Cultivating in Honkai!

After leaving the office, I went back to Kiana. She stayed on the first floor.

"Can you bring me to your space?"

"Um. Was it the [Cloud Seeking Steps]?"

"Yes. I have a feeling I'll use it soon. I can't teleport long distances like you."

A tinge of confusion appeared on her face.

"Is it a problem? We won't be separating much. I already found my stinky old man.." She paused before continuing, "That's right. I haven't introduced you to him yet!"

Siegfried…

"Let's meet him this month?"

"Sure." I agreed.

Kiana soon handed out her palm. I touched it with my right hand. I have a stinging suspicion this isn't necessary… but I let her do as she pleases.

Moments later, I found myself back in the imaginary space. The extremely high concentration of spiritual qi felt very pleasing.

"This might take a few hours."

"That's alright. I can wait. I will give Seele a heads up…"

Kiana's figure soon disappeared.

This girl…

I can feel her complex feelings towards me. She thought she was hiding it well, but the changes are far too drastic compared to the normal Tuna.

It wasn't just her. Seele too.

The spiritual consciousness of a Purple Mansion can detect changes in emotions, so long as they remain unguarded. Kiana can hide it from me, but not always.

"Fu…"

This comes for later.

I began thinking of the [Cloud Seeking Steps]. The hard to describe dao rhymes danced around my eyes, showing me the changes occurring in nature. It is complementing my thousands of cross-references and other knowledge. It is piling up my mastery of [Cloud Seeking Steps].

All of my techniques and spells are at [Small Accomplishment]. The others are still a long way from [Great Accomplishment]... except for [Cloud Seeking Steps].

There is a reason why it only had a hundred pages. It is simple and short, yet its purpose is not just a placeholder.

At its base, [Cloud Seeking Steps] is slightly worse than other light techniques in my possession. It is compensated by how easy it is to learn. Meaning, it has no other power except for afterimages and fast movement. In terms of speed, it is also inferior to most techniques.

That changes in its [Great Accomplishment] mastery. I can integrate another "technique" with [Cloud Seeking Steps], regardless of the said technique's mastery.

At that mastery, a one-time opportunity for enlightenment emerges solely for the two techniques' integration. This pushes up the comprehension of the to-be-integrated technique to the [Great Accomplishment] mastery before being fused.

[Cloud Seeking Steps] will gain a new power and even faster movement speed. That makes up its weakness in the early stages. Most importantly, its nature of being easy to cultivate remains unchanged.

It is the equivalent of learning elementary math and gaining knowledge of advanced algebra. Strange, but that's how cultivation works.

Simply put, [Cloud Seeking Steps] pays off in the later stages. That is how it stands out from the rest of my light techniques. It turns a complex technique simple while retaining its power.

My trance continued until a low humming sound came to my ears.

I am surrounded by white clouds…

*****

The moment Shi Tian stepped into the [Great Accomplishment] mastery, several kilometer long white clouds engulfed him deeply. It contained a strange force that allowed him to comprehend the nature of his to-be-integrated technique, [Taiji Inversion]. It is the unique aspect contained within the [Cloud Seeking Steps].

In a daze, he found himself understanding it to [Great Accomplishment]. He has newfound applications of two elements: Five Elements and Yin-Yang.

[Taiji Inversion] imposed the 'reversal' of one's footsteps.

The Purple Mansion Realm allows it to manipulate space with the Dao of Five Elements and Dao of Yin and Yang.

Soon, the final stage came. [Taiji Inversion] began to merge with the [Cloud Seeking Steps]. The reversal of all things met with the method of stepping onto "clouds".

"Clouds" are subjective to this technique.

For the weak, it is the white clouds in the sky.

For the strong, it could be universes under their feet.

Shi Tian is not strong yet.

'Yet…'

The notion of yet implied the future.

A thought flashed in his mind.

'Taiji Inversion… Clouds… and Time?'

The white clouds around him rumbled. It expanded to the edges of this section of imaginary space.

The one-time enlightenment opportunity was completely utilized by him.

Buzz-!

Kiana came back and happened to see this scene. Everywhere around her, she could only see white fog. She tried to scan them using spiritual consciousness, only to be hit by a hard wall.

'It doesn't pass through?' She thought. '[Cloud Seeking Steps]... Is it this strong?'

Helplessly, she decided to walk around.

Five minutes…

Ten minutes…

Half an hour passed. Kiana walked through most of the floating rocks. She tried her hardest to backtrack Shi Tian's position.

"Oh?"

She happened to step onto a blank space filled with white dots. She mistook it as the space and stars.

In its center, he stood with his back to her sight.

A forked line appeared beneath his feet. It extended to three, five, ten, twenty… until it reached a hundred.

Shockingly, every forked line had his silhouette.

Kiana's heart skipped a beat.

'Those are not… afterimages.'

Her intuition told them they are all real.

Each one of this Shi Tian is a possibility manifested. They are parallel versions of him.

Under her eyes, they began to turn blurry, disappearing in motes of silver light. These silver lights gathered to the true Shi Tian.

The supernatural seed for the Dao of Clouds began to change. It turned into a fuzzy silver light, flickering every few moments.

From now on, this supernatural seed contained hints of the Dao of Time.

The white clouds throughout the imaginary space disappeared instantly like a mirage. Shi Tian opened his eyes and saw Kiana staring intently at him.

With a step, he reappeared right in front of her. She did not see any signs of his movements at all!

"How long did it take?" He asked.

"Thirty minutes."

"Not that long…"

Just like before, Kiana offered her hand. Shi Tian took it. They found themselves back in the orphanage's vicinity.

She was about to release her hold over Shi Tian when the latter tightened his grip.

"Hm?!"

"You said you want to eat, right? Let's go."

"Um."

A different kind of force surrounded them. Kiana felt the familiar presence of space and… time.

Moments later, the two found themselves in a desolate alley.

Shi Tian released his hand from hers.

"This is the bakery." She muttered. "You can teleport now?"

"Yes. But I need to hold your hand."

Her heart almost jumped out.

'He knows…'

With a tinge of embarrassment, she followed his back to the familiar bakery.

*****

A/N: Bonus chapter.