As soon as the order came up, Fu Hua's brief vacation in Taixuan Mountain was momentarily halted.
It didn't take long for her to arrive at the designated sight.
'These are lightning marks.'
Her sharp eyes caught numerous details.
'The affected area… it's not small.'
Fu Hua frowned at the report's details.
'Honkai energy disappeared from this area for half an hour. What could it be?'
Her stroll brought her to a special place. It was marked as the biggest area affected by the "weather".
Unlike the other parts struck by lightning, this place has no scorch marks. Dozens of trees are cleared out by another force. The irregular cracks and small craters on the ground support it.
Just then…
'...'
Fu Hua's eyes suddenly hurt. She did not mind it. She stared intently at a certain place.
It was none other than Shi Tian's breakthrough spot.
There is nothing wrong with it. The forensics marked nothing around it.
Yet…
'A domineering… no. That's the wrong term.'
Free and unfettered.
It is the term that popped up in her mind.
Her heart skipped a beat. Fu Hua's mind trembled. Despite not seeing any irregularities, she knows it by heart.
This is a sword.
Her mind soon entered a trance. Unintelligible sounds rang across her ears. It is the mantra included inside her developed martial arts, [Blade Mantra]. It has four levels, each corresponding to a mental state.
This mental state's true form is a pseudo-stigmata of sorts. Its full mastery allows its practitioners to draw in honkai energy from the imaginary space.
Fu Hua reached its highest level, Eminence (Taixua), a long time ago. However, due to an unfortunate turn of events, her "mental state" was shattered. She can no longer properly use [Eminence] and has to rely on unorthodox means to unleash its power—burning off her memories with a Divine Key.
'A sword draw? No…'
Under this special state, Fu Hua's [Blade Mantra] started to recover at a noticeable pace. It is akin to crippled meridians healing.
The silver dot she saw amidst the darkness began to shine brightly.
She herself, however, did not notice it.
It was as if she was sent to the past. Her gaze is attracted to the hazy silver light. A humanoid figure could be seen beyond the hazy silver light.
It streaked through the skies. Not a hint of honkai energy could be seen. It is nothing but pure willpower.
Then…
Then…
A sword cut down the sky. Its existence alone compels everyone who sees it to take a deep breath. It was no longer on the level of making the eyes itch.
A blink later, everything disappeared like a dream. She could only 'feel' the remnants of the sword will.
"Edge of Taixuan."
It is extremely similar to the final move in [Blade Mantra], the Edge of Taixuan. Yet, it is also extremely different. It is filled with pure willpower, but above all, it is saturated by a different kind of energy.
It is the direct opposite of honkai energy. It is peaceful, flexible, and all-encompassing.
She directly concluded it is not present in her past. It is completely unseen even within Schicksal's database.
"My…"
Fu Hua finally realized her current state. She recovered her "injuries" by half. She has a feeling it would no longer consume as many memories as before. The drawbacks are also reduced.
The familiar power she once possessed returned by a bit.
"That sword…"
*****
Ash-like hair, blue pupils, tall stature…
It is not that different from the Fu Hua I know. She gave off an aura of vicissitudes in my eyes. To others, it seems like calmness.
I swiftly moved my gaze away from her.
Unfortunately, Kiana saw me looking at her.
"Is she…"
"Nope. Nope."
"I can see the pattern. Huge chests…"
I saw through her head. The Tuna learned and contrasted my answer between Himeko and Fu Hua.
My right hand moved to her mouth. My body acted before I could process it.
I might be overthinking…
Well.
I felt Fu Hua's gaze land on us.
This is bad.
Valkyries have sharper senses than typical people. I don't know how high up Fu Hua is in that scale.
I hastily removed my hand on Kiana's mouth.
Shockingly, she did not say anything except for her face reddening.
"You weren't like this before."
"Is there a problem?" She asked.
I sighed as my spiritual consciousness connected to her mind. It is mental telepathy in a nutshell.
"She has my sword intent."
Kiana did not seem surprised with the sudden telepathy. This is another Foundation Establishment perk. Instead of a whisper, it is directly connected to her mind.
"She might be the same as the red-haired woman yesterday."
"You mean… Valkyries?"
Kiana sent her own spiritual consciousness. It acted like a whisper to my ears, with her mouth barely moving. Qi Refining Realm can only do hushed whispers.
"...I am surprised you got it in one go."
"Humph. I'm not that dumb!"
"You might be."
"Is that your impression of me?!"
I don't know.
Ever since morning came, Kiana no longer maintained her somewhat mature self. It's as if she is showing her repressed immature self.
Naturally, I felt more comfortable teasing her.
This is a change that came out of nowhere.
"Anyways… There must be a reason why your father broke off with Schicksal. It's best not to interact with them."
"I know. My old man doesn't have many enemies. We're praised in the towns where we hunted honkai beasts, you know?"
That makes sense.
Everyone will find Siegfried approachable due to his kind nature. Kaslana's Oath is the one to blame.
We acted normally until we completely passed by Fu Hua. It's insane we came across two major Valkyries in the span of two days!
Admittedly…
"Remember the things I pointed out?"
"What things?"
"About your breakthrough."
"Ah. The problems?"
Fortunately, Kiana knew about it.
"Spiritual qi enters the physical body. You have honkai energy inside yours. I don't know what will happen if the two clash. That's why you must inform me when you complete the Qi Refining Realm."
"Okay. Why talk about it?"
"I will be going out for a while."
She paused walking.
"Where are you going?"
"The Valkyrie we passed by." I replied. "She saw my sword intent, likely from the forest. I can feel it on her. Which means… she might have something that can solve your problem."
Kiana fell silent for a while. I don't know what she's thinking about. Her eyes seemed a bit distant and concerned.
"Okay. Goodluck…"
I didn't expect her to turn serious. The previous times I helped her, she did not act like this.
Something must have changed her these days…