"Yaxiu," Diya asked, "if you build up a certain amount of memories, will your memory balance refill so you can sacrifice them again?"
Yaxiu's eyes went wide. "Wouldn't that just mean losing my memories all over again?"
"If losing memories is all it takes to gain the power of supreme sorcery..." Weise gave a shrug. "Your memory only lasts seven seconds anyway, Yaxiu. Rather than letting it slip away on its own, why not trade it for power?"
"I'm a human, not a goldfish!"
"Or is it that you lost more than just memories?" Sonia stepped in front of Yaxiu with her back turned, placed a hair tie in his hand, and leaned back against his chest. "Did you pay some other price?"
"Of course not. If you don't believe me, you and Vichy can check my soul body to see if there's anything wrong with my body or soul." Yaxiu skillfully gathered Sonia's hair into a ponytail as he spoke. "It's just that memories can't be sacrificed over and over. It's like writing all over a sheet of paper and then erasing it. Doing it once is fine, but if you cover it in writing and erase it again and again, you'll eventually tear the paper to shreds."
What Yaxiu had truly lost was his mind; memories were merely its appendages. But having never intended to say that out loud, he could only invent excuses to explain why he couldn't keep sacrificing memories. "I only had four chances in total, and I've already used three. I will never use the last one."
"Truly never?" Sonia asked. "What if we run into a life-or-death crisis when challenging Fanxing?"
"Between my life and my memories, I'll naturally choose my life," Yaxiu replied with a smile. "Though if we launch an attack on Fanxing only to land ourselves in a life-or-death crisis, I'd say the rest of you need to do some soul-searching. It'll be because you didn't work hard enough to make me the sorcery supreme."
"Still, when we're fully prepared and storm into Heaven, wouldn't our chances be much higher if you sacrificed your memories to reach the pinnacle of supreme sorcery?" Vichy chimed in. "You've already forgotten three of us anyway. What difference does forgetting one more Sword Princess make?"
Sonia cast a cold glance at Vichy, though she said nothing and left the decision to Yaxiu. While she naturally did not want Yaxiu to lose his memories of her, she was not only his lover but his comrade-in-arms. Let alone Yaxiu's memories, she would not hesitate for an instant to sacrifice her own if it guaranteed ultimate victory.
*Still, I'm adding this grudge to the ledger. Vichy: Summer of 1669, Nabistin, thirty-sixth offense.*
Yaxiu shook his head and wrapped an arm around Sonia's waist. "The problem is, even if I sacrificed my final memories, it still wouldn't be enough to defeat Fanxing."
"Is Fanxing really that strong?"
"It's not just a matter of strength, it's... In the previous battle of gods in Senluo, the reason I could defeat the three descended God-Leaders so quickly was partly because their power was limited, but even more so because none of them wanted to drag out the fight. They wanted a swift resolution, so I crushed them head-on.
"This time won't be an encounter or an ambush. We'll be entering the Sevenfold Heaven to challenge Fanxing on turf she has cultivated for thousands of years. Even if sacrificing my memories raised my power above hers, as fellow supreme sorcerers, my strength wouldn't be enough to overwhelm her. At the very least, I couldn't crush her quickly. If she chooses to fight defensively, the battle would drag on for days.
"Yet the power I gain by sacrificing memories has a time limit—only about half an hour. After that, I'll collapse from exhaustion. In half an hour, let alone Fanxing, even the four God-Leaders could find a way to stall it out."
Sonia took a skewer from Daidalos, taking a bite herself before feeding a bite to Yaxiu. The seasoning was rich, the dip bold, and the juices burst in her mouth, giving her a mild twinge of guilt for eating such rich food so late at night.
Yaxiu continued, "That's why I've never counted on sacrificing memories. It's fine as a trump card to save our lives, but if we try to challenge Fanxing with it, could she not just run away if she can't beat me? There's only one path to claiming the supreme throne, and that is defeating her fair and square through pure strength. Any shortcoming will become a fatal flaw.
"Instead of relying on me sacrificing memories, we're better off relying on all of you." Yaxiu tilted his head. "There is only one Fanxing, but there are five of us. Put together, our shortcomings are bound to be fewer than hers!"
After a brief silence, Felix couldn't resist asking, "Did you forget that Fanxing still has seven Law Angels under her command?"
"Can the Law Angels share Fanxing's supreme virtual wings? Can Fanxing borrow virtual wings from the Law Angels?" Yaxiu declared proudly. "We can!"
Sonia reminded him, "Right now, only you and I can share virtual wings at will."
"That's why we have a heavy task ahead of us over the next two months: finding a way to raise all our bond levels to five," Yaxiu said with complete earnestness. "You all need to rest well and relax so that you're in the right frame of mind to like me. If you aren't in good condition, I won't be able to respond to you properly either."
"Why do you make it sound like preparing for pregnancy...?" Vichy deadpanned, drawing everyone's eyes—a perspective none of them had even considered.
Yet compared to an ordinary vacation, Yaxiu's rationale sounded far more convincing. Even Vichy, who was the most inclined toward overtime, found herself slightly swayed.
The discussion paused for a moment. The savory aroma of the grilled meat was simply too intoxicating, and the grilled vegetables were especially fragrant; everyone was too busy chewing to speak.
Noticing that Diya's mouth was slick with grease, Yaxiu pulled out a napkin and wiped it for her.
Watching this, Weise remarked thoughtfully, "It seems amnesia really didn't wash away your feelings... To you, Lisidiya is still your daughter. True gold fears no fire—you really are a pervert."
"..." Dark lines crept down Yaxiu's forehead. "Could it just be that Diya is the only one who gets grease all over her face and doesn't wipe it off herself?"
Diya looked sheepish. "Hehe, I'm not that amazing."
"I wasn't praising you!" Yaxiu snapped.
Vichy asked suddenly, "Yaxiu, this time you only forgot the Witch, not us?"
"I forgot you two the first two times—"
"I mean, the memories of getting to know us again after you forgot us—did you not lose those when you made the sacrifice?"
Yaxiu shook his head. "No. If new memories could be lost as well, wiping out the Witch along with the rest of you, wouldn't I have woken up thinking Sword Princess was my only lover?"
Sonia froze, pausing mid-chew on her lamb chop, her face practically shouting: *Wait, that was an option?!*
Vichy asked, "If you sacrifice your memories one last time, will you forget everything, or will your newest memories remain?"
"I don't know." Yaxiu looked puzzled. "Does it make a difference?"
It made an enormous difference.
If he forgot every single memory, Yaxiu would become a blank slate, leaving them to compete on equal footing. But if the newest memories remained, it meant Yaxiu would forget the Sword Princess while retaining the memories of getting to know the Witch, Silver Lantern, and Maid anew—giving them an overwhelming first-mover advantage!
The Witch, Silver Lantern, and Maid exchanged glances, realizing that this might be their only opportunity—their sole chance to overturn the Sword Princess's hegemony!
Chapter 1247