Cultivating in Honkai!

"Huff…"

I took another deep breath. My entire experience today was a rollercoaster. It cost me a lot mentally.

It's around… what?

Oh. 11:38 AM. It's still the afternoon?

The entire chase felt like hours. From rescuing Seele up to driving outside the city, it took less than fifteen minutes. 

I do wonder how Bronya got here, though. 

I looked at them through the back mirror. Bronya is hugging Seele. The latter is crying, it seems.

Do I approach them? No, it's weird.

This is as far as I go. I got a thank you as a reward. I did not expect much when I saved her.

"That's right."

I operated the [Two Phase Art]. Immediately, I saw a sparse number of clouds in the seat beside me. I looked at the back and saw its source—Seele. The pillar of clouds are taller compared to last time. It possessed the same esoteric look I could not fully understand. More so, It is attached to the spiritual qi.

"Natural Dao Rhyme."

It should be that or something similar. In my knowledge, it is a kind of natural phenomena or a natural-made item. It is spiritual qi used by Purple Mansion Realm cultivators and above, the so-called middle grade spiritual qi.

Low grade spiritual qi only has energy; middle grade spiritual qi has energy and dao rhymes.

In short, it is a boost for learning all sorts of techniques—Supernatural Powers included.

The thought of staying at Cocolia's orphanage came to my mind. 

If Seele is present everyday, I might be able to gain something out of that cloud pillar. Even if I cannot benefit from it now, it should work later.

"Nope."

I shook my head. It conflicts with Kiana's purpose. The only way it happens is if I leave her.

I won't do that.

The months of being with her made it evident. I am Kiana's only friend. 

Admittedly, her presence is also irreplaceable in my mind.

"I should drive past them."

Soon, I began driving back into the city. It did not take long for me to come across the two girls, going further until they are no longer visible.

*****

It took thirty minutes to return to the hotel. I parked the stolen car in a shopping mall. I left through the mall, rode a taxi, and returned successfully.

"Well…"

My hand grasped the phone inside my pocket. Kiana bought it with her omnipotent black card. 

I don't know how, but the stars aligned. She came up with the idea of 'needing a phone to communicate' in case we get separated. Her argument made a lot of sense, and as such, I agreed with her.

[What do you want for lunch?]

[Anything.]

[OK.]

Our text message ended like that. She must have thought of the tiring events today. That's why she offered to buy lunch instead of rushing straight here.

I won't lie. It is touching.

"Huh…"

The longer I sat on this couch, the more my mental fatigue caught up. The shooting… It's too easy to kill someone.

Never had I thought of it until now. The calming sensation I get whenever I start a fight might be linked to my adrenaline. I push all the emotions I feel aside and let them stockpile until the fight ends.

We are lucky incidents about the honkai are rare. Anti-Entropy did as much work as Schicksal when it came to cover-ups. If not for the [Two Phase Art] that lets us find those honkai dealers in Russia's cities, we might have been wandering around aimlessly.

At least, we can ask for Siegfried's news now.

Even so…

"One trigger and a click…"

I am just an ordinary college student. Killing someone is enough to warrant me nightmares before.

Now, there's nothing much. I knew I had to kill to prevent them from harming someone else. It's self-explanatory for zombies. For the goons, they had it coming. Any form of malicious deeds they made invalidates any sort of empathy.

The feeling of restlessness only grew as time passed. I could not sit still and went inside the bathroom. I washed my face several times. The refreshing feeling did not come.

I tried to practice the [Toushen Manual], but to my surprise, I started failing.

"Heart Demon… Is this it?"

I don't know if it's caused by my insufficient mental qualities.

…

I need to face it.

I started doubting myself whether I made the right decision. I could have lived a comfortable life… for like what? Four to five years?

Sirin's re-awakening won't happen until then. The global situation won't become a mess. I can still complete Qi Refining in three to four years. I can handle the low-level dangers by then.

There's an even safer option: Don't interfere.

I can let things play out as it is. The Current Era is not as hopeless as the Previous Era. Watching in the sidelines as Kiana embraces the Cocoon of Finality is the most optimal choice.

Instead, I chose the risky way. I wanted my cultivation techniques to create a better story than the original. A story that is not riddled with tragedies and sacrifices left and right.

Arrogance?

Yes.

I am in the position of an observer up above. I know things that are just about to happen; things that never happened; things that is happening. I have so many advantages it'll seem like I threw the game if I failed.

I shook my head whenever I see Kiana's recklessness.

Turns out, I am also reckless. I charged into a battle without knowing much.

I don't know the upper limits of a Herrscher's abilities. Their destructiveness tends to become limited to a city or continent at best. It's a different thing when the imaginary tree shenanigans plus the eleven-dimensional stuff are added together.

It's a total hack... and that's the problem.

I don't know about their hacks. Interfering with higher dimensions is something done by Golden Core Realms and above.

Can a Foundation Establishment handle that?

Nope.

The realm above that, Purple Mansion, begins nurturing the 'Seed of Supernatural Powers'. Golden Core is the stage where it becomes a full-on 'Supernatural Powers'. Nascent Soul integrates those 'Supernatural Powers' into you, turning them innate.

I won't be able to cultivate to that stage in the timeline I laid out.

A cultivator's physical destructive capabilities are there, but in terms of hacks, I am unsure if I can fight against honkai. It's a cheat. What can I do if Herrschers possess the supernatural powers of a Golden Core, or worse, the innate supernatural powers of a Nascent Soul?

In short…

Can I even do something against them?

"Ugh…"

This snapped me out.

I remembered Mei's miserable appearance. I shook my head when she got caught up in the 'Can I do anything?' part.

Now that I am in a similar place, I can't help but feel ironic.

"Fuck this."

That's it.

I had long decided to court death. If I back out now… I won't forgive myself for being cowardly.

I won't do it anymore. I feared death. Even now, I still fear death. All the pep talks from before is me lying to myself.

I also fear that ultimate simp, Otto. He is like that one sword of damocles that can strike down at any time. The only thing that matters to him is whether or not it brings back Kallen.

Me consoling myself not to think about him?

Since I mentioned Otto, let's add Kevin to the mix. Even Fu Hua wants to run at his first sight during her time with Kiana in ARC City. That's how strong and menacing he is.

The bearer of the Cocoon's fragment and the operator of Project STIGMA... his strength is unquestionable.

...

I am lying to myself.

I am very scared.

…

No.

I don't want it.

I don't want things to continue like this.

Living in fear is not living at all!

As long as I can see through the end of my choices now…

That's all I want.

Click.

Hum!

The sound of a bell chime rang in my mind. I fell into a weird and special state. My worries started disappearing. My mind fell into absolute clarity. The world turned into nothingness…

Only my heart remained.

A clear heart that can be reflected;

A sword remains free and unfettered; 

Encompassing both destruction and creation by virtue;

With one swing, the sword cuts all false and true.

…

A moment of clarity appeared while I was in a daze.

"Sword Heart."

The very first step into becoming a sword cultivator. It required a firm willpower; not unyielding or flexible. A firm will unique to oneself.

The golden orb gave me the knowledge and allowed me to recall it photographically. Here lies the gap between knowing and applying. I know the effects and prerequisites of a 'Sword Heart'. I tried to get it for months, but to no avail.

Turns out, cultivation is a progress I must go through. Application is crucial. Being true to oneself is needed. Every single process must be went through.

Immortal cultivation is not just cultivating qi. It is also the cultivation of your mental state.

"The cultivation boost..!"

Job specialties such as Sword Heart, Bow Heart, Spear Heart, Innate Spiritual Flames, and Treasure Organs increase cultivation speed. Its first appearance grants a huge realm progress.

My mind soon became calm. I locked in to the sudden surge of my cultivation increase.