“Cheng Lixue!?”
From aboard the Hyperion, Theresa recognized that familiar face.
“Did Grandpa send you to capture Kiana?”
At those words, Kiana and Bronya immediately tensed up. Sensing the somewhat confrontational atmosphere around her, Cheng Lixue looked utterly exasperated:
“Lady Theresa, even though we’re both S-rank Valkyries, I’m no monster like Durandal. Do you really think… I could capture a Herrscher right in front of two other Herrschers—even if one of them can’t fully use her Herrscher authority? Do I even have that kind of ability?”
“…Ah, Lixue, my apologies. I was being overly cautious… So, what’s your purpose in coming here?”
Cheng Lixue paused for a moment:
“I suppose that’s fair. Though Lady Theresa and I are acquainted, we don’t know much about each other. You know I’m from Shenzhou, but you probably don’t know that for a long time before I became a Valkyrie, Mount Taixu was my home.”
“And you certainly don’t know that my master is your student.”
Kiana scratched her head, and then it hit her like a bolt of lightning:
“Class Monitor… is your teacher?!”
Cheng Lixue shook her head:
“More than just a regular teacher-student relationship. My master saved my life. She taught me to read, to write, and to fight. In today’s terms, for a very long time, my master wasn’t just my teacher—she was my only legal guardian.”
Seeing the utterly stunned looks on their faces, Cheng Lixue couldn’t help but smile:
“In terms of age, I’m only a few years younger than Lady Theresa—practically the same generation. Having someone who’s your elder’s elder actually be your peer is bound to catch anyone off guard.”
Now that the tense atmosphere had eased considerably, Cheng Lixue turned her gaze back to Kiana, her expression growing serious:
“Kiana, right now, Master is using Fenghuang Down to exist in some special way deep within your consciousness, isn’t she?”
“…Yeah. But since she doesn’t have control over Fenghuang Down, and she’s conserving her strength so she can help me when it really matters, she’s still asleep right now. I need to—”
Cheng Lixue let out a relieved breath, then raised her hand to stop Kiana:
“Say no more. Just knowing that Master is still safe puts my mind at ease. Since Master believes that conserving her energy is more important right now, we shouldn’t disturb her here… Since you came to Mount Taixu looking for what Master left behind, let’s go together. Though I haven’t been back in a long time, I’m still more familiar with this place than you are…”
Cheng Lixue glanced into the distance and furrowed her brow, feeling as though she’d forgotten to mention something important.
The three of them made their way up the stone steps of Mount Taixu, sharing stories and experiences about Fu Hua as they walked.
Bronya looked around at her surroundings and couldn’t help but remark:
“Searching for martial arts manuals in the mountains. Bronya feels like… this is something that only happens in video games. Besides… even if Class Monitor did leave some kind of treasure behind, it’s probably been taken by now.”
“Maybe that’s true… but the treasure Class Monitor left might be something ordinary people can’t even see.”
“Master’s training grounds are further up the mountain. If she left anything behind, that’s the most likely place it would be. Mount Taixu is far removed from the mundane world, so the chances of someone taking it are very slim.”
“Oh, since Senior Cheng Lixue is Master’s disciple, does that mean you know the Taixu Sword Aura…”
Cheng Lixue gave a wry smile:
“As Master’s disciple, of course I know the Taixu Sword Aura—but I’m afraid it won’t be much help to you.”
“Master must have told you that the Taixu Sword Aura has five essences: Heart, Form, Intent, Soul, and Spirit. Since you’re a Herrscher and can naturally control massive amounts of Honkai energy, you’re able to master the Spirit essence very quickly—something that’s normally incredibly difficult for others. But to ensure that such vast Honkai energy doesn’t spiral out of control, what you truly need is the Sword Heart.”
“The Heart essence is divided into four realms: Still Water, Dustless, Bright Mirror, and Taixu. My talent is mediocre—I’ve trained for years and have only barely broken through to the Dustless realm. So I can’t really help you much.”
“Barely breaking through to the Dustless realm already makes you an S-rank Valkyrie. If one reaches a higher realm… could they actually duel Durandal?”
“That’s something only those who have reached the higher realms would know. With Durandal’s personality, if she ever crossed paths with my seven senior siblings, each and every one of them would be an opponent worthy of her full strength.”
“Class Monitor… she had other disciples?”
A trace of melancholy flickered across Cheng Lixue’s face:
“That was five hundred years ago. Back then, Master established a school on Mount Taixu and took on seven disciples, known in history as the Seven Swords of Taixu. Among the Seven Swords, aside from my Sixth Senior Brother—who was male, and whose Heart essence was at the same level as mine, having just reached the Dustless realm—the other six senior sisters all surpassed me in cultivation.”
“Of course, even though my Sixth Senior Brother and I are similar in terms of the Heart essence, I’d be no match for him. His mastery of external martial arts far exceeds mine. Among the Seven Swords, the only one who could consistently beat him was our strongest Fifth Senior Sister.”
Kiana was completely absorbed in Cheng Lixue’s story, but Bronya caught something amiss:
“If this happened five hundred years ago, how do you know about it?”
“Heh. Still sharp, aren’t you? Well, I suppose that’s only natural—I still represent Schicksal, and Lady Theresa along with Anti-Entropy remain opposed to Schicksal.”
“The reason I know about secrets from five hundred years ago is, of course, because someone who’s lived for over five hundred years told me.”
“…You mean Otto!”
“Yes, him. Even though I agree with you that the probability of what he tells me being the truth is basically zero, the most believable lies are ninety percent truth and ten percent falsehood. On non-critical information that doesn’t affect the current situation, he has no reason to lie to me… Wait, what’s that?”
Up ahead, a crimson feather appeared—its shape strikingly similar to a Fenghuang Down feather. Kiana stepped forward, pressed it to her forehead, closed her eyes, and followed the mental techniques Fu Hua had taught her, trying to let the information within the feather flow into her sea of consciousness. But in the end, she got nothing.
“There’s… some kind of seal on this. The feather touched my consciousness and just bounced off.”
Kiana handed the feather to Cheng Lixue with a look of regret. The moment Cheng Lixue took it, unusual noises came from their surroundings. Dozens of Honkai beasts appeared not far away.
The three immediately sprang into action. These Honkai beasts were naturally no match for them. In no time at all, only one beast remained, fleeing for its life.
Just as Bronya aimed her cannons at the retreating beast, a flash of cold light streaked past, and the beast collapsed to the ground, unable to get back up.
Before the three of them stood a black-haired woman in ancient attire, strikingly beautiful. The move she had used to fell the Honkai beast with a single sword stroke—though it appeared to be just an ordinary slash—overlapped in Kiana’s memory with Fu Hua’s figure, identical in every way.
She sheathed her sword, surveyed her surroundings, and then looked at the three of them:
“I was going to ask if you were all right, but from the looks of things, I underestimated your abilities.”
Kiana stared at this woman who had appeared out of nowhere, thinking for a long while before finally speaking up:
“Ah… might I ask who you are…”
“I am Lin Chaoyu. You could call me… a guardian of Mount Taixu. This place is rich with true qi, and demonic beasts often cause trouble here. That’s why an immortal once set up a barrier here to keep outsiders from wandering in…”
Lin Chaoyu’s gaze swept past Kiana and Bronya and landed on Cheng Lixue.
“May I ask… what is your relationship with Chi Ying?”
Cheng Lixue walked up to Lin Chaoyu, bowed slightly, and gave a respectful salute:
“Cheng Lixue, the eighth disciple of Chi Ying, greets the First Senior Sister. I never imagined I would have the chance to see you again.”
“Even if… it is within such a grand illusion.”
