Shi Tian's personality is already known to everyone around him. Being blunt is ranked at the top of his list, and by extension, sincerity.
He always distances himself from strangers, but when someone crosses this barrier, he will genuinely treat them as friends. He never puts up a mask which makes it easier to become closer to him. When he approaches people first, it is certain they are not bad people.
This trait becomes even more noticeable in the eyes of the cultivators around him. Their keen senses can judge a 'good' person from 'evil person. Similarly, they can sense whether one's mind is clear or disordered.
Shi Tian never bothers to hide his state with spiritual consciousness. Others can tell his general state from a simple glance.
That changed until a month ago.
Seele noticed this irregularity. Whenever she meets him, his eyes often become dazed. His general thoughts could not be read at all. Although he tried his best to act the same, Shi Tian did not feel the same in her eyes.
She repressed her doubts over the course of a month.
When she saw the dreaded hickeys, that was the time she knew—he is already with someone else.
Seele knew who he was with at that exact instance. It is as simple as 1 + x = 2.
Just as x equaled to one...
Who could it be if not Kiana?
Her crash-out led to a strong mental interference. Seele's Foundation Establishment mind caused the Natural Stigma to be forcefully unlocked. The Sea of Quanta noticed her abnormality and reacted, leading to her being kidnapped and placed in this strange meditative state.
Her other self saw everything she experienced. Hence, when she met Shi Tian, she could no longer hold back.
She spilled Seele's plan of confessing to him. She did so while Seele was 'asleep'.
As expected, Shi Tian could not immediately give out an answer. He, who seems to be a god capable of fixing all problems, gets stumped when it comes to love affairs.
The bystander amidst the two, Pardofelis, could only look at the sleeping girl and Shi Tian in confusion. She already adapted to his strange actions. He is as unfathomable as a god who came down from the skies. He is very capable and faced this world's strongest organization with ease.
The deafening silence lasted for five minutes. A soft, inaudible murmur, escaped from Shi Tian.
"...I will…"
{"..!"}
Nobody else except the involved parties heard his response.
As if he was done resolving something, he turned his back on the floating girl. He faced Pardofelis and said:
"Have you learned martial arts?"
"Nya? I exercise, but not martial arts. I can run faster than those scary guys!"
"Then, do you want to run faster?"
"Yes!"
Shi Tian deliberated for a while and gave her a notebook.
The residents of this Bubble World have "fragmented souls". They are merely memories physically manifested. It is their flaw that makes them unable to learn immortal cultivation. Their fragmented soul makes them lack spirit roots, meridians, and dantians.
It would have been fine if it was only spirit roots, but the lack of meridians and dantians cut off their chances to immortal cultivation. The techniques capable of enabling mortals to forge a strong physique and create artificial spirit roots require a complete soul.
He could only hand her a legitimate martial arts technique. It only requires the skillful use of one's feet to achieve greater speed. It is something he created on a whim; though its power is impeccable. It is a simplified version of [Blade Mantra]. Its power is reduced, though its complexity is also reduced.
With the passive strengthening of the fifth grade spirit vein, a mortal's body recovers faster and becomes stronger faster.
Once he handed over everything, Shi Tian disappeared, leaving the bewildered cat behind.
*****
Earth, Salt Lake Base.
Seven days had passed since Shi Tian left for the Sea of Quanta. Kiana followed suit just two days ago.
The disappearance of the two meant a lot on Earth's side.
Kiana is responsible for the daily patrols around the world. Though she could not guarantee a 100% success rate, her presence eliminated more than half of the world's casualties from minor honkai eruptions. The remaining half was something out of her control.
It is akin to playing whack-a-mole. No matter how much she tried to help, there were always places she could not reach. Part of the reason why her technique masteries are left behind lies on this.
If she could peacefully practice 24-7, she would have more techniques on the [Great Accomplishment] mastery already.
Shi Tian's presence is even more exaggerated. Just by existing, World Serpent dared not to send out another operation. The 'scouting' they did a month ago told everything about Shi Tian's prowess. Only their Sire could hope to match him… and so Kevin did.
His return after being trapped inside the Sea of Quanta for 1,500 years was earthshaking. He used Chiyou's corpse to regain most of his strength. It will not take long before he recovers to his prime state—granted he will continue consuming more honkai beasts.
Kevin's first reappearance occurred within the Salt Lake Base. Welt Yang, the First Herrscher, talked with him. A fight then ensued, with no clear winner between the two.
'If it wasn't for my cultivation…'
Welt Yang did not think further. He is still confident to exert his power in the Sea of Quanta. His Herrscher Authority of recreation is backed up by the Sea of Quanta's nature. It is why he could trap Kevin in the original future despite being severely injured.
On Earth, he relied on his strong physique and a dozen spiritual artifacts. No amount of modern weaponry can harm Kevin. The Divine Key replicas can only hold him off for some time. This was the Kevin that lost his strength after being trapped for 1,500 years.
The two went into a stalemate. They tacitly stopped fighting and returned to their respective places.
The power of hundreds of honkai beasts combined plus his experience in facing the Herrscher of the End overwhelms Foundation Establishment cultivators.
If Shi Tian hadn't taken the Judgement of Shamash, Kevin would have been far more terrifying than now.
'No. It is the Herrscher Core.'
Welt Yang's steps did not halt. His mind kept thinking of the legacy left by Welt Joyce.
300,000 souls are housed within that Herrscher Core. It is they who helped Welt Yang recreate his destroyed physical body. The processing power of 300,000 souls is enough to handle the creation of a physical body.
Moreover, these 300,000 souls does not merely increase one's computation power. They have something far more, something Welt Yang could never reach.
The processing speed of a Foundation Establishment cultivator outmatches a mortal's, yet it could not compare to the 300,000 fully synchronized souls working all at once. There is also something essential "missing", something he could not grasp.
'If I can pass it to someone more worthy than I…'
He thought of the suitable candidate in mind. Her rationality, coupled with her faster progress in cultivation than him, made her an extremely suitable candidate.
'It is time.'
Truth's successor has been finalized.