her current growth rate, and with her conflicts against the Apostle Holy City and the Initial Covenant, Bai Fu could not be bothered to get involved with her.
She would rather spend that time figuring out how to get the True Spirit Marrow out of Rufas’s hands.
Bai Fu closed the game community.
She then reached out one by one to Dimitri, the Curse Lord, the Oathmaster, and others close to her, asking if they had ever seen a black-and-white intertwined tree.
Unfortunately, none of them had any impression of it.
The Oathmaster did find a handicraft in a shop that resembled it somewhat, but that was obviously not what Bai Fu was searching for.
“Could it be that this tree isn’t in the explored universe, but rather in the Apostle Holy City’s domain?”
Thinking of this, Bai Fu asked members of the Anti–Apostle Holy City Alliance, including Litt. Yet Litt and the others had never seen such a tree either.
“Forget it.”
So, she just sent a message to Sui Xi, telling her to keep an eye out.
It was merely a message—Bai Fu had no expectation of actually gaining anything.
But through a common Prayer Card she had left with Shadow Fu, Bai Fu managed to contact Sui Xi—and was surprised to learn that after the destruction of the New Route, the Supreme God’s Apostle had urgently summoned Sui Xi back from the Raya Civilization to the Holy Land.
"The one currently in charge of handling all matters in the Raya Civilization is Zoriel, the Palace Master of the True Spirit Palace."
"I haven’t had anything important to do recently. The Supreme God’s Apostle hasn’t restricted my movements, only that I’m not allowed to leave the Holy Land. Every few days, he personally guides my cultivation. The rest of the time he’s been making final preparations for the expedition to the Explored Universe. This time, it seems he truly intends to go all out."
Bai Fu nodded.
Just as the official announcement had said, in Version 3.0, the great war was coming. This time, it would no longer be just duels between Domination and Transcendent beings, but clashes between billions of warships.
"What has the Supreme God’s Apostle taught you?"
Bai Fu was quite curious about this—mainly, she was curious why the Supreme God’s Apostle valued Sui Xi so much. After all, Sui Xi was merely an outsider, brought along casually by the Saints and others.
Sui Xi: "Nothing particularly special. He imparted to me all the advanced knowledge of Psionics and all the advanced knowledge of Dark Energy."
So that was it, nothing special…
Wait a moment. Did you just say all the advanced knowledge of Dark Energy?
Bai Fu instantly thought of her third metamorphosis quest.
The quest required her to master all Dark Energy knowledge. Yet she had only mastered five branches—still short by one.
Originally, she had planned to ask Litt for it, but worried that doing so would expose her lie.
"Aren’t you an Apostle? Why would you need me to give you advanced Dark Energy knowledge?"
Because of this concern, she had hesitated to act.
But now a new opportunity had arrived!
Charge!
"All the advanced Psionic knowledge and Dark Energy knowledge? Send them to me—I’ll check them for you, see if the Supreme God’s Apostle buried any traps inside!"
"？"
Sui Xi was utterly stunned, never expecting Bai Fu to say that.
In that moment, she was simply moved.
The Apostle Bai Fu truly cared about her!
For Apostle Bai Fu’s sake, she would now work even harder to raise her status in the Apostle Holy City, so she could get hold of that True Spirit Molting Fragment as soon as possible.
Sui Xi played out the knowledge given to her by the Supreme God’s Apostle, and Bai Fu memorized all of it with just a glance.
Mhm, no issues, it was all authentic knowledge.
"Looks like the Supreme God’s Apostle didn’t try to harm you in this area." Bai Fu nodded. "Sui Xi, while I’m not around, take good care of yourself. Don’t recklessly throw yourself into danger just for one or two opportunities—it’s not worth it."
"Mhm, I understand."
Even after the Prayer Card was destroyed, Sui Xi was still smiling foolishly.
Her heart felt warm.
Bai Fu’s heart felt warm too.
Hadn’t she just gotten hold of the last piece of advanced Dark Energy knowledge?
Though deceiving Sui Xi was shameful… well, her conscience was big. A little guilt wouldn’t hurt.
No matter what—time to study!
Before long, Bai Fu received a system prompt that she had learned new knowledge.
【You have comprehended the new skill［Entanglement of Light and Darkness］】
It was an offensive skill, forcibly fusing pure Psionic power with pure Dark Energy, then hurling it outward. The energy burst could easily tear apart space, distort dimensions, and annihilate star systems.
The power of this skill had no clear upper limit. Its ceiling depended on how much energy was poured into it at the time of use, and the user’s ability to maintain balance.
With Bai Fu’s current strength, her full-force use of 【Entanglement of Light and Darkness】 produced an instantaneous burst that far surpassed Dark Energy Devour and Dark Burn. Moreover, its attack range was much larger than Ethereal Torrent, since it could be cast remotely through the Psionic Core.
"A divine skill!"
Bai Fu hummed in excitement.
Her combat power ceiling had just leapt much higher.
"Once I get the True Spirit Marrow, complete my third metamorphosis, and raise my level a bit, then even the Supreme God’s Apostle might be within reach!"
Charge! But first, she needed to clear away those revival debuffs hanging over her.
In the days that followed, Bai Fu did not leave, but still remotely controlled the Garden of Silence via Yulia and others.
At all costs, she purchased a massive number of warships and built several cutting-edge weapons factories in the Esper Garden, with Summer Poem in charge.
Everything she did was preparation for the imminent total war.
This war was critical.
It concerned not only the future of the Explored Universe, but also her own future.
She wanted to seize this opportunity to fatten up those Players she had drained dry not long ago, then squeeze them again.
Her appetite was enormous now.
The tens of billions of XP from quests were nowhere near enough for her level-ups. Only with tens of millions of players exerting themselves at once could she be satisfied.
People only saw that she leveled fast, but unseen to them, she too poured in vast amounts of effort and sweat!
……
Days flashed by.
Imperial Calendar, Year 30002, January 7.
At the start of the new year, the officials of Beyond the Stars released the final promotional trailer for the new version, and at the appointed time, launched it punctually.
Swish—swish—swish—
From the Explored Universe to the Apostle Holy City, from the Garden of Silence to the Initial Covenant, Players who had disappeared earlier all reappeared one by one.
"Have they returned again?"
Elijé immediately noticed the Players had come back.
Some time ago, she had gone to the Ethereal Realm, but unfortunately had found no useful information.
So she had been eagerly awaiting the Players’ return, so she could ask them why they valued her so much—was it because she was an artificial human created by Bai Fu?
On the plaza.
Elijé had just taken a few steps when she overheard several Players conversing.
【Do you think Bai Fu and Elijé’s relationship is as Excavation-Princess said, or as Kekkozi said?】
【I lean more toward Kekkozi’s theory. Based on previous story developments, Elijé seems more like Bai Fu’s successor.】
【I think so too. Bai Fu dies, then Elijé inherits everything from her and continues boldly along the path of the Saintess. But… Excavation-Princess’s predictions have almost never been wrong, so now I don’t dare conclude.】
【Alright, alright, no point debating this now. We’ll see later.】
The Players talking gradually walked off, but Elijé remained frozen in place.
What had she just heard?
Bai Fu died, and she became Bai Fu’s successor?
That matched her own recent suspicions perfectly.
No need to ask anymore.
She was indeed an artificial human created by Bai Fu!
Bai Fu must have anticipated her own death one day, so she had created her.
"I…"
Elijé pressed her chest, speechless.
She didn’t know how to describe her feelings.
Confused?
Excited?
She should be excited, right? After all, she had always wanted to be a great hero. Now, inheriting Bai Fu’s power, she had the capital to be one.
But having inherited Bai Fu’s power, should she continue to stay in the organization that killed Bai Fu?
Surely not?
Elijé scratched her head hard.
She decided—she would first go to Origin Star, see the “real” Bai Fu, then decide her future.
Departure!