Cultivating in Honkai!

Ring-!

I was woken up by the alarm clock. My squinted eyes looked at the time.

7:50 AM.

…

My mind got fully awake. The soft cushion of the bed made it quite the challenge. I recalled everything we did last night.

After I ate the two apricots, I gave the remaining one to Kiana. She meditated as usual before going to sleep.

As for me?

I got too impatient.

I wanted to satiate my second dantian to the fullest. I meditated in qi cultivation for over five hours. I slept by the time the clock struck 2 o'clock. 

For reasons unknown, this five hours of sleep did not feel as bad as I expected. My mind feels refreshed. My entire body feels light.

I stood up and stretched my body for a while. During the process, I saw my second dantian on the verge of being full.

The familiar feeling of being impatient struck. It's like being a day away from your summer break. 

"Fu…"

Nevermind. I'll finish it later.

I walked over to the other bed. Kiana sleeps soundly at this time. She even has her newly-bought sleep mask. It has a pair of comical eyes printed on it.

"Kiana. Wake up. We only have ten minutes left."

"Hm…"

*****

The typical breakfast is unusually silent. Cocolia stood with a little girl behind her.

"I am sure you are familiar with her…"

A round of introductions flew by. Kiana cast a curious look at the short-haired girl behind Cocolia.

Shi Tian, however, reacted differently.

'Sin Mal. Mal family. It's the pair of nobles from the town.'

Ten days of living in Siberia taught him a lot of things. It is easy to cross-reference his in-game knowledge with actual knowledge.

Just then, Sin Mal happened to meet his gaze.

"...caught up in a fire accident. She will be living with us…"

'...Does she know me?'

Shi Tian's Sword Heart throbbed. It vaguely warned him of someone peeping at it. When the sword is sheathed, its strength remains hidden. If it gets seen at a secure state, it is an abnormality.

'How come? From her?'

Shi Tian moved his gaze from her.

'She piloted Titan mechs later in the story. She doesn't have any weird powers. This world is also completely separated from that game.'

He concluded everything with a sigh.

'Perception. Either that or an unawakened stigma. She's part of the original X-10 for a reason.'

Shi Tian did not overcomplicate everything. This is no longer a game. He is more than prepared to tread the unknowns.

In short: It's all Mihoyo's fault!

"Hm." Kiana called out to him.

"Hey?"

"You've been looking at your bowl for a while. Do you feel sick?"

This time, they managed to snag two vacant seats. 

Without any care about the surrounding kids, she started slurping the porridge in big bites. Any form of embarrassment is gone after the first day's breakfast. That's how fast she adapted here.

"No. I'm good." He replied in a hushed whisper. "I feel like I can level up today."

"Hm. Do you need a special guard? I can stay…"

Shi Tian's 'okay' gesture stopped her from talking. All her worries were thrown off the window as she had several servings' worth of porridge from the pot.

By the time the typical breakfast ended, the same happened as always. Cocolia talked to the two of them for a while before leaving. Her business partially confirmed Shi Tian's worries.

'X-10… and Gray Serpent. Is this how far it goes?'

He thought about the X-10 experiments. It caused him to be a bit anxious. Still, she did not kidnap Kiana in-game, only Mei and Wendy. She does not know about Kiana's true identity.

That is one reassurance; the other comes from his cultivation.

He can also rest assured since Kevin is still stuck in the Sea of Quanta. The final boss is still far away from them.

Although, it is a different case for the other crazies inside World Serpent.

Shi Tian's Sword Heart cleared up his mind. Solutions to his worries popped up like mushrooms. The best reassurance is his cultivation. He won't have to worry if he is strong enough.

'All worries can be cut with my sword.'

"Let's eat crepes today!"

"Um."

What he did not expect was the appearance of a brand new stalker.

'It's the same as that day. It's him!'

The newcomer went to her room on the second floor after the breakfast ended. She did not care about socializing with others.

A pair of heterochromatic eyes followed Shi Tian's figure. She then sneakily glanced at the gray-haired girl not far from him.

"Hehe…"

Sin Mal lived in a mansion not far from the town. Her uncle and aunt who adopted her are considered local nobles. They are the ones who adopted her once her parents died inexplicably.

Unfortunately, she did not fall into good hands. All they wanted to do with her is to steal her inheritance, to which they did. As if it wasn't enough, they asked Sin Mal to form a connection with the kids in Cocolia's orphanage.

Cocolia's status in Russia as a high-ranking military official is enough for these efforts.

That was when she met Bronya. The latter barged into her room seeking food. Sin Mal helped her hide from the pursuing policemen, too.

Since then, Sin Mal had been thinking about Bronya. That's when she knew they lived in the very orphanage the warlord had.

After taking care of her adoptive parents who wanted to marry her to a pig, she got right in. Sin Mal used the same card her adoptive parents did when facing Cocolia—honkai.

Her talent in this regard unfolded after an accident. It revealed her good adaptability to the honkai.

"My eyes hurt…"

She could not help but wince again upon glancing at Shi Tian's small figure outside. It wasn't so evident as the time she saw him take care of the kidnappers. 

That distinct sharpness…

She will never forget it. The criminal who shot people in broad daylight turned out to be someone of her age.

Then again, she has her priorities straight. Bronya is her main focus. Sin Mal's eyes stayed on her again.

"...She's with someone else. Tsk."

Sin Mal continued her stalking session.

*****

"Late stage."

I exhaled a trace of air. My eyes remain closed, yet I can 'see' my surroundings in full color. It isn't only that. I can 'see' my back as well. My sight covers all angles.

Drip.

The sound of snow falling outside the window resounded in my ears. What follows next are voices of children outside.

"Huff…"

The loudest noise is Kiana's breathing.

The moment I unintentionally placed my attention on her, I saw numerous details. From the crumpled parts of her clothes, the restaurant's scent earlier, the crumbs of a biscuit on the floor...

My five senses went crazy. It is not only sight that can be attached to spiritual consciousness.

It's all of them.

"Fu…"

Like a radar, my 'eyes' receded to nothingness. I opened my eyes and everything returned to normal.

I am greeted by a bewildered Kiana.

"How strange. Was it the wind?"

"..."

I chose to hide it this time. Embarrassment crept up to my mind. 

I…

I…

"It's done. The… breakthrough."

My voice faltered.

Kiana did not notice anything. 

Luckily, this spiritual consciousness did not do an X-ray immediately. The best it did is to look at her closely. If the x-ray shit happened, I would have lost any face to meet her eyes. I would have shot myself with a shotgun.

I will bring this to my grave. This is a mistake on my part.

Shit.

I swallowed my discomfort.

"That was the gust of wind earlier?"

"Yeah. My spiritual qi capacity… I can defeat my early stage self easily."

"That strong?"

"It is what it is. Also…"

A mental line emerged from me. It is the same thing from unintentional scanning—spiritual consciousness. It has many uses ranging from scanning with five senses to…

"Huh?!"

…controlling things remotely.

The sword case slowly fell to my lap. The mental 'line' accurately grasped the locks and opened it.

The line seeped inside the jian. 

Hum.

A ringing sound appeared inside my head. My Sword Heart resonated with my will.

A vague silver light coated the jian. It floated away from the box.

It is hard to explain. It feels like this sword is now my arm. I can control where it goes without much thought.

With the Sword Heart, the burden of my spiritual consciousness now is nigh zero. It increases with farther distance or heavier load.

All hail sword cultivators!

Under her surprised look, I stepped into the floating jian. Once I activated my [Cloud Seeking Steps], my feet remained despite the sword's thin width.

I manipulated the sword to float two meters high. The consumption increased as a result, but I did not care.

Just like that, I recreated the floating hoverboards of immortal cultivators: flying swords.

"Can you bring me along?!"

"We can try…"