Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 491 - 461 Fire generates Earth

Chapter 491: 461 Fire generates Earth

I focused intensely on observing the changes in Liu Shuying’s expression. I’m not certain if Liu Shuying is Shan Liangyi; part of the reason for initiating a verbal attack here is to probe and see if he’ll reveal any flaws.

This probing also poses a risk to myself. A little thought reveals that confronting an enemy possibly planning to deceive and murder with lies and acting, and stripping away their false façade on the spot, won’t necessarily make them surrender; it’s more likely they’ll tear off their disguise and prematurely reveal their fangs.

But this isn’t just any place; this is the Luoshan Headquarters where Great Impermanence gathers, and even the Old Fist God has appeared here before. Even Shan Liangyi probably wouldn’t want to stir up trouble here. If the opponent really has me in their sights, it’s better to confront them here and now rather than face them elsewhere later.

Under my questioning, Liu Shuying’s face showed a mix of astonishment and confusion.

He slowly lowered his head, and a few seconds later, he involuntarily laughed, transitioning from a low chuckle to an open-hearted laugh.

I didn’t laugh with him, and after a moment, he finally stopped laughing, wiped the corner of his eye, and said joyfully, "Ah... what a surprise. So that’s how it is; as the saying goes, ’It’s easy to see the faults of others, hard to see one’s own.’ One’s true self is the hardest to see clearly. I never thought I would be mistaken for Shan Liangyi..."

"Are you saying you’re not?" I countered, "If you’re not, I hope you can convince me."

"Nothing is more difficult than proving one’s innocence, especially since I’ve never considered such a possibility. If asked to suddenly produce ironclad evidence, I can’t. But offering an explanation is simple; it’s just a matter of whether you believe it.

"First, the information related to Shan Liangyi was obtained before I lost the power of foreknowledge. It was then I began suspecting the Taoyuan Village Master. As for why I acted only now, I had priorities more important than eliminating Shan Liangyi."

"Recently, I made breakthrough progress in that matter but then faced insurmountable difficulties, so I had to set it aside temporarily and shift my focus to the Shan Liangyi issue."

More important matters than Shan Liangyi... I immediately thought of Liu Shuying’s activities at the North Pole in the past.

The thing he sought was likely the complete divine seal, and he claimed to have made breakthrough progress... Could he have pinpointed the location of the complete divine seal?

What does "insurmountable difficulties" refer to?

"Then, if I were Shan Liangyi, there would be an unexplainable contradiction." Liu Shuying continued, "As the Green Dragon Inheritor, the Taoyuan Village Master has grown strong enough to rival Xuanming. If you also consider the power of ’Paradise’ they’ve amassed, even Xuanming might not be their match.

"You may not know, but ’Paradise’ is not just an ultimate illusion technique network under construction; it is also an immense mana reservoir. Despite lacking critical density, its overwhelming scale still provides substantial enhancement for the Taoyuan Village Master.

"Plus, the Power of Wood Element Green Dragon suppresses Earth Element Yellow Dragon Power, making it challenging for Shan Liangyi to reap the benefits of the Taoyuan Village Master, let alone risk being counterattacked if a mistake is made.

"Shan Liangyi wouldn’t let the Green Dragon Inheritor grow to this point unless the Green Dragon Inheritor was actually himself in disguise."

I asked, "Even if Shan Liangyi had already pushed open the third door, would they lose to the Taoyuan Village Master?"

"Why wouldn’t they?" Liu Shuying said, matter-of-factly, "You, Xuanwu, King Zhuanlun, and the Taoyuan Village Master are this era’s four Liangyi Inheritors. Assuming the Taoyuan Village Master wasn’t consumed or replaced by Shan Liangyi, it means Shan Liangyi only has Earth Element Power.

"For a Shan Liangyi who draws on the Four Symbols and Five Elements as their mana background, this means his current power is just a fragment of its peak. Without a doubt, he’s equivalent to an ordinary Great Impermanence.

"You should clearly understand how ruthless the restraining relationship between Liangyi Inheritors can be. Unless there is a difference spanning from the first gate to the second gate or from the second gate to the third gate, Green Dragon can restrain Yellow Dragon. Although Shan Liangyi also wields the central supremacy of the Central Yellow Dragon over the other Four Symbols, it isn’t enough to fully cover the disadvantage formed by the restraining relationships.

"Moreover, don’t forget that even if restraining relationships aren’t considered, an ordinary Great Impermanence is no match for the Taoyuan Village Master."

"But what you said only applies to a one-on-one scenario between Shan Liangyi and the Taoyuan Village Master." I said, "From your tone earlier, it sounds like it wasn’t always the case in history that the Green Dragon Inheritor was preemptively killed by Shan Liangyi, implying there are still those who escaped Shan Liangyi’s grasp and grew step by step from a desperate situation—why couldn’t the Taoyuan Village Master be one of them?

"As Shan Liangyi, you could be pretending to be an arch-enemy of Shan Liangyi to kill the present Green Dragon Inheritor, possibly shifting suspicion onto the prey and then forging an alliance with someone else who despises Shan Liangyi, like me, to jointly attack the Taoyuan Village Master...

"Of course, under this reasoning, the one you ought to cooperate with first is the White Tiger Inheritor, who restrains the Green Dragon Inheritor. Currently, it seems likely to be King Zhuanlun, but you might not find him; while Xuanwu, the Water Navy Xuanwu Inheritor, is still at the Great Success Rank, so even finding them is pointless. In consideration of all this, you would have to team up with me against the Taoyuan Village Master, wouldn’t you?"

Liu Shuying chuckled and said, "If that’s the case... why wouldn’t I, as this ’Shan Liangyi,’ just hunt you down first?

"Historically, faced with a fully matured Green Dragon Inheritor, Shan Liangyi wouldn’t put the Green Dragon Inheritor at the top of their kill list; instead, they rank them last. Then, they would harvest the Power Seeds of the other Four Symbols’ inheritors first.

"When the number of Power Seeds in their body reaches four, including the Earth Element Yellow Dragon Seed, they can use the Power of Reincarnation to simulate the final missing attribute, restoring themselves to the level of pushing open the third door.

"Rather than cooperating to secure the power of other Liangyi Inheritors, it would be more prudent to directly incorporate it. In the new kill order, the first on the list is, instead, the Fire Element Vermilion Bird Seed.

"Ordinarily, Shan Liangyi would rank the Vermilion Bird last because they hold it with high regard; only an unusual circumstance would cause this reversal. Do you know why?"

I speculated: "...Is it because, in the Five Elements’ mutual generation relationship, fire produces earth?"

Not that I had any solid evidence; it’s just that it was the only direction I could find.

Among the Five Elements, the concept of fire producing earth is a puzzling one. Earth producing metal and wood producing fire are easily understandable; even metal producing water can be thought of as thinking "cold metal surfaces can sometimes condense water droplets," but fire producing earth is entirely abstract. Perhaps it conceals some secret.

Putting aside those musings, a flash of insight crossed my mind: "I see, the Fire Power of Vermilion Bird is a great supplement to the Earth Power of Yellow Dragon... it might even significantly enhance its power directly?"

"Exactly." Liu Shuying nodded.

Previously, I only understood how the restraining relationship among the Five Elements would manifest when the powers of two Liangyi Inheritors clashed, but I couldn’t imagine how mutual generation among them would manifest. I now realize this relationship wouldn’t emerge during conflicts between two Liangyi Inheritors, but only when two mutually generative Power Seeds coexist within a single Liangyi Inheritor’s body.

In the past, I encountered the Water Element Xuanwu Power of Water Navy Xuanwu and the Gold Element White Tiger Power within the Yama Sword, both of which possess a mutual generation relationship within the Five Elements. I tried combining them in my mind to simulate what changes might occur.

This isn’t a real-world experiment, just a thought simulation, yet my instinct as a Great Impermanence and a Liangyi Inheritor simultaneously tells me my thought hits the mark.

"You have grown into a Great Impermanence, at a perfect time for Shan Liangyi to harvest in his eyes, and the Vermilion Bird doesn’t restrain the Yellow Dragon; on the contrary, the Yellow Dragon can suppress the Vermilion Bird with its central position." Liu Shuying continued, "Perhaps you suspect I, as Shan Liangyi, might be using dealing with the Taoyuan Village Master as an excuse to lure you out of Luoshan Headquarters to strike.

"Indeed, Shan Liangyi wouldn’t act against you within Luoshan Headquarters, but you aren’t holed up here all year round. You’ve gone out several times in the past month, providing ample opportunities for an attack, so there’s no need to fabricate excuses to lure you out.

"My defense ends here, do you still believe I am Shan Liangyi?"

I pondered for a moment.

It’s unrealistic for me to believe his claim of not being Shan Liangyi just based on verbal arguments. As he said initially, he hasn’t provided any evidence strong enough to prove he isn’t Shan Liangyi. It’s all just reasoning.

However, in my mind, the suspicion of him being Shan Liangyi has indeed significantly reduced.

The clues he provided during his defense, some of which I heard for the first time and cannot dismiss as possible fabrications, contain parts I can verify as true and weave a logical chain sufficient to rationalize him not being Shan Liangyi.

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