reincarnation npc, but tomorrow's ark

Bai Ye blinked:

"Nian once said that if I wanted to make a breakthrough in martial arts, I could come to you."

“I remember now, that guy did say that to my face, but at the time I was preoccupied with the matter of the Year Beast, so I ignored it… Tsk, how come it’s that guy causing trouble again, making you come to me to ask for martial arts advice?” Xi frowned.

Bai Ye tentatively asked:

“As Nian once said, a martial arts master once entered your painting, and then walked out on his own, relying on his own level of martial arts skill…”

"!" Xi's eyes widened. She said irritably, "She even told you about this?"

"Um……"

"Bai Ye, could you help me hold her down next time that girl comes out?" Xi suddenly asked Bai Ye with a serious expression.

"Ok?"

"I really want to punch my sister in the face!" Xi clenched her fists.

The fist has hardened!

Chapter Twenty-Eight: To Be My Enemy

Xi's reaction was exactly what Bai Ye had expected.

Well, Xi is actually quite thin-skinned. If Nian exposes her secrets, she'll definitely get angry, and she'll feel very embarrassed, even becoming furious.

In short, she panicked—

However, Bai Ye did not give up and pressed on:

"So, this really happened? How did that grandmaster manage to get out?"

Xi sighed and nodded somewhat helplessly:

"That did happen, but that person was actually our elder brother."

"Your eldest brother? He's also an incarnation of the Year Beast, so that's... Shuo? The one from Yumen Pass?" Bai Ye blinked.

“That’s right, but unlike us, he has abandoned the name ‘Shuo’. He deliberately severed his connection with the Sui Beast, reshaped a physical body, and then sealed the part of the Sui Beast’s remnant soul that he inherited into a sword.”

"We have no idea how he did it..."

"After that, my elder brother called himself Chongyue and became a martial arts master."

Xi still looked on with admiration when she talked about her older brother.

"I see... So he saw through the essence of your painting and then stepped out?" Bai Ye suddenly realized.

"Yes, that's how it is—a very long time after we awakened our own personalities, that's when my older brother came to see me." Xi put down her cup and then recalled.

“I dared not see him, yet I had no choice but to, so I painted a mountain, a thatched hut… and myself.”

"Pfft—" Bai Ye couldn't help but laugh after hearing this, "Are you really that socially awkward?"

“I’m not my older sister. I was even more afraid of seeing people back then than I am now… Anyway, that ‘me’ showed my older brother my new paintings, took him on a tour of countless wonders, and then listened to him nag for most of the hour.”

As Xi spoke, she said somewhat defiantly:

"My brother actually told me not to get too caught up in the imagery of ink and brush—isn't that obvious? Of course, what I draw is fake. He even wanted me to go to the frontier to see for myself. What a load of rubbish, I'm not going anywhere!"

"Hmm..." Bai Ye realized that this girl was even more of a recluse than he had imagined. If no one cared about her, she could stay in the painting forever, until its destruction.

"In short, my elder brother stayed in my painting for a whole day and night. The next day, as usual, he did his morning exercises and performed a set of punches outside the thatched hut. Then my painting was broken... I guess he knew from the beginning that the one standing in front of him was fake, but in order to play a trick on me, he deliberately broke the painting by punching on the second day."

Xi said, shrugging:

"That's how it is. I have no idea what level you martial artists have reached—seeing the big picture from small details, calming the waves, and touching the finest hairs, that's probably all there is to it. But I don't understand it. After all, I don't practice martial arts, nor do I know any martial arts."

Bai Ye nodded upon hearing this. He pondered for a moment, then slowly spoke:

"Let me enter the painting one more time..."

"You mean... a fleeting dream? But constructing your dream will be very difficult." Xi said, picking up her paintbrush.

“Then let’s treat it as looking in a mirror. I’ll try my best to let it evolve on its own…” Bai Ye nodded.

The dreams that Xi constructs are not truly shaping a life; they are essentially a revolving lantern of self-questioning and answering. Her paintings are like a mirror, a lake, or a deep and far-reaching starry sky. Once captured in a painting, they evolve on their own, making it difficult for viewers to escape.

"It's really strange. Everyone else wants to get out, but you want to immerse yourself in it... Fine, after all, I promised to help you, although I don't know if it will really work..." Xi said, shaking her head helplessly.

Then, she stood up:

"Close your eyes."

Bai Ye nodded.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

When Bai Ye opened his eyes again, he found himself standing on a calm lake.

With his right hand outstretched, the reforged arc light popped out of his inventory and automatically fell into his palm, which Bai Ye grasped firmly.

"Looks like it's not working?"

"After all, you are capable of seeing the big picture from small details, calming the waves, and stroking the finest things... Your inner world is already perfect and complete, so naturally you will not be immersed in a false dream."

The sound of dusk echoed in the silent space. Only the sound could be heard, but the person could not be seen.

"That's why I said it's useless... By the way, are you really not a grandmaster? I feel like you're no different from those old guys. Whether it's your realm or your state of mind, you're a grandmaster, that's right."

Xi couldn't understand why Bai Ye always thought he was a step behind, when he was clearly a true master.

Bai Ye gently touched the lake surface with his sword, and ripples appeared on the smooth, mirror-like surface, with circles spreading outward from the tip of the sword.

Upon opening the system panel, Bai Ye shook his head.

It's still just expert-level swordsmanship.

After closing the system panel, Bai Ye raised his sword and looked ahead.

Then, another "White Night" faintly emerged from the void.

"I'll try my best to help you evolve... but please don't use your powers, I can't handle that kind of power," Xi said with a wry smile.

After all, she was only one-twelfth of the beast, and couldn't create another giant beast in the painting.

"Ah."

Bai Ye nodded, then raised his sword and stared at the "self" before him.

With his thoughts racing, Bai Ye narrowed his eyes as he looked at the being that was exactly like himself, and then did something crazy.

He incorporated himself as the target of the calculations into the combat pre-construction.

Then began an endless, vicious cycle.

A direct confrontation has become meaningless at this point, because both sides possess top-notch anticipation abilities, enabling them to predict their opponent's actions before they even make a move, and then take control of the battle.

This ability is infallible against any opponent and has never failed.

However, when Bai Ye faced himself, he found that the other party had no way to make a move.

Because of this almost prophetic predictive ability, the possibilities that can be included in the calculation, that is, the variables, are infinite, and there is simply no way to calculate them.

In the end, the two could only play an endless game of rock-paper-scissors. As soon as Bai Ye changed his angle of attack, his opponent was able to react accordingly. Then Bai Ye would change his angle again, and his opponent would continue to change his angle...

Bai Ye and the "self" opposite him could only stand there, helpless against their opponent.

"So this is what it feels like to be my enemy... How disgusting."

Only now could Bai Ye truly understand the feelings of his former opponents. It certainly wasn't a pleasant battle...

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Most Bizarre Duel

"Hiss... So this is your martial arts? It actually has such a monstrous ability?"

While maintaining the operation of the scroll world during the battle outside the scroll, Xi sighed with emotion.

Although she wasn't skilled in martial arts, Xi, as the incarnation of a fragment of the Year Beast, had a very high level of insight. She naturally understood that the two identical Bai Ye were not having an ordinary confrontation, nor were they just standing there blankly as punishment.

The confrontation had already begun the moment that "White Night" appeared on the other side.

In that infinitely stretched second, their confrontation would continue indefinitely. At this rate, the first one to give way would be… Xi herself!

Because at this moment, the amount of computation contained within the scroll is simply too great. Both sides have incorporated the other into their own computational systems. Even with accelerated thinking, Bai Ye is experiencing some kind of system crash at this moment.

There are too many variables to calculate, so we have to use real-time calculations and adjust according to the changes in the opponent.

And the "White Night" on the other side was doing the same thing. The two sides continued this nested cycle, endlessly repeating the same pattern.

"Damn it... this painting is about to collapse, what are you doing?" Xi couldn't help but exclaim.

"..." Bai Ye had no time to pay attention to Xi's mournful cries.

Although they did not actually fight, the two sides had already engaged in countless games of strategy. Any slight change would lead to a chain reaction, and both sides had also made various feints to confuse their opponent.

Subtle changes in breathing, minute twitches in muscles, fine adjustments to the center of gravity—all sorts of complex data rush into the brain, and after simplification and calculation, a model of the opponent is constructed.

Unfortunately, this trick, which usually worked every time, was now almost completely ineffective.

This was the most unique opponent Bai Ye had ever encountered, because it was himself... If it were any other opponent who could disable his abilities through various fake data, Bai Ye could simply try to defeat them with speed and strength.

However, the opponent standing opposite him now is himself. If he gives up on calculations, his opponent will not. If he makes a rash move, he will definitely be killed by the same set of tactics that he used to be proficient in.

However, continuing like this is not a good solution, after all... they were all taught by the same master, so they can't break each other's moves.

As a result, the amount of computation piled up more and more severely.

Finally, Bai Ye felt a sudden bright light before his eyes and heard a deafening roar. Then, the smoke dissipated, and he reappeared in the pavilion.

Xi stared at him with wide eyes.

However, Bai Ye showed no reaction. Only the silver light in his eyes flickered incessantly, as if he were broken.

"Another painting of mine is gone!" Xi didn't react in time. She said irritably, "What kind of nonsense are you messing around with?!"

Although Xi knew the principles of Bai Ye's martial arts, the pressure created by the two Bai Ye calculating together was all transferred to her. At first, she was fine, but later even the scroll couldn't withstand it.

Then Bai Ye squeezed it so tightly it burst open.

Although Xi's tone was full of complaints, Bai Ye seemed not to have heard anything. He stood there stunned for a while before the silver light in his eyes gradually faded.

"I'm sorry, I didn't control myself well, or rather, I got a little carried away..."

Even fighting with both hands simultaneously was quite difficult for him; he even felt like he was about to develop a split personality... Fortunately, his mental strength was strong, and he managed to pull through.

Oh, right, at the instant the scroll burst open, Bai Ye was still in a state of accelerated thinking, so this terrifying phenomenon was instinctively imprinted into his brain and then analyzed.

Fortunately, this wasn't a normal Big Bang in the physical universe, so the resulting data stream wasn't that terrifying; otherwise, Bai Ye's brain might have been burned out.

“Never mind…” Xi shook her head. “But your ability is quite interesting. It feels like you’ve completely suppressed those who practice martial arts. If they can’t be defeated technically, you also have unparalleled strength.”

Xi couldn't understand why people were still dissatisfied, even after all this.

"Let me try one more time..." Bai Ye felt like he had found a bit of inspiration.

"And then you'll destroy one of my paintings?" Xi said irritably.

After a long pause, she sighed:

"Fine, let's continue then. Let's see how many paintings you can ruin today."

Clearly, this guy has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. Although he was extremely unwilling, he still chose to have Bai Ye close his eyes. Once again, he's in the picture!

Let's do it one more time.

Bai Ye took another deep breath and closed her eyes.

In his mind, he once again reviewed his own abilities.

He can collect all the data generated by his opponent when his mind is racing, then build a model in his mind to form a tree diagram that predicts the opponent's next action trajectory, and then explore the most likely path from the tree diagram.

While fighting an opponent, a virtual image of the opponent is generated in front of him. If the opponent's movement trajectory matches the virtual image, the prediction is successful and he can completely predict the enemy's actions. If there is a deviation, he makes adjustments until he finds a matching trajectory.

If "preemptive strikes" involve anticipating the enemy's intentions and launching a preemptive counterattack by observing their subtle movements, then Bai Ye's fighting style is even more extreme. After discovering the correct path, he doesn't even need to observe his opponent; he directly predicts their next move. Any possibility is eliminated, and he will directly lead the battle to victory.

But what if you encounter "yourself"?

They'll just keep going in this stalemate until the painting breaks.

Therefore, in order to avoid angering Xi again, Bai Ye could only avoid this outcome.

……