Autonomously Interrupting Honkai Energy

Five days passed in the blink of an eye, and Han Jiang felt that his Falling Sakura Slash was about to level up.

Theresa had also returned from St. Freya, bringing a pitch-black Katana with her.

"The Key of Erosion, Jizo Mitama. I prepared it for you," Theresa said to Han Jiang in the camp's training hall.

"Don't blindly use Honkai Energy to power it. A Divine Key possesses enormous energy. If your Honkai Energy isn't enough to sustain it... the consequences would be unimaginable."

Han Jiang looked at the Jizo Mitama in Theresa's hand and asked, "Why not give it directly to Yae Sakura, who specializes in Tachi?"

Theresa rolled her eyes. "The Key of Erosion is exceptionally effective against the Honkai Beasts in the Tenshukaku. We're afraid you won't even make it to the seventh floor."

"Uh!"

"Then I'll try it first." Han Jiang took a deep breath.

"Be extremely careful." As Theresa spoke, she had already deployed Judah and cautiously watched Han Jiang with a spear in hand.

"No need to be this careful..." Seeing Theresa fully armed, Han Jiang suddenly grew a little nervous. I'm not going to get taken out by one thrust, am I?

"When you lose control of your Honkai Energy, I need to cut off the supply immediately. Hurry up, hurry up, stop dawdling," Theresa said impatiently.

Only then did Han Jiang slowly pick up the Divine Key. It felt icy cold in his hand, and a chill instantly surged from the soles of his feet to his head.

Ding: Divine Key detected. Weapon Vault crystals +3000. Tuning function unlocked, enhancing all host attributes.

Store in Weapon Vault? Yes/No.

Han Jiang hurriedly asked what drawbacks there would be after storing it in the Weapon Vault.

The system immediately replied, "After a Divine Key is stored in the Weapon Vault, only the host may use it. If reversed, all future crystal gains will be reduced to 90% of their original amount, and 3000 crystals will be deducted immediately."

Han Jiang immediately selected no. What a joke—the Divine Key had merely been lent to him.

When they dealt with the big guy on the seventh floor of the Tenshukaku, Yae Sakura would still need to use it.

Right now, collecting the materials from five Honkai Beasts could earn him one crystal. After reversal, he would only get 0.9 crystals. How was he supposed to draw anything then?

Han Jiang forced himself to set aside the temptation of 3000 crystals and began swinging Jizo Mitama.

Simple slashes absorbed the Honkai Energy within him. It consumed more than ordinary weapons, but it was not a serious problem.

However, once he coated it in Blade Aura and actively poured in Honkai Energy, the little pool of energy inside Han Jiang seemed to be gouged open by an excavator claw, and his Honkai Energy drained away in a torrent.

With the amount of Honkai Energy Han Jiang currently had stored, he could use it for thirty seconds at most. One second longer, and he would be bedridden for half a month.

Suddenly, Han Jiang realized that his Honkai Energy would not stop flowing. This was probably exactly what Theresa had been worried about.

Stop! Han Jiang shouted inwardly.

Ding: Honkai Energy supply forcibly interrupted.

With the system's help, Han Jiang stopped supplying Honkai Energy to Jizo Mitama, finally letting out a breath of relief.

Theresa glanced at him in confusion. "The experimenters at the academy could only stop after I smacked them flying with a spear. You can actually interrupt it on your own?"

Han Jiang answered without the slightest guilt, "I have extremely strong control over Honkai Energy."

"But that experimenter at the academy was an A-rank Valkyrie," Theresa added.

Han Jiang said, "I'm talented."

"..."

In any case, being able to control it was a good thing, whether it was due to the system or Han Jiang's own control.

"Does the Divine Key have any other uses?" Han Jiang turned to Theresa and asked. "Like changing forms or something?"

Theresa shook her head. "We haven't had time to explore it. For now, we only know that using Jizo Mitama drains an enormous amount of Honkai Energy. Only someone at my level can stop it on their own. Below S-rank, you're the first person to autonomously interrupt your Honkai Energy."

"You tested it on several S-rank Valkyries?" Han Jiang asked subconsciously. Could St. Freya High School be hiding other unknown S-rank Valkyries?

Theresa crossed her arms. "Schicksal currently has only three S-rank Valkyries. I'm the only one at St. Freya. How many do you think we tested it on?"

Han Jiang curled his lip. Forget I asked.

"Then can I explore the Divine Key's other uses?" Han Jiang asked again.

Theresa yawned. "Do whatever you want with it. Until we reach the seventh floor of the Tenshukaku, you can use the Divine Key however you like."

"What if I can't control it?"

"As long as you don't actively inject Honkai Energy, anyone can use it. The only difference is the strength of the attack," Theresa explained.

Han Jiang felt over the Jizo Mitama in his hand. He knew that this weapon could summon something similar to a Heroic Spirit.

After thinking it over, Han Jiang decided to give up. He could barely hold on just by injecting Honkai Energy to use it. Wouldn't summoning Jizo Mitama's Heroic Spirit be asking for death?

"Then play by yourself. I'm going back to rest. I haven't rested properly these past few days." Seeing that Han Jiang was fine, Theresa yawned as she walked out of the training hall.

"You two keep an eye on him. If anything seems off, just knock him out immediately," Theresa instructed the two Valkyries standing by the door.

"Yes!"

The two Valkyries immediately nodded. An S-rank Valkyrie was someone they admired deeply.

Inside the training hall, Han Jiang explored Jizo Mitama's methods of use alone.

He constantly tested the limits of his control over Jizo Mitama. Tomorrow, they would be charging straight up to the sixth floor.

At noon the next day, the three of them arrived at the Tenshukaku once more.

Han Jiang carried two Tang sabers on his back and wore Jizo Mitama horizontally at his waist. He was fully armed.

The three returned to the first-floor hall. With Hiyori's cooperation, they successfully opened a large door.

The doors retracted to either side, revealing stairs leading upward.

The three exchanged looks. Theresa took the lead while Yae Sakura guarded the rear, protecting Han Jiang between them.

Before they split up, Theresa emphasized once more that unless they encountered a powerful enemy they could not handle, he absolutely should not use the Key of Erosion in battle.

After reaching the second floor, the candlelight in the Tenshukaku began to flicker, and the shifting floor separated the three of them once again.

Without the nervousness he had felt on the first floor, Han Jiang drew Jizo Mitama and cautiously watched his surroundings.

Theresa's concerns were not unfounded. In battle, there was no way to precisely control Honkai Energy.

However, Han Jiang could use the system to forcibly interrupt the supply of Honkai Energy. What was a fatal weakness for others seemed insignificant in Han Jiang's hands.

The second floor was not very different from the first. After opening the door, he once again saw Crimson Sakura Deadwalkers wandering outside.

The only difference was that there were more Vagrant Soldiers on the second floor, catching Han Jiang somewhat off guard.

Jizo Mitama truly lived up to being the Key of Erosion. It specifically countered the Deadwalkers and Honkai Beasts here.

With Han Jiang's current strength, Jizo Mitama could increase his enemy-killing efficiency by at least twenty percent.

To avoid wasting the Divine Key's abilities, Han Jiang began holding back whenever he reached the last Deadwalker in each room, collecting materials instead.

Last time, he had failed to collect nearly half the materials. If converted into crystals, they would amount to more than ten at least. He could not waste them like that this time.

After dealing with the last Deadwalker in the third room, the floor began to transport him.

When he reached his destination, Yae Sakura and Theresa arrived at the same time.

The three looked at each other. Theresa and Yae Sakura separated and each stood in a corner of the hall, while Han Jiang copied them and stood at the point farthest from both of them.

Just seconds after Han Jiang took his position, a hole opened above the hall, and a bear-shaped Honkai Beast jumped down from it.

This bear was nearly identical to the one they had encountered on the first floor, except its build was reversed. One had been bulkier on the left, while this one was bulkier on the right.

"Let's go."

With a sharp cry, Theresa charged at this floor's gatekeeping Honkai Beast.

Yae Sakura circled along one side, searching for an opportunity to attack the Honkai Beast.

For a time, cherry blossoms drifted throughout the room, deadly intent lurking beneath every petal.

Thanks to [Names Can All Go Die] for the 100 reward! Thanks to [Morning Snow, Evening Frost] for the 100 reward!!!