Chapitre 31: XXXI
[System: Madam, do you believe that I'd allow you to hijack this machine?]
Through Gundam Exia's interface, the System created a pop-up.
"... I'm not…"
[System: You're damn right, I would. Have fun.]
Xia Qingyue blinked with a confused expression on her face. "What are you?"
[System: Mr Rocky's companion, you could say. You know him as Long Ke… but that's not his real name. Deep down, he is still true to his first name. Elsewise he would have never built this.]
"Rocky? That was his first name?" Xia Qingyue raised an eyebrow.
[System: Nah, that's just a nickname. His real first name is… oh, he'll probably tell you anyway.]
"So it's true… this being his second life?"
[System: This is what he gets by surrounding himself with smart-ass women… and being less secretive.]
"So you're also the reason why he randomly reacts to seemingly nothing at times… no?"
[System: Yes, very much so. Rocky isn't delusional or has any invisible friends. Not that I know of, anyway.]
"Do you know of his first life?" Xia Qingyue wondered.
[System: Oh, he was a complete loser who was shy, especially around girls he likes. He was a doormat that others stepped on quite often. Also, he was a lazy bum who had way too many hobbies to distract him from his responsibilities.]
"He had no redeeming qualities?" Xia Qingyue tilted her head. "None at all?"
[System: Rocky worked hard whenever someone would light up a fire under his ass and was quite intelligent when he wanted to be. He always dreamed of meeting the 'perfect' girl who would understand and love him for who he was… a hopeless romantic, you could say. He was absolutely obsessed with a game called Basketball to the point of harming his poor feet on several occasions. He was rather easy to befriend… and very loyal to his friends and family. He treated others as they treated him. For that matter, he treated most people better than they did him. Rocky was very passionate regarding the things he loved and still is, for that matter.]
"... How did his life end?"
[System: Darling, I adore you but you do be asking way too many questions. Ask him yourself, would you?]
"So be it."
Xia Qingyue nodded, her eyes glancing at the camera view of Gundam Exia. After fiddling about, she gained control of the machine through her profound energy and soared high into the skies.
~
After waking up, the first thing Rokas did was look for his Gundam. Seeing it in his courtyard, he let out a sigh of relief. Though, he didn't expect Xia Qingyue to be standing beside it.
"Good morning… Rocky." Xia Qingyue smiled slightly. "It sounds like a pleasant nickname to me, don't you think, dear?"
"... Rocky?" Rokas raised an eyebrow in confusion. "That's… how… oh. Oooh."
'Snitches get stitches, you pelican.'
[System: I didn't say all that much, to be fair. Your fault for being a Peacock and flexing all your 'creativity'.]
'So I can't have any fun in my life? I can't be myself and chase my passions?'
[System: Never said you can't. It's just that you have the responsibility to explain that, especially to your loved ones.]
"Is there something you'd want to tell me?" Xia Qingyue tilted her head slightly.
"Actually, yeah… there is." Rokas nodded. "The truth about me is long overdue."
…
"So… where should I start," Rokas spoke, glancing between Xia Qingyue and Cang Yue. No doubt, Jasmine and Li Suo were listening in. "Well, my first life wasn't here, for one. I was first born on an insignificant planet called Earth where this whole cultivation thing didn't really exist. Everyone was… ordinary, for the most part. There were supreme geniuses who discovered many of the world's mysteries and made some crazy inventions, relatively freakish athletes and the like but no one was cleaving mountains in half. Instead of strength, money ran the world."
Seeing as they remained silent, he kept going.
"I met my sudden end when I was eighteen. I did not know how exactly… but I had lost all I knew within an instant. My mother, father, sister, uncle, friends… everyone was lost to me. Everyone but myself as I woke with the name and memories of 'Jiufang Ke'." Rokas sighed, shaking his head. "I… hate that I never got to say goodbye or fulfil my potential. I hate that I could never prove my mother right… instead, I live with the memory of a failure. I live with the terrible thought that I left them all behind… with no way of seeing any of them again…"
Rokas stopped as he began to feel emotional and teary-eyed. He thought that he had moved on, he truly did, but the memories of his old life simply could not be erased.
"You're not a failure."
Xia Qingyue brought him closer into her embrace. She wiped away his tears, all the while resting his head in her bosom.
"And you never were…"
"I… I'm sorry. I thought I had… moved on." Rokas sighed, sniffling slightly. "Crying isn't very manly… is it?"
"Crying for your loved ones isn't wrong at all." Cang Yue refuted, smiling slightly. "If anything, it shows how much you cared for them."
"... Alright, you don't have to keep me trapped in there forever." Rokas chuckled, wiping away the last of his tears as he left Xia Qingyue's embrace. "I feel much better now."
"I thought you'd stay longer…" Xia Qingyue muttered, smiling a little as she looked at Rokas. "So, what was your first name?"
"Rokas," Rokas replied, scratching his hair. "Actually, I used to get made fun of by many uncreative colleagues. Rock-ass was the favourite catch-phrase ever since I was like seven."
"... Oh, is that so? I think they were just envious of your unique name." Xia Qingyue caressed his cheek.
"It was a little out of the ordinary where I was studying…" Rokas nodded.
"Could you do me a favour?"
"Hmmm?"
Xia Qingyue's magnificent eyes shined like the stars in the sky.
"I want my own Gundam."
"Seriously?" Rokas' eyes widened.
"What… would it be too much?"
"No, I think it's pretty cool that you'd want your own." Rokas chuckled rather cheerfully. "I'd love to make another, for that matter."
"Take your time." Xia Qingyue nodded.
"Then… I want one too." Cang Yue pouted slightly. "I can't be the only one here without one."
"Sure thing." Rokas nodded with a smile.
~
A month later, it would be Long Yinping's fourth birthday. Being Rokas' only child and Cang Wanhe's most doted descendent, the celebration was nothing short of spectacular. She received a mountain of gifts from powerhouses all across the Profound Sky Continent. Given who her father was, this was clearly an attempt to curry favour. Rokas naturally accepted everything on her behalf in a courteous manner.
Afterwards, Rokas showed his own gift.
"What's this, daddy?"
Long Yinping blinked, observing the rather large box which was even bigger than her. She was extraordinarily cute despite towering over everyone around her age at 4ft tall. Her long brown hair was neatly brushed and braided for the occasion, although it would undoubtedly be messy the next today. She wore a luxurious blue dress that signified her regal status, although she didn't really like dresses all that much.
"A very special gift… I hope you like it."
Rokas untied the seal and sprang open the box, revealing an SD version of Gundam Barbatos that stood 1.5m tall alongside its resized armoury. Although, the weapons were far from lethal.
"Woah…" Long Yinping's eyes widened with amazement. "Is it like the blue one daddy was trying to make for so long?"
"It's… similar. Except, this one is just for you."
"Does it… have a name?"
"Gundam Barbatos," Rokas replied, smiling a little as he took out a remote. "Someday, you'll be able to control it with your profound energy. But… for now, you'll have to settle with this remote."
"I can… control it?" Long Yinping's eyes widened further.
"Mhm, of course, you can." Rokas nodded, patting her head.
"Okay, let me try…"
Long Yinping took the remote tablet and played around with it, making Gundam Barbatos walk around, swing its mace and even complete a stiff moonwalk… which was a coded command in the interface.
"Daddy…"
"Hmm?" Rokas lowered himself and observed her expression. "What do you think of my gift, sweetheart?"
"It's… the best gift ever!"
"Oh-"
Long Yinping embraced her father rather tightly with a radiant smile on her face. Rokas, in turn, couldn't help but smile himself. It was a truly heartwarming feeling to see her so happy… especially when he wasn't so certain whether she'd like the gift or not.
'That's my girl.'
Rokas affectionately kissed her forehead with a proud smile.
"Don't stay up too late, okay? You'll have plenty of time to play around tomorrow."
"Mn… I won't."
…
The following morning, Long Yinping's maids called up both Rokas and Cang Yue.
"What happened?" Cang Yue looked around, noticing crushed doll heads rolling around.
"The little princess decided to use her new toy, Bartados-"
"It's Gundam Barbatos." Long Yinping corrected, shaking her head. "Not Bartados."
"She used it to destroy all of her dolls, one by one. Even the one Sword Master Xuanyuan Wentian had brought…" The maid stated with a disapproving look. "She has no idea how precious such gifts are and how disrespectful it is to so carelessly destroy them."
"It's just some useless dolls I didn't even like." Long Yinping rolled her eyes.
"See? No respect at all."
"Personally, I don't really see the problem as long as she tidies up her own mess." Rokas shrugged his shoulders. "It's just some dolls, at the end of the day."
"Oh, right… her room is also a complete mess because of Barbatos." The maid sighed.
"Leave this to us, for a moment." Cang Yue grabbed the maid's shoulder and smiled. With a nod, she left and Cang Yue bent down beside Long Yinping. "There's nothing wrong with disliking the gifts people give you. Still, as a princess, you have to be courteous, kind and considerate to those around you."
"I…"
"All of those dolls you destroyed could have helped several little girls who are not princesses and don't have parents who can afford them."
Long Yinping looked down with a guilty expression. "I didn't… know that…"
"It's okay." Cang Yue smiled, patting her head. "Next time, when you have something you don't want that would help others who are less fortunate… give it to them. It'll make them really happy."
Long Yinping nodded. "So then they can be happy too…"
"And don't forget to clean up after your mess. It's always the right thing to do instead of making your maids do it for you. It's enough work having to run after you all the time." Rokas chuckled.
"Okay… I will."
Cang Yue and Rokas observed as Long Yinping got straight to work, neatly placing all the broken dolls and toys on one hill.
"You gave her that mini Gundam and she forgot about everything else." Cang Yue chuckled.
"I can't blame her." Rokas smiled. 'If I had a gift like that on my fourth birthday… oh boy.'
'I suppose that's one point of being a parent… giving what you couldn't have.'
~
After being gifted with the Barbatos, she was inseparable from it. Every waking moment of the day, she had it beside her. Even when she slept, she would occasionally cuddle it like a massive teddy bear. Eventually, Rokas created mini gundams for her to 'fight' with Barbatos instead of smashing dolls. She absolutely adored the activity and developed an even deeper bond with Rokas, her beloved father.
She became so dedicated that she secretly started practising for the Elementary Profound Realm, swiftly breaking through and beginning to control her Barbatos directly through profound energy. For a girl her age, that would be considered dangerous… except for the fact that her endurance and veins were beyond extraordinary.
Once a few weeks passed, Rokas took Gundam Exia and departed straight for the Azure Cloud Continent.
[System: Going to save Su Ling'er?]
'Who?' Rokas joked.
[System: Scum Che's waifu, duh.]
'Guess I could stop by… but that's not my main objective.'
…
The three masters of the top sects of the Azure Cloud Continent had cornered Yun Gu, the medical saint. Many elders also surrounded him, seeking the power of the Sky Poison Pearl. It seemed as if negotiations were going quite stale…
"Old fogey yun, hand over the Sky Poison Pearl at once. This is your final warning." Zuo Hanshuo, Sect Master of the Heaven Thwarting Sect, extended his hand.
"You only seek the Sky Poison Pearl's poison for your own desires… giving it to any of you, who lack understanding in its poison, would only cause disaster to the entire continent. Even I can barely contain iit from breaking free and bringing chaos to our land."
"Mhmph… excuses, so much for Medical Saint Yun Gu! In the end, you are blinded by your own greed! Perhaps a lost hand would convince you otherwi-"
Bam.
Blitz.
Zuo Hanshuo's eyes widened as his entire arm was incinerated by an azure beam.
"What…" He looked up, in the direction of the beam.
Gundam Exia stood above them all, high in the skies. It lowered its hand, elegantly observing the chaos beneath.
"What… is that… thing!?"
The entire crowd of cultivators were thoroughly stupefied by the Gundam in the skies. Its particle emission suddenly rose, forming a set of beautiful green wings resembling that of an angel.
Yun Gu looked up and saw hope… perhaps there was some sense of righteousness in the world, after all.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone