Cultivating in Honkai!

The entire morning passed quickly. Fu Hua asked a lot of things about immortal cultivation. I gladly answered her questions. It is satisfying to see her absorb this knowledge quickly. It really won't take long before I would call her Fellow Daoist.

For now…

I am doing nothing.

Kiana is sound asleep inside the imaginary space. It will take her two days to wake up. The azure dragon has a body of late Purple Mansion Realm. It also contained a trace of "True Dragon" bloodline, the equivalent of True Spirits among demons. These True Spirits are bonafide Dao Integration Realm demons; their strength are self-explanatory.

With its enormous flesh dealt by my spiritual cooking skills, it reached the pinnacle of third grade. It is akin to a peak third grade body cultivation pill.

Bronya and Seele got knocked out after eating a single piece of skewer. Looking at their current states, their body will definitely break through the peak of Foundation Establishment.

I noticed Seele's progress surpassing Bronya's in terms of body cultivation. Trace amounts of honkai energy could be seen within. It is evident she used the honkai energy for tempering.

Only those who could control the honkai can do this tempering. Without enough control, it becomes a gamble of life and death. I didn't have the time to properly teach them [Blade Mantra] before... but it's time to do so now.

I drowned in these thoughts for a while.

"And I was wondering why it's silent."

I looked behind and saw Sin Mal's small figure standing atop the roof tiles. Her voice held the same confident tone from before.

"Where is she?"

"Sleeping. Cultivation takes longer with higher realms."

"So, Sister Bronya…"

"Sleeping, too."

"..."

One look and I can tell she is bored. The orphanage's management lied on the personnel Tesla sent. Though, Sin Mal aspires to become independent and take care of it like Cocolia. After all, she is the inheritor of Cocolia's assets.

Tesla promised her to release it once she is deemed capable.

"Why don't you go back to studying?" I asked.

"It's too boring. I want Sister Bronya to teach me…"

"...Shrimp."

"Hey?!"

Sin Mal wore a startled look. Her body started to shake out of pure embarrassment.

"You can't beat me no matter how hard you look. You will have to endure my teasing forever."

"You..!"

A strange sense of satisfaction arose upon seeing her so flustered.

I am confused why she is acting like this. Isn't she supposed to be like, well, a hard-headed psycho who can do everything for Bronya's attention?

Why is she like a tsundere now?

In the end, Sin Mal endured silently. She tried her powers on me several times. During the first time, I let her know what it felt like to be disciplined by Asian parents (i.e., butt spanking).

I waved my hand. A tinge of redness emerged on her face.

"You win!"

She angrily stormed off below. My [Encompassing Eyes] worked permanently. I can see her inner turmoil more.

...

Why is she happy?

*****

Otto stared at Fu Hua's departing back. The latter returned to Schicksal's HQ on the same day. She reported her encounter with the mysterious swordsman, who turned out to be an affiliate of a Previous Era warrior.

She emphasized the gift from these two figures: the Second Divine Key.

"You have changed, old friend."

Otto waited for Fu Hua to explain her changes, but to no avail. He did not say anything and acted as if everything was normal.

"But the Divine Key. How generous." He turned his eyes to the holographic screen. "They are giving away gifts for no reason."

It was Kiana's full control over the Second Herrscher Core at first. Otto did nothing and gained the result he wanted to see. He was supposed to let K-423 experience "love", transcend all struggles, and become the ideal Second Herrscher.

Shi Tian's intervention did everything for him.

Now, he's even receiving the Second Divine Key for a low price.

Technically, it's not for free. Shi Tian asked for the Gem of Serenity and the Seventh Divine Key, Fenghuang Down.

In exchange, he will give the Second Divine Key and the corresponding knowledge about the Imaginary Tree. The Gem of Desire's purpose is to experiment with valkyries.

The Fenghuang Down, while a handy tool, is outweighed by the value of the Key of Infinity. Otto's end-game was to utilize the Imaginary Tree to revive someone, after all.

The deal was generous enough, so much that Otto immediately caught onto an interesting discovery.

"...They are giving it to me."

Will Otto care about this little scheme?

Hell no.

He willingly bit the bait.

As long as it will lead to Kallen's salvation, he will do anything.

*****

Fu Hua's eyes looked back. She couldn't claim she understands Otto fully, but from their conversation, she knew he would gladly accept the Second Divine Key. His skepticism towards her increased too. Nevertheless, he did not point it out.

'Things are… changing.'

Shi Tian did not shy away from telling her the full details. A brand new plan, completely different from Project STIGMA, was introduced.

Even if the Previous Era knew about the Cocoon's true objective of a successful embrace, they had no means to act upon it. Only with the Miss Pink Elf's sacrifice did it open up in the Current Era.

With such a clear objective and the development of "human" Herrschers, the new plan stood a fighting chance. Seeing a new possibility of winning is enough to motivate the two Flamechasers.

This renewed sense of hope caused untold changes to Fu Hua's mind. Her serene mental state was broken when she came across someone. It was a young girl. Her bright golden hair was tied to a neat ponytail.

It was Durandal.

At the age of twelve, she was conferred as an S Rank Valkyrie. Her strength backed it up. Her extremely swift promotion was partly due to her overwhelming achievements—overwhelming enough to convince most, if not all.

Her pair of blue eyes are staring at Fu Hua. When the latter met her gaze, she smiled as a greeting.

Unbeknownst to Fu Hua, Durandal felt something on her. It was an unspeakable feeling, as if there was a sword inside Fu Hua.

It felt similar to a stigma but not a stigma;

Like a sword but not just a sword.

In short, it was confusing.

'Fu Hua. The Overseer often assigns confidential missions to her but…' She thought. 'This is not the first time it appeared. It has become stronger now.'

Durandal noticed Fu Hua's changes a year ago. The sword-like feeling was faint. It did trigger the subconscious reaction of the sword inside her body.

Today, that feeling was magnified dozens of times. If not for the sword inside her being unable to properly communicate, Durandal had the feeling it might go crazy.

'If it can help them…'