<h4>Chapter 1681: I Love Studying. It Makes Me Happy</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Clearly, the little bat’s visit this time around was not just to freeload and snuggle with her mother. Most probably, she was there to boast about her achievements, like totally controlling the Shadow Council, anchoring the Hessianite Family’s position in the governance of the otherworldlings on Earth, and the results of the diplomatic exchange with the demon hunters. But before she could even start to boast, Lily’s bluster totally shattered the little bat’s self-confidence. By then, Hao Ren had led the group of violence mongers on to an even bigger matter. They had gone to face off with a god.


    And they won.


    It was almost as if the little bat had run in happily with two papers scoring full marks, and just as she opened the door, she saw a group people counting their PhD certs. Such was the gulf in difference...


    However, what surprised and touched Hessiana was the fact that Vivian still praised her during dinner.


    “What we did and what you did are both important matters. There’s no question of who is greater,” Vivian said as she tried her best to cheer up the disappointed little bat. “And we did not proceed as smoothly as Lily had described. That fight was very difficult, and most of us were fighting our own doppelgangers. We did not even have the chance to engage the evil goddess. Mr. Landlord almost failed to beat her...”


    “Really?” Hessiana gave Hao Ren a suspicious look. “Aren’t you like super strong?”


    “That depends on who the opponent is.” Hao Renughed a little awkwardly. “We almost didn’t make it, but the final blow was dealt by Lil Pea...”


    “...Huh?!”


    “I’m not pulling your toes. Really. She’s the biggest contributor to this victory,” Hao Ren said as he carefully carried Lil Pea onto the dining table, and took out the present he had prepared for the little one: A sandalwood... chopstick.


    Looking at Lil Pea who was sending splinters all over as she chewed on the chopsticks and the group of self-proimed violence mongers who had just defeated a god, Hessiana felt her worldview grow even further apart from them...


    For this dinner, the happiest person was Hessiana. The little bat could not remember how long has it been since she had experienced such relief and warmth. Vivian was just by herself, chatting with her, at times praising at times scolding, all done with genuine warmth, and the biscuit in her hand was just as tasty twenty centuries ago, and she did not need to fear of being abandoned again.


    The second happiest person was Lil Pea, and her reason was much simpler: the sandalwood tastes really good...


    Hao Ren’s ce was filled with a warm atmosphere, and if there were any regrets... they probably urred at the same time everyone was having fun. Someone with blood rtions with Vivian was in another universe far away, doing homework.


    And early in the morning the day after, Hao Ren went out to resolve this regret.


    The battle of the Umbral Realm had ended, the Core System was no longer under threat from traitors, and every known location within the ne of Dreams was in a stable state, even if deep within the stars, screaming and disturbances grew increasingly terrifying andmonce. The night before the storm was always the calmest.


    And within this temporary calm, Hao Ren went to the Basilica of the World Tree at the Heart of Destiny.


    The rest of the crew were resting at home, and Vivian stayed behind to apany Hessiana who was suffering from a severeck of motherly love. So this time around, Hao Ren came alone.


    He was one of the masters of the Basilica of the World Tree, and a hero in the eyes of the guardians, so he did not need to inform anyone when he goes in or out of the Core and the Basilica. After docking the ship at one of the dockyards at the top of the canopy, Hao Ren used the internal teleportation system and arrived before the pce where the goddess of creation was in, and thetter was sitting behind a massive desk. Books, papers, and stationery were allid out before her. She was taking notes while she was reading.


    Above her, a ripple-like light screen was slowly changing, as clusters of objects were slowly coalescing and reforming, and with every change contain the manyws and secrets of the evolution of things. Hao Ren, by only just seeing the images felt that his mind was suddenly flooded by a whole bunch of molecr structure, basic force parameters, micro-macro conversion and some other information that could not be categorized by human knowledge.


    Looking at the changing lights, Hao Ren randomly drew shapes in the air, as a group of silvery mollusks appeared out of thin air, and after a series of gurgling, they darted happily towards Rheia and merged with the shadows.


    The movement of the little organisms had broken the goddess of creation from her study. Rheia looked up and saw Hao Ren before her. With a surprised look, she asked, “You’re back so soon... Hmm? Only you?”


    “Everyone’s resting at home. I’m here to see you. You’re studying ‘creation’?”


    “I’m basing it on the timetable,” As Rheia stopped her train of thoughts, the creation images above her head disappeared. The goddess lifted the book in her hand to allow Hao Ren to see the name of the book. “Creation course in the morning, and destruction course in the evening. Say, systematic creation is a real interesting thing, you know. You can actually put all information in the universe into a single form! I was wondering why my past creations were so different from my initial ns, and it was only after a while that I realized the parameters had not been set up properly...”


    Listening to Rheia rambling about her studies made Hao Ren notice that the goddess’ mental state was slightly different than before.


    While it was difficult to discern, he could still tell from her poise and tone that she had newfound confidence.. and motivation.


    IT seemed like she had shed off whatever heavy burden she was carrying, and discarded all unnecessary thoughts and doubts, with a brand new goal that she would see it through. Compared to when he spoke to her a few days back, the gleam of her eyes was quite clearly different now!


    Just like what Raven12345 had said, the Dark Valkyrie’s had left a tiny little ‘present’ in the books she left her, and that had sessfully motivated this drop-out goddess? Ain’t it a little too effective!”


    “Why are you staring at me?” Rheia noticed that Hao Ren’s gaze had not shifted for a while, and she stopped her studies. “Is there anything wrong with me?”


    “No, nothing.” Hao Ren quickly retracted his gaze and shrugged. “It’s just that you’re giving off a very motivated feel right now.”


    “Ah that, yes I’m motivated alright.” Rheia smiled brightly, before standing up and ced one of her hands on her chest and the other on her book, “I love studying, studying makes me happy, anything wrong with that?”


    “Two days ago you were just about to give up on life.”


    “I did? Was it that obvious?” Rheia was shocked before brushing it off, “Forget it. That’s just me being down that time! Who cares about doubts and stuff, my family tradition is to fight. I understand now. Everything else is fleeting, but fighting demands real skill. Wait till I graduate from primary school. I’ll cleave that Mad Lord clean with my twin des. Once the root of the problem is taken out, everything bes much simpler!”


    Hao Ren was stunned by Rheia’s very bold and martial promation, and could not even formte a follow up after a long while. Rheia, on the other hand, stood there for a while before shaking her head wildly. After taking a deep breath she murmured to herself, “Tsk... talked a little too much with mom and got influenced...”


    Hao Ren did not manage to catch that, “Huh?”


    “Nothing, just rambling.” Rheia brushed things off as she walked out from her desk. “Say, for you to suddenlye looking for me, anything to report? Or does the goddess from your world have something to tell me?”


    Hao Ren quickly pulled out that pair of bangles from his Dimensional Pocket. “Oh right. Here’s the business. I came to give you this. Hold on to it, and you can use it to establish a connection to my universe! You can even meet my superior directly. Speaking face to face is just much more efficient than messaging or having someone pass on the message!”


    Rheia took the metal bangles with a surprised look, and the bangle’s shape and size allowed her to easily put it on. “What is this? A bangle? The other one is for me too?”


    “No, just one will do, the other is a receiver. This is called a Material Projection Generator...”


    Hao Ren quickly ran through the name and the basic functions of the bangles to Rheia, not forgetting to brief her on the side-effects and limitations as well. Of course, he wisely hid the ‘idiot mode’ operation away...


    Afterpleting the exnation with much effort only did Hao Ren let out a deep breath as he looked at Rheia, “Understood?”


    But the voice instead came from his back. “Wow, so not only the Gcticus, even the Xiling Celestials’ stuff are awesome!”


    Hao Ren turned around baffled and saw a person that was identical to Rheia behind him. That figure had an almost imperceptible disruption ripple and minor dimensional distortion around the edges. This was the only thing that allowed him to tell it was not the real body, but a projection.


    Hao Ren looked down and saw that the “receiver” bangle in his hand was glowing slightly.


    “Bloody hell... that learning ability...” he muttered to himself.


    “This is not too difficult.” The two Rheias spoke at the same time, “It’s just a double, but using this method.. is very interesting. I did not even sense any energy depletion, but the projection is perfectly equipped with all sensory abilities, and even my thoughts are literally split into two... I’m like thinking with two brains now. While it is easier to get mixed up, as long as I get used to it... I think this could help double my speed at studying!


    Seems like the goddess had really gone into the deep end from all the studying...


    “Get used to it then, and just use it like a propermunication device.” Hao Ren massaged his forehead helplessly. “This thing can cause a mental split with overuse, and you’ve already gone through that once. You don’t need a second time.”


    Rheia pursed her lips, “Step by step, step by step, I know, you don’t have to say it twice. Oh right, you might want to know. Half an hour ago Asurman had detected an energy explosion towards the direction of the Dark Abyss. That living bomb had gone off.”


    And Hao Ren’s mood suddenly got so much better.