Episode Forty-Nine: The Collective Pregnancy Incident

"I have it now!"

"I'm having a baby!"

"I'm only thirteen hundred years old and I can already propagate my species!"

The speaker was a rare breed among the arboreal people—one of the Soul-Rebirth Tree Clan. The rarity of the Soul-Rebirth Tree was only slightly less than that of the World Tree. Their entire population barely reached triple digits, as they were an immortal race whose lifespans were measured in millennia. It could take thousands, even tens of thousands, of years for a single sapling to be born. To expand their numbers, Soul-Rebirth Tree folk were masters of transformation, and with no fixed gender, their personal lives were rather chaotic. Whenever they found someone with desirable genes, they’d morph into their counterpart and attempt to mate.

Sangsang watched the elfin boy, who looked no more than fourteen or fifteen, cradle his belly with a silly grin as people around him congratulated him. She nearly wanted to cover her face. The Soul-Rebirth Tree’s level was too high; he couldn’t truly transform. His excitement would soon turn to disappointment.

“It’s starting,” Boya’s eyes gleamed, his smile so deep it was almost cloying.

Once the Soul-Rebirth Tree revealed its pregnancy, the influence that had camouflaged the painting’s effects began to weaken. One by one, the more strong-willed individuals noticed the changes in their own bodies—some clutched their bellies in confusion, others produced instruments for examination, some called for a scan from the main brain. Their reactions ranged from delight to shock to utter panic.

“What wonderful expressions,” Boya said, swirling his cloak to conceal himself and Sangsang. A vine chair grew beneath him; he lounged with his chin propped on one hand, watching with relish. “Worth waiting these days.”

One pregnancy might have been a cause for joy. Two or three, perhaps a coincidence. But when four, five, six, even seven or eight people all announced they were pregnant—some of them males without reproductive organs—even a fool would know this was no accident.

As the crowd grew more alarmed and everyone began checking themselves, a group of nearly adult human boys and girls burst into the room. Among them was Yu Zhen of the Immortal Spirit Clan, whom Sangsang had seen in the Forest of Myriad Trees. They stared at “Early Lotus,” faces turning pale, jaws clenched.

“It’s this one. My talent didn’t fail; it pointed straight to this.”

“I’m sure too. It’s this.”

“So it really is this?!”

“How dare she? How could Sang Hongye do this?! The Creative Media Exhibition allows for pranks at most, not real harm. How did she bypass the main brain’s safety check?!”

“Don’t forget, Sang Hongye is a native of the Wild Star Domain. She’s ignorant and fearless—there’s nothing she’d dare not do! Besides, for most races, pregnancy is a good thing. The main brain’s safety scan would show it as positive!”

“But what’s the principle behind this? In the illusion, I never interacted with the opposite sex or any mating-related objects. How could the instrument possibly detect that I’m… pregnant? The device isn’t broken—internal scans show a fetus. It’s a fact.”

“You forgot the scent of flowers—the pollen. Pollen is a plant’s reproductive organ.”

“What are they talking about? Pregnant? Why does it feel like there’s a heartbeat in my belly too…”

“Mine as well. I don’t want to have a baby! Mom—”

“Ridiculous! It’s a prank! No matter how real it seems, it’s still a prank! There’s no way these pregnancies will last!”

“Right, right! Just like last time, when someone sold Mother-Child Spring water as regular life energy water, made many people pregnant, but all the fetuses were finally broken down into basic energy—they never survived.”

In the end, all the speculation, accusations, and doubts merged into a furious outcry:

“Where’s Sang Hongye?! Sang Hongye, where are you?! Come out!”

Boya turned to Sangsang, raising an eyebrow. “They’re looking for you. Care to meet them?”

Sangsang gazed up at the sky, as if she heard nothing.

After a futile search, the crowd could only leave in anger—some to find their parents, some to find their teachers. Those certain it was just a prank began asking about Sang Hongye’s dormitory, determined to confront her in person to “soothe their startled hearts.” Some special races, like the Soul-Rebirth Trees, were already thanking Sang Hongye for her blessing, summoning their clans to request leave for fetal protection—whether true or not, they’d make it real in the end.

The exhibition hall buzzed with noise. Once the hidden properties of “Early Lotus” erupted, the news spread like a flood—not just across the entire Divine Academy, but even to the outside world. The exhibition’s main brain subsystem began receiving applications from special races eager to attend.

People came and went from the room—some confirming their condition, some expressing thanks, some looking for trouble, some being dragged by their partners to experience pregnancy together.

Standing in front of Sangsang was a silly-smiling Immortal Spirit girl who spoke even sillier words: “Hehe, my idol could do everything but have children before—now, even his last shortcoming is gone! I came to see the painting with my idol, and now we’re both parents. I’m so embarrassed… Mmm, the fetus is developing quickly, should be born within a month; its energy carries wood elf traits. I want a son just like my idol, and he’d better have a daughter, then our babies can be together.”

The news of the space-time law’s appearance was drowned in the collective pregnancy uproar. Occasionally, someone would praise Sang Hongye’s talent for fusing even space and time, only to be cursed by the pregnant crowd: “What use is fusing space and time? There are enough people in the academy who can do that to count on two hands, but none can condense the true essence of space-time. It looks impressive now, but when it’s time to break through the Profound Level, they’ll be stuck like their predecessors, forced to switch their main law!”

As for the creator at the center of the storm, she was being dragged by Boya to study how to improve her work.

“These youngsters are really something nowadays. Their innate laws even include rare ones that can probe the truth. If I’d known, I’d have added not just a silence command for those who noticed anomalies, but also… more layers… enhancements… make them utterly oblivious as their bellies grew, thinking they were just getting fat. Luckily, the realism of the fetuses was high enough to fool most people.”

Sangsang tugged her hood. “Teacher, I’ve stayed too long in the Divine Tomb. My head’s still aching. I want to go out for some air.”

Boya swallowed the rest of his words, gathered his energy, and waved her away. “Go, go. I’ll stay here to observe. You practice your faith sketching.”

Sangsang nodded, wrapped herself in the laws of reality and illusion, and exited the exhibition room. The onlookers outside were far less composed than before—like a hive of bees stirred up, buzzing incessantly. Their faces were flush with excitement as they crowded into her exhibition area. Most looked nearly adult, which puzzled her. “It’s just a fake pregnancy—why such a reaction? Do they really think it’s real?”

“I checked online,” Xiao Jin replied, equally baffled as data flashed before his eyes. “So far, over a thousand people have posted on the StarNet that they’re pregnant because of you—eighty percent believe it’s real. In advanced civilizations, pregnancy is a good thing, so they assume this is a life attribute. Most of those with objections are younger students who aren’t ready for offspring. Of those aged over seventy, the vast majority are thanking you.”

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