That Single Heartbeat

“Introduce advanced tools invented by Mr. Reinhardt, abolish small home workshops, and transition toward large scale production factories.”

“Introduce new curricula into the academy’s education, reduce unnecessary resident mage positions within the Mages’ Association, and assign a portion of trainees to operate large scale magic tools.”

“Prohibit child labor, establish more schools, implement compulsory education, and improve the national literacy rate.”

“Adopt new taxation methods and reduce expenditures on healthcare and food.”

“Introduce market concepts to mitigate resource distribution issues between different continents.”

............

Clo signed both her name and Li Yue’s on each of the bills. Many of these were bills Li Yue had conceived from the beginning. Although they would affect the interests of many current nobles and some seemed premature for implementation—with effective dates set decades into the future—it was as if Li Yue had foreseen exactly when these terms should take effect.

“Reform?” Clo repeated the unfamiliar and novel word. She looked out the window, noticing a few strands of her own deep blue hair that had fallen on the floor. She thought back to the days in the tower; they had been somewhat boring, yet filled with a sense of anticipation.

The Finance Minister had been calculating the expenditures for these bills almost day and night for the past few days. Clearly, the current Royal Court treasury could not support them unless the high nobles were also forced to bleed. Clo knew these wealthy magnates would not support the changes, so the new taxation bills were specifically targeted at these nobles who hoarded wealth. Once this harvest of wealth was complete and new production machinery was introduced, more infrastructure bills would begin implementation.

Does A Yue usually read those science fiction novels? They always featured carriages powered purely by magic, tools that could fly, and all sorts of strange but convenient artifacts that even commoners could use.

However, looking at her now, she seemed to have lost interest in such things. Only Clo herself would occasionally take out a novel to read.

Clo didn't know how Li Yue had thought of so many things. She always said time was running out, yet she had planned out reform schemes for nearly a century into the future. Once this period was endured, it would reach the transition period in her plan, followed by a bunch of terms Clo didn't quite understand.

Something about some kind of -ism... she couldn't make sense of it.

But the pressure was mounting. Li Yue’s control over the Royal Court was weakening, and it seemed more and more people were beginning to sense it. Where exactly had she gone again...

.............

On the scorched earth, Li Yue supported her body with her sword. Behind her, a brownish black spear was slowly turning to ash in the air. Li Yue coughed out a small mouthful of blood. There was a bloody hole in her abdomen, completely pierced through; one could even see the haze filled sky behind her through the wound.

“No wonder I couldn't find your weapon... Gungnir... I haven't seen it in how many years? So you were waiting here for me.” Li Yue urged the vitality within her body to heal the wound. The demons around her hovered, seemingly hesitating on when to strike.

“Hmm... Their divine artifacts still exist. Their aura... how long has it been since I last felt it?” Li Yue showed a hint of reminiscence before giving a helpless, bitter smile.

These creations of “Madness” knew no pain or fear, but as they approached Li Yue, a powerful sensation drove them to flee. It seemed to be the primitive fear of death felt by living beings. After witnessing Li Yue slaughter tens of millions of their kind, their instincts seemed to have been awakened. The ruler of Madness had not granted them the capacity for fear, yet at this moment, they finally seemed to feel a sliver of it.

“I dodged it last time with the help of Fate, but this time I took a solid hit... It really hurts...” Li Yue panted. The wound in her abdomen only now began to slowly close. Fortunately, time had severely eroded that spear, which was comparable to Li Yue’s sacred object of Death. After piercing Li Yue once, it dissolved into nothingness.

“I can't take another hit that serious... The durability of these weapons is almost at its limit. I have to find a way...” Li Yue sensed the powerful auras rising and falling in the distance, a fierce light beginning to flicker in her blood red vertical pupils.

“My tier is still not high enough. I am at the very top among the gods, but facing that existence, my tier is still insufficient...” Li Yue seemed to have accepted a certain reality. She looked at the creatures roaring in the surrounding darkness; this was truly another world entirely. To some extent, that ruler of Madness already had the power to create a new world, while her own tier could only be considered one of the top existences within this world.

“I must... surpass the world... World Tree, I need its power.” The blood crystal longsword in Li Yue’s hand shattered piece by piece, and a bright red blood crystal appeared in her hand. This constantly throbbing blood crystal was the first authority she possessed, named Death.

She gently gripped this Original Blood that symbolized death, and a blood red scythe appeared in her hand. Her stature suddenly became magnificent, and the divine characteristics on her body became increasingly apparent. She swung forcefully toward the distance. As a weapon, it wasn't easy to handle, but as a conceptual divine artifact used for reaping, it was naturally the most suitable.

In the far distance, masterless divine artifacts shattered one after another. The demon corpses that had piled up like mountains also slowly became part of the scorched earth. A bright red slash, like a wound, spread across the ground, revealing a faint milky white and ghostly green light from deep beneath the surface.

“World Tree... after all these years, you are still so full of vitality.” Li Yue gave a slight smile. This was finally the first piece of good news. “It seems that as a world level product yourself, you can still handle the erosion of his unformed state with ease...”

Li Yue’s figure slowly sank. The scythe in her hand transformed back into the hot, beating heart within her chest. She coughed out a mouthful of turbid blood and slowly advanced toward the center of the earth.

She took a deep breath. Deep within the earth's core, she seemed to hear vibrations resonating with her.

They were heartbeats—the heartbeats of the Old World.