The faint light of dawn plated the pavilion in the back mountain with a layer of pale gold. Irene sat cross-legged in the center of the pavilion, her eyes slightly closed, her breathing having become much shallower.
Beside her, Fu Hua extended a hand to rest on Irene's shoulder. Her own eyes were half-closed as she guided Irene to familiarize herself with the circulation route of the mental cultivation method.
At this moment, inside Irene's body, a warm current—far clearer and warmer than yesterday's—flowed through her, following Fu Hua's guidance. This was the Honkai energy that was gradually strengthening her body under her control.
With every cycle, her muscles, bones, and flesh silently became more solid and resilient. Unlike Kallen's training method, this Honkai energy merely passed through without lingering in Irene's body, causing her no excess burden.
Fu Hua stood to the side, the cool morning mountain breeze brushing the bangs at her forehead. Deep within the azure eyes behind her black-framed glasses, a trace of astonishment flashed frequently.
It was too fast! How long had it been? It was currently only just past 7:00 AM. In at most two and a half hours, Irene had managed to master the Honkai energy to this degree.
Although Fu Hua had considered that Irene's cultivation of the Taixuan Sword Qi would be smooth upon discovering her absurdly high Honkai Adaptability, she was still shocked by Irene's natural talent once they actually began.
One must know that Lixue...
Fu Hua's train of thought was abruptly cut off the moment she tried to recall further. The end of the reverberating thread of thought connected only to burnt ashes.
Due to this interruption, the wisp of Honkai energy guiding the flow within Irene's body momentarily lost control. However, the Honkai energy circulating inside Irene was not disrupted by this small interlude. Instead, it continued to flow according to the previously indicated route.
At this moment, Fu Hua had no time to continue monitoring the flow of Honkai energy within Irene. She closed her eyes, concentrating her energy, trying hard to grasp the broken thread of memory in her mind. She struggled to recall the name that had just naturally slipped from her thoughts.
She wanted to recall the things attached to that name, but no matter how she tried, that thread of memory left only a back view in her mind—one that somewhat resembled her own.
"Sigh."
Fu Hua let out a sigh. She did not force it. Forcing it was useless; she had known this for a long time, but she simply hadn't admitted defeat.
Those residual ashes of memory were, in the end, just ashes. Perhaps one day, those ashes would be remembered for what they truly were due to a sudden flash of inspiration.
Having experienced so much over such a long time, Fu Hua didn't let the regret in her heart delay her for too long. After quickly organizing her emotions, she shifted her attention back to the condition within Irene's body.
By this time, the circulation within Irene was already extremely smooth and no longer required her guidance. Seeing this situation, Fu Hua withdrew her attention and nodded inwardly.
Such natural talent... is truly exceptional.
Thoughts surged in Fu Hua's heart, but her face remained calm and rippleless. Seeing that it was almost time for class, Fu Hua reached out and patted Irene heavily on the shoulder, interrupting her cultivation state.
Irene, interrupted, gradually opened her eyes. Looking at the awakened Irene, Fu Hua spoke.
"How does it feel? Teacher Irene."
"It's wonderful, A-Hua." Irene stood up and moved her body, her face carrying heartfelt joy. "My body feels much lighter, and my energy is unreasonably abundant."
The more she experienced the changes in her current body, the more excited Irene's expression became. Compared to the feeling of being worked to death yesterday, the cultivation of just around two and a half hours now made her feel obvious changes.
[ Mn, we are still relatively slow. ] Sensing Irene's meaning, Kallen, as a member of the Kaslana Family, decided to defend her family's ancestral training method.
[ And isn't this because you, Irene, cannot yet withstand the complete training method? It's all a weakened version, so it's normal for the effects to not be obvious. ]
Irene's spiritual entity stuck out her tongue at Kallen, who wanted to uphold the dignity of her family's training method, inside the Palace of Consciousness.
[ If the effect isn't good, it isn't good. But later, when my physical constitution improves, I can supplement it with the Kaslana Family's training method. I wonder if that will achieve better results. ]
Fu Hua nodded slightly. "It seems this method is indeed suitable for Teacher Irene's current state. Teacher Irene must also cultivate diligently; if you slack off, you will regress."
After speaking, Fu Hua paused, weighing her words in her heart, before slowly speaking again.
"What I taught Teacher Irene today is the internal accumulation technique of this method."
"That is the basic of basics. Above that, it begins to take form. For this, there are corresponding mantras and condensation methods. However, for this method, I cannot guide you through the entrance. Teacher Irene needs to memorize it firmly by herself, and then comprehend it on her own."
"The Taixuan... Art," Fu Hua paused slightly. "It has five aspects: Heart, Form, Mind, Soul, and Spirit. Among them, the Heart Aspect is the gateway, yet it is also the most difficult aspect aside from the Sword God."
"It is divided into four realms: Still Water, Stainless, Mirror, and Taixuan. You must hold the Mantra of the Sword Heart and refine your Sword Heart day after day. Once the Sword Heart is fully achieved, you will view heaven and earth as your dantian and transform your flesh into meridians, capable of driving an unlimited amount of Honkai energy without damaging your spirit or physical body."
"Teacher Fu Hua," Irene nodded, seeming to understand yet not fully understanding. "The Taixuan Art? Even the superficial mental cultivation methods of Shenzhou don't have such intense effects. Why isn't it promoted within Schicksal?"
Although Irene said this on the surface, as a transmigrator, how could she not know that the so-called "Taixuan Art" was nine times out of ten a name Fu Hua had just made up blindly? The formal name of this martial art should be Taixuan Sword Qi.
However, Irene truly hadn't expected that Fu Hua would directly teach her the Taixuan Sword Qi. Could this be caused by the Cat's luck? Or was it some other reason?
In the time that followed, Fu Hua began to teach Irene how to recite the Mantra of the Sword Heart to temper her Sword Heart. After Irene managed to recite it familiarly with some difficulty, Fu Hua looked toward the direction of the teaching building.
"Teacher Irene, it is getting late. I should go prepare for class. Teacher Irene has class today too, right?"
"I do, but it's the second period." Irene nodded. She was very familiar with her own schedule. "Sorry to trouble you, A-Hua. How about I treat you to breakfast?"
"No need, next time." Fu Hua shook her head. "It is getting late today; I must hurry to the classroom. I will take my leave first."
As soon as Fu Hua finished speaking, she vanished from Irene's sight with a few leaps. Irene scratched her head as she looked at the spot where Fu Hua had suddenly disappeared. She didn't have that kind of skill yet, and she didn't want to turn into her Pardo form just for these few steps, so she slowly walked down the mountain.
——————St. Freya Academy · Teacher's Office——————
Irene pushed the door open, holding her lesson plans. She intended to sit at her temporary workstation to review the content of her lesson plan and wait for her class time, but a gentle male voice came from the side.
"Teacher Irene? Morning."
Irene looked toward the sound and saw a young male teacher with a refined and gentle temperament, wearing thin-framed glasses, sitting at the adjacent desk.
"Teacher Welt, morning." Irene looked at Welt, the corners of her mouth raising into a smile. She recognized him as the Teacher Yang who taught history—a colleague whom everyone said had poor health.
Of course, this was a lie. His identity was not that simple—Welt Yang. Or, adding the prefix "Herrscher of Reason" before his name would be more accurate.
At this moment, Welt pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose. The gaze behind the lenses carried just the right amount of appreciation and a trace of imperceptible scrutiny.
As the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy, Welt certainly hadn't come here simply to be a history teacher. Just this morning, he had obtained an interesting file.
Or rather, a new A-Rank Valkyrie certification certificate. To be honest, an A-Rank Valkyrie wasn't anything particularly worth caring about.
The number of Valkyries was actually not small. Among them, one or two geniuses would always appear. Coupled with the fact that the two major families had always been relatively flourishing in terms of population, continuously supplying fresh forces to Schicksal, there were quite a few who could become A-Rank Valkyries.
It was just that in most cases, A-Rank Valkyries would stay at Headquarters and obey Headquarters' deployment. Only a portion of Valkyries who promoted independently within a branch would potentially stay within that branch.
If it were just this, it certainly wouldn't have been able to attract Welt's attention. What truly attracted Welt's attention was the person, Irene.
As a literature teacher, he had had contact with Irene before. At that time, he had sensed that there was actually no Honkai energy within Irene's body. She was indeed, as Himeko had said, just an ordinary person.
But on the A-Rank Valkyrie certification certificate he found, the name was also Irene. That was unusual.
A-Rank Valkyrie certificates certainly wouldn't be given out randomly. After all, obtaining a higher-rank rating without the corresponding ability to fight the Honkai was simply seeking death.
That meant that Irene, who looked like an ordinary person and felt like an ordinary person regarding Honkai energy, indeed possessed the ability to reach the combat power of an A-Rank Valkyrie. That was unusual.
"Speaking of which, where is Teacher Irene from?" Welt placed his items on the desk and pulled out his chair to sit down, seemingly preparing to work as well. At the same time, as if his mouth couldn't stay idle, he began to chat with Irene.
"Mn, me? My home is in Nagazora City." Irene paused slightly, her tone taking on a bit of heaviness. She had long learned a few tricks from Pardo in the Palace of Consciousness; Irene could now perform this level of tonal shift with ease.
Of course, Irene didn't say this to highlight how pitiful she was or anything, but because the new household registration location Theresa had arranged for her was in Nagazora City.
Hearing this sentence, the words Welt had intended to use to continue his inquiry were stuck in his mouth. How was he supposed to continue this conversation? He had hit the other party's minefield right off the bat.
Welt's words carried a bit of stuttering caused by awkwardness. "Is... is that so? I am truly sorry, Teacher Irene. I didn't mean to..."
"It doesn't matter, Teacher Welt." Irene shook her head as if she were quite magnanimous. "Mn, I don't mind anymore. What's past cannot be retrieved; all I can do is move forward."
"Is that so? You really are optimistic." Welt laughed dryly twice. But to probe for intelligence, he had to open his mouth to ask again, "Since Teacher Irene is an ordinary person, presumably life in the Valkyrie dorms isn't easy, right?"
"I wouldn't say it's not easy." Irene smiled. "After all, Teacher Welt might not be able to tell, but actually, I'm not as weak as I look."
"Oh? What do you mean by that?" Welt immediately became interested, as if hearing gossip. At the same time, he thought to himself: Is her vigilance this low? Or is there simply no need for secrecy?
"I am an A-Rank Valkyrie, although the file should have just come down." Irene's face carried a bit of pride. "So I am different from Teacher Welt; I am not an ordinary person."
[ Sister Irene, you're mistaken, right? ] Pardo spoke with some confusion inside the Palace of Consciousness. Although she hadn't detected Honkai energy in the other party's body.
However, the Cat's intuition felt that the other party was not an ordinary person. And the Cat's intuition had never been wrong.
[ Of course, he is not an ordinary person. ] Irene nodded. Indeed, this school was full of hidden tigers and crouching dragons. Even right now, there were four Herrschers here.
For example, the Herrscher of Corruption, who was sleeping or possibly awake and causing trouble in the Stigmata on Theresa's back at this moment; Raiden Mei, who was the Herrscher of Thunder; and Kiana (Sirin), who had not yet awakened as the Herrscher of the Void.
As well as the current Herrscher of Reason before her eyes, Welt Yang.
After explaining this person's identity, Kallen inside the Palace of Consciousness frowned slightly upon hearing it. "Herrscher? The Herrschers who cause massive destruction and must be strictly guarded against, as stated in our family's ancestral teachings?"
As a family passed down from Kevin, the Kaslana Family naturally had an incomparably profound understanding of the Honkai and understood exactly what a so-called Herrscher was.
But beyond that, Kallen didn't know much about it. After all, those things were just fragments of words passed down in the ancestral teachings.
Kallen wasn't clear, but Pardofelis, who was from the Previous Era and had directly suffered the impact of Herrscher disasters standing to the side, was much clearer.
[ Sister Irene, this person is definitely not a good guy! Herrschers are never good guys! ]
[ Don't worry, don't worry. It's different now from your time. ] Irene comforted Pardo. [ This Herrscher of Reason is not a bad person. The Herrschers now are already very different from before. ]
[ Eh? ] Pardo was stunned for a moment. [ A Herrscher is a good person... why... ]
[ Pardo, you should also know the reason, or at least you should know a part of it, right? ] Irene stroked Pardo's head. [ In short, this current era is already different from the Previous Era. Herrschers are not necessarily enemies anymore. ]
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