The Investiture: Unlimited Blade Works Nezha

After sending Hera off, Athena gazed at the sleeping infant with satisfaction and said, "My dear brother, how enviable it is to be nurtured by the Heavenly Queen."

With those words, she too disappeared with the baby in her arms.

When Nezha woke again, he found himself in a palace. Thanks to Hera's milk, his infant body now had the ability to protect itself despite still being that of a baby.

His Divine Skills, Spells, and Arrays were all rejected by the laws of this world. Upon his arrival, it was as if his Level 60 character had been stripped of all equipment and skills, resetting him back to Level One—making him unusually fragile by this world's standards.

Hera's milk, however, was akin to directly boosting him from Level One to Level Ten, strong enough to leave the Newbie Village.

Although Nezha still had no clue how to obtain the Hongmeng Purple Qi, this was undoubtedly a good start. He accepted the favor from Hera and Athena.

After a few days of life in the palace, Nezha received a name in this world, which, unsurprisingly, was Hercules, symbolizing the glory of Heavenly Queen Hera.

The woman who had been taking care of him but dared not claim him was likely Alcmena, who believed herself to be his mother. However, after some inspection, Nezha found no connection between his bloodline and hers.

This confirmed that he had been forcibly placed into this world by some overarching will.

Well, that was fine—after all, who has the leisure to acknowledge so many mothers?

For now, though, he indeed needed a stable environment to grow. Whether for self-preservation or exploration of this world, following the "script" temporarily seemed the wisest choice.

Although all of Nezha's other methods were suppressed, there was one power that worked universally across all worlds—his physical body. Having spent years among the Witch Clan, he had mastered countless Body Refining techniques.

Thanks to Hera's milk, his body was now brimming with energy. Nezha selected a Body Refining Skill and began quietly cultivating it.

The infant's body appeared to sink into deep sleep, but beneath the tender skin, energy flowed continuously, transforming into blood energy that coursed through his body, nourishing his skin, muscles, bones, and all his organs.

...

After returning to Mount Olympus, Hera was not in the best of moods. It wasn't the revelation of Hercules' true parentage that disturbed her; it was simply a bout of maternal affection making her miss the child.

In her palace, she couldn't help but think of the infant who had suckled at her breast. After much contemplation, she finally sent her messenger to investigate the child.

The result was infuriating. Upon investigating, she immediately flew into a rage: that adorable infant was actually one of her husband's illegitimate offspring!

Hera's first emotion wasn't disgust but the fiery anger of betrayal, feeling deceived. As the goddess of marriage, she loathed Zeus's mistresses and illegitimate children.

Her initial thought, fueled by fury, was to eliminate the child. Yet images of the baby smiling sweetly at her flashed intermittently in her mind.

Jealousy over her husband's infidelity and hatred for his illegitimate child gave rise to the desire to kill Hercules. Yet her maternal instinct continuously worked against her, urging her not to go through with it.

The two conflicting thoughts clashed violently in her mind, leaving the beautiful Heavenly Queen physically and emotionally drained. After seven days of inner turmoil, jealousy and rage finally overpowered her compassion.

Hera dispatched two venomous serpents to end Hercules's life.

One late night in the palace of Thebes, two venomous snakes slithered slowly into Hercules's sleeping chamber. The snakes raised their heads, ready to strike at the baby in the cradle, but the infant suddenly opened his eyes.

His pale purple pupils coldly swept over the bodies of the snakes. The poised snakes froze abruptly. Under the baby's gaze, they suddenly bit each other with ferocity.

Their glowing green fangs interlocked and then shattered violently, leaving the snakes with blood-stained mouths. They pressed their snouts to the floor in submissive surrender.

The infant cast no further glance at the snakes, instead looking up toward the heavens with an innocent, adorable smile before drifting back into slumber.

The two snakes, relieved, hurriedly flicked their tongues, swallowing their own blood and even the dust from the ground. They bit down on their broken fangs and slithered away from the palace, vanishing without a trace.

Watching all this unfold, Hera suddenly hurled the flower basket beside her in an outburst of frustration. However, when she saw the baby's smile, a faint sense of relief crept into her heart.

"Fine, let him live for now. Sometimes, death isn't necessarily the worst punishment."

...

In the blink of an eye, twelve years passed. At the age of twelve, Hercules, as a god-sent child, was treated with the utmost care by the King and Queen. During this time, he received instruction not only in martial arts but also in culture, art, driving, music, and more. Every teacher assigned to him was one of the finest talents of their era.

After living in this world for twelve years, Nezha's only impression was: primitive. Utterly primitive. Take, for instance, the old man before him, humming and chattering annoyingly—he was none other than Apollo's illegitimate child, Linus, blessed with Apollo's musical talent.

Yet in Nezha's eyes, even the playful works of No Brainer and Unhappy carried more artistic depth than this.

As for everything else worth mentioning? There wasn't much. Simply put, after teaching for three days, most instructors left dejectedly, thinking they'd utterly wasted their lives.

Linus, however, glared angrily at the inattentive Hercules below. "What kind of attitude is this? Everyone calls you a jack-of-all-trades genius. If I can't teach you properly, won't that reflect on me as an incapable teacher rather than you as a clueless student?"

"Hercules! Have you mastered the vocal techniques of singing yet? Why aren't you focusing?"

Nezha initially planned to humor him and be done with it, but the old geezer was persistent. How could a former Emperor like him lower himself to bawling songs? What a joke!

Additionally, the old man's teaching was mediocre at best, and his unreasonable punishments made matters worse.

"I've mastered it. I can even compose songs," Nezha replied nonchalantly.

The old man hesitated for a moment. Hercules's reputation as a prodigious child had spread across the kingdom, so he asked cautiously, "What song?"

"'Phoenix Legend,'" Nezha declared confidently.

The legendary Phoenix, the immortal bird, always singing its enchanting melody at dawn, and burning itself with spices, twigs, and leaves at the approach of death to be reborn anew.

Hearing the song's title, the old man was briefly taken aback. A legendary bird and an epic song—it sounded grand enough. Though his teaching prowess left much to be desired, Linus's musical skill in this era was unmatched. He gave up his teaching podium, adjusted his clothes, and sat upright below, readying himself with an "I'm all ears" expression.

Nezha found it laughable watching his behavior. "Perhaps you'd like to spin around? Shall I grab a rotating chair so you can light up your buzzer if I sing well?"