Chapter 426: Express Your Sincerity

Zu'an smiled awkwardly. "Empress Sister, I don't understand what you mean."

Mi Li glanced at him and said, "Back in the secret realm, I found it very strange. Logically, with your pathetic cultivation, I could have extinguished you with a single breath. Yet, at that time, I simply couldn't kill you."

"Although your combat will at the time genuinely shocked me, if success in this world could be achieved by will alone, it would be far too easy."

"So I've always been very curious about what you rely on. Now it seems it must be what you call the 'system,' right? A 'Forgiveness Hat'? That's quite unusual."

Zu'an's heart jolted. "You can see these?"

Mi Li said with a half-smile, "When did I say I couldn't see them?"

"You previously..." Zu'an instinctively started to say something but immediately caught himself.

"I just taught you that the prettier a woman is, the more she'll deceive you." Mi Li chuckled, pursing her lips. "The medicine you used to save Madam Chu was quite miraculous; it instantly restored a person's life. Even Xu Fu back then might not have been able to refine such a potion. And now this 'Forgiveness Hat' – if its description isn't exaggerated, then it's truly a wondrous artifact."

Zu'an's expression shifted several times. In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through his mind. It seemed this woman had suspected him for a long time. His peculiar actions during his daily draws had probably fallen into her sight, but she hadn't understood what was happening, so she had held back. Now, after several observations, it appeared she had almost figured everything out and was finally revealing her cards.

"Oh, there's no need to be so nervous. We now share life and death; I wouldn't possibly harm you." Seeing his face change dramatically, Mi Li actually comforted him.

"You just taught me that the prettier a woman is, the more she'll deceive. Who knows if your 'Life and Death Vow' is real or fake? What if you have a way to break free? Then I'd be counting money for you even after you've sold me off," Zu'an grumbled sullenly.

"Little brother learns quite fast, doesn't he?" Mi Li couldn't help but look at him with a hint of admiration. "But on this matter, your elder sister truly didn't deceive you."

"I don't believe you," Zu'an said, his gaze falling on her dress. "You've already seen through my underwear. Unless you take off your clothes to show your sincerity?"

As a soul body, what clothes were there to wear? This was like trying to fart with one's pants already off.

Mi Li: "???"

Soon, pig-like squeals echoed in the room: "Empress Sister, let's talk this through properly! I was just joking!"

"Ouch! You can hit anywhere else, but not my face! I rely on this face to make a living!"

After a long while, silence finally returned to the room. Mi Li wiped the bloodstains from her hands, a dangerous smile playing on her lips. "Your elder sister will teach you another lesson: never court death when you shouldn't."

Zu'an, bruised and swollen, slumped on the floor nearby. "I really couldn't think of anything else to prove what you said, that's why I made a joke. Was there any need to be so ruthless?"

Mi Li snorted. "This empress has already shown mercy. If anyone dared to offend me like that in the past, their entire clan would have been annihilated."

Zu'an's throat felt dry. The women around him were all formidable, and each one was more ruthless than the last.

Mi Li quickly smiled. "Besides, I wasn't hitting you; I was clearly helping you cultivate! Whose fault is it that your Phoenix Nirvana Scripture needs you to get beaten to improve?"

Zu'an: "Heh heh!"

"Alright, let's get serious," Mi Li said, her smile fading. "Many times, vows of eternal love are indeed unreliable. Ultimately, it comes down to whether both parties' interests align and whether the other party is strong enough."

"Though you are weak now, you possess a transcendent talent, master several divine arts and secret techniques, and now have this hidden trump card. Your future is full of potential for growth. You see, the stronger a man is, and the more trump cards he has, the more appealing he becomes. I find myself liking you more and more," Mi Li said, a smile reappearing on her face. "So, you needn't worry about what I might do to you."

Zu'an looked resentful. "Oh, I thought after spending so much time together, affection had naturally grown between us. But it turns out you only gradually started liking me because of these things. It was all just business."

Mi Li spat disdainfully, "Tsk, what did you think? Otherwise, would this empress have taken a liking to a mere boy who hasn't even fully matured?"

Zu'an immediately bristled. "Are you sure I haven't fully matured?"

An image of what she had seen in Chu Chuyan's body back in the secret realm involuntarily flashed through Mi Li's mind. A blush quickly appeared and vanished on her face, and she hastily changed the subject. "Ahem, let's talk about this trump card of yours. You call it a 'system'? Why such a strange name?"

"What else would I call it?" Zu'an snorted unhappily. Having his trump card exposed made him, a master of self-preservation, extremely uncomfortable.

Mi Li also spoke with a serious expression. "Based on my observations over these past days, your sys... system must be an exceptionally powerful artifact. While its destructive power may not match some of the magical treasures I know, its creativity surpasses them. You must understand that in this world, destruction is always far simpler than creation, so from that perspective, your artifact is even more precious."

"An artifact?" Zu'an was startled. Having read too many web novels in his previous life, where protagonists without a 'system' felt awkward greeting others, he had immediately accepted this setup without ever considering its origin.

"Of course, it's an artifact," Mi Li stated. "And it might even have been refined by the most powerful and ingenious rune master in history. His understanding of space, his conversion of energy, and his brilliant creativity are far superior to any peerless expert I've ever encountered."

"Energy conversion?" Zu'an remained bewildered. Why did it feel like he was back in a physics class from his previous life?

"Precisely," Mi Li said, a hint of excitement in her eyes and admiration in her tone. "Ordinary artifacts require primal stones for energy, while more powerful and rare artifacts can generally replenish their energy automatically by absorbing the primal qi of heaven and earth. However, artifacts are not sentient beings; their speed of absorbing primal qi is inherently limited. But your system is different. Not only can it absorb primal qi for replenishment, but it can also absorb soul force as an energy source."

"Soul force?" Zu'an was surprised. What was that?

"As the name suggests, it's naturally the power of the soul," Mi Li explained. "Normally, when the soul is intensely agitated, soul force overflows. For instance, when you deliberately provoke people to anger to gain 'Rage points,' that's actually a process of collecting soul force."

Zu'an listened, dumbfounded. However, with her explanation, many of his doubts were resolved. He couldn't help but stare at her. "Empress Sister, you weren't a physics professor in your past life who transmigrated here, were you?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Mi Li frowned. "I was once the empress who unified the world and had thoroughly studied all the world's classics. How could your shallow understanding compare to mine?"

Zu'an grumbled inwardly, *Look at you, so full of yourself! In my previous life, I watched Hollywood movies with all sorts of fantastical plots, saw Japanese teachers of virtue and art penetrate every corner, and even watched… Did I boast everywhere like you?*

However, the expression on his face was quite sincere. "Soul force can be used too?"

"Of course it can be used," Mi Li said. "The universe is vast and full of wonders. Cultivation doesn't necessarily have to rely on the primal qi of heaven and earth. Many other forms of energy existing in the world can actually be used for cultivation. For example, your 'Primordial Chaos Scripture' cultivates the Qi of Primordial Chaos."

"Furthermore, based on my research over the years, the primal qi of heaven and earth might not refer to a single type of energy. It should be a collective term encompassing various different energies. Many races I know, though they also cultivate the primal qi of heaven and earth, their cultivation methods and the effects they produce are clearly very different from those of humans. Even within the human race, there are many branches of cultivation schools... It's just a pity that I haven't been able to specifically differentiate the various energies within the primal qi of heaven and earth."

Zu'an had a sudden realization. In his previous life, the scientific community discovered the four fundamental forces of the universe: the strong nuclear force, the weak nuclear force, the electromagnetic force, and gravity. Different things were created by utilizing different forces.

But the universe was immensely vast; it wasn't necessarily limited to just those few forces. For example, the primal qi of heaven and earth in this world, the Qi of Primordial Chaos, and the soul force just mentioned should also be similar existences, it's just that humans on Earth previously couldn't perceive them.