Cultivating in Honkai!

Fu Hua's voice is very addicting to hear. It is strangely calming. Maybe it is her aura of living for thousands of years.

What baffles me though is her acceptance.

I didn't expect it to be this easy.

When it comes to judging people, my sword cultivation alone can tell their sincerity.

I can see it from Fu Hua.

In the end, I could only accept it.

Hence, the question-and-answer portion started.

"The next level of Blade Mantra…"

"True Form. It requires shattering the false emptiness and maintaining a strong sense of self."

"Herrscher…"

"I sealed Kiana's Herrscher Consciousness. She can now use her powers better."

It continued with honkai-related matters for a while.

Just then, I sensed several fluctuations on the floor below. A quick peek revealed Bronya and Seele sleeping on their beds. Their aura fluctuated strongly. Their bodies sported a tinge of redness.

Near the door, Kiana is caught up on completing her steak. She savored each bite slowly, with her face having a tinge of red. The nutrients within the compressed dragon steak is huge. It is much stronger for Bronya and Seele.

"Is that from your friends?"

"Yes." I admitted. "Have you come across an invisible energy?"

"...When I followed you before."

The entire orphanage is casted with [Two Phase Art]. It sits at middle first grade, but with Seele and Kiana, it is not an issue to maintain it at the third grade. The humanoid spiritual qi reactors solve all energy-related problems.

A ball of blue mist converged atop my palm.

"This is spiritual qi. A completely different energy from honkai energy…"

Fu Hua absorbed all the cultivator knowledge like a sponge. She relied on her mastery of [Blade Mantra] to cross-reference things, making it extremely satisfying to teach her.

As for her Spirit Roots, they went as expected: high grade Spirit Roots with fire and wood elements.

"The Jing is responsible for nourishing the body. Qi is to hold spiritual qi. Shen is the nourishment of the mind. Fill all three dantians to the brim and you will complete Qi Refining. What comes next is the sublimation of life, Foundation Establishment…"

"It is the adaptation of three aspects to spiritual qi? Then, the so-called dao rhymes is the human body housing traces of authorities?"

"You got them all right."

Teaching her took hours, yet none of us got tired. She held a unique charm from the rest. Her fully awakened version is leagues ahead of her former self. I can see the Immortal Jingwei at her prime.

Add to that her addicting voice, time passed by swiftly. When morning came, it was time to send her off.

"...return and report to your overseer."

"Are you certain?"

"Su and I agreed to it. The Second Divine Key shall belong to Otto Apocalypse."

Back then, Su already made arrangements for the future. He knew the 32,000 singularities could be reached with enough luck and effort. He stored the Second Divine Key beneath Glastonbury, in preparation of it being excavated by Schicksal. In the game, Su even gave all the knowledge about the Imaginary Tree to Otto.

All of that was broken by my appearance. Su was forced to take back the Second Divine Key to take me away. My arrival to this world spiralled everything out of his original plans.

Most of the parallel universes with my presence disappeared a few seconds after they appeared. Su could only glimpse upon some of them. The remaining ones are definitely unimportant, such as Bubble Worlds where everyone's living a school life.

Su couldn't come up with a proper plan at that time, only that there are a lot of parallel universes that ended in our victory.

I suggested we focus more on his original arrangements, and so we did.

Otto's actions single-handedly contributed to the trio's growth, therefore arriving at Kiana embracing the Cocoon. All of that came from Durandal's Bubble World, Kiana's Second Herrscher Power, and the Second Divine Key.

As things stand, it is much better to give the Second Divine Key to him.

It is basically an open scheme. Otto knows it is a bait, yet he could not help but take it. Once he takes it, his next actions will be predictable to a certain extent. It is much better than him being highly unpredictable—or even doing some crazy things.

With the honkai becoming stronger and stronger, time is limited. Only Otto knows how many crazy things he would do to accomplish his plans.

"...This sounds more like him." Fu Hua commented on my lengthy explanation. "Got it. I will act according to the plans."

She was about to leave when I called her out.

"How about we eat some breakfast?"

Just like that, I secured a meal with the Immortal Phoenix.

*****

"...Come again?"

"Your mission is to secure the children."

"..."

Raven did not speak.

Being deployed in Siberia did not cause her trouble except for some bad memories. She followed Gray Serpent's instructions and investigated a certain town. Nothing noteworthy stood out. She was confused until she spotted two girls.

While she was looking at them with a scope, one of the girls turned to look at her. The flat-looking girl's gaze was contained with some sort of power. It induced a strong headache on her, almost prompting Raven to pull the Divine Key's trigger. Fortunately, she did not do so. She stopped observing them since then.

Later today, she received a new directive from Gray Serpent.

"The unforeseen circumstances halted my work with Anti-Entropy's Executor. It needs to continue. If it succeeds, they will be given the chance to return."

'If not…'

Raven already knew the answer in her heart.

But then, this is the confusing part. When it comes to her missions, she won't hesitate to kill and do dirty things. When it comes to innocent children, however, she tries her best to purposefully fail her mission.

Missions involving children are not often assigned to her. For the ones she comes across on missions, she sends them to Schicksal or Anti-Entropy's orphanages. This is the last bit of "kindness" amidst the blood on her hands.

Gray Serpent knew about Raven's tendency; rather one of his avatars knew, which resulted to every Gray Serpent knowing about it. He tacitly allowed it, disregarding the subtle clashes between her and Jackal.

Yet, he assigned such a task to her. It was nothing short of confusing to Raven's eyes. Assigning her to a mission she might compromise is unlike the Gray Serpent she knew.

"Remember. This mission cannot fail."

Beep.

The communication line was cut off.

"What is he planning this time…"