A Thousand-Person Herrscher's Personal Opinion

"Wait! I never said I wanted to be your master!"

"But in Shenzhou, a master for a day is a father for life, Master!"

"We're classmates, not master and disciple!"

"A teacher is one who imparts knowledge, instructs, and resolves doubts, Master!"

Anqi insisted with her bright, clear purple eyes and crisp voice.

Fu Hua silently recited the profound words, "A teacher is one who imparts knowledge, instructs, and resolves doubts," and then looked at Anqi's expectantly cute expression, feeling a sudden moment of daze.

A hazy, familiar scene seemed to appear before her eyes. In the past, had there not also been a child who looked at her with the same expectation and excitement, calling her "Master" in a crisp voice?

Fu Hua pursed her lips, instinctively pressing a hand to her chest. An inexplicable sharp pain left her unable to recover for a long time.

Chapter 59: A Disciple of an Old Friend? I'm Very Interested!

"Eh, she's really meditating properly. It gives off a subtle feeling."

"Internal vision? Heart refinement? Leveling up? What is it exactly? In a world of Honkai, they're going with these mystical concepts."

"Tsk, as expected of an immortal. Ah, no, should I call her Master now? Anyway, she managed to upgrade the 'Divine Sound' used to control Honkai Energy into a cultivation technique. That's amazing!"

"It's just that I remember there's a thought imprint in 'Divine Sound' similar to 'destroy Honkai.' I wonder how much of an impact it will have on us. In the current cultivation, there are no signs of consciousness or self being distorted, but we still can't let our guard down."

In the vast, solemn, and ancient grand temple, several Anqis were squatting on the side, conversing.

Opposite them, a total of ten Anqis sat cross-legged, chanting Fu Hua's 462-syllable "Sword Heart Incantation" in a state of focused cultivation. To the sides of these ten Anqis were two more Anqis, practicing various cold weapons with basic physical techniques as their foundation.

The significance of this setup was that if any of the ten Anqis cultivating Taixu Sword Qi were affected at the consciousness level, the two Anqis practicing swords, spears, sabers, and halberds would instantly decapitate them, forcibly severing any potential influence from "Divine Sound."

Before obtaining it, the hidden danger was merely an ethereal problem, and the Anqis focused their energy on winning over Fu Hua. But after obtaining it, the risk became the primary concern.

The power of Taixu Sword Qi came with risks. The Anqis had to try it, but they couldn't really implant the obsession of "destroy Honkai." Otherwise, as Herrschers, who knew what would happen?

"Speaking of which, Kiana later learned the Sword God. She even learned the highest ultimate, so she must have practiced the introductory Heart Resonance. She had no problems, so we shouldn't be that dangerous, right?"

The Anqis were somewhat uneasy but genuinely couldn't give up on a divine skill like Taixu Sword Qi. They would practice it first and see what they could achieve before deciding on the next steps.

"Drip, drip!"

Cold water droplets sprinkled on smooth, jade-like skin, then slid down to the floor, taking away the heat generated from the morning's exercise and making the lake of their heart even more calm and waveless.

Fu Hua was taking a bath, and in the cold month of November, she was taking a cold shower.

Of course, while this bit of cold was nothing to her, she didn't have a habit of deliberately making things difficult for herself. The reason for using cold water was that the "Master" calls from Anqi that morning had stirred ripples in her heart, yet she couldn't recall anything, making her increasingly restless.

Fu Hua knew she had a disciple, but that person was no longer around, and she didn't even have a shred of memory. How tragic, how laughable.

"Sigh..."

After calming her mind with the cold water, Fu Hua turned off the shower and casually grabbed a large bath towel by the bathroom door. As the towel wrapped around her slender, fair body, the water droplets on her hair and skin were evaporated by her true qi.

Fu Hua sat down in the living room, and after a moment of hesitation, she sighed and contacted Otto.

"Good noon, my esteemed old friend. To suddenly contact me, has K423 encountered any problems?"

On the communication device screen, Otto's face, unchanged for hundreds of years, wore a surprised yet composed smile as he spoke with a hint of amusement.

Fu Hua's expression became somewhat complex for a moment. How to put it? He was a rare character who always smiled at her, yet she couldn't feel happy. After all these years, facing Otto, she could only maintain a cold expression and couldn't smile at all.

"K423 is doing well, just like before. Simple, optimistic, kind, enthusiastic, and very popular. She's a typical Kaslana. I'm not contacting you because of her."

"Oh? As long as K423 is fine, then what are you contacting me for, old friend?"

"I have something to ask of you."

As soon as Fu Hua finished speaking, Otto's playful smile vanished. He sat up straight, as if facing a major crisis, and said earnestly, "Old friend, please wait a moment. I'll check if the Final Herrscher is about to descend or if the Earth is about to explode!"

Fu Hua: "(⊙_⊙)..."

"Hahaha, just kidding. It's just that it's so rare for an old friend to actively seek my help, I'm a bit at a loss. Go ahead, I'll do my best."

Otto waved his hands, switching back to his smiling expression.

Fu Hua said expressionlessly, "You should have the Keys of Domination. Send one over to me."

At the dawn of the current civilization, most of the Keys of Domination were in Fu Hua's hands, kept within Mount Taixu. However, as time passed, some were damaged, and some were lost externally. Coupled with Fu Hua's repeated serious injuries and memory loss, Fu Hua herself had not touched this set of Divine Keys for a long time.

But Otto should have some. Having cooperated for five hundred years, he couldn't possibly not have asked Fu Hua for a few Keys of Domination for research.

Otto was taken aback. He didn't refuse directly but gently rubbed his chin with his knuckles and asked, "Old friend, I know your capabilities. Under most circumstances, you don't need the Keys of Domination at all. When facing a crisis that requires the use of Divine Keys, the Keys of Domination are also of little use. You only use Feather of Dust. So I'm a bit puzzled, what do you need the Keys of Domination for?"

"..."

"It's okay if you can't say. I'll arrange for the Keys of Domination to be delivered within three days."

Otto smiled understandingly.

As long as it didn't involve his plans, Otto's respect and reverence for Fu Hua were enough for him to overlook most details.

But Fu Hua didn't think so. She was just pondering that anything Otto wanted to know couldn't be hidden from him. Rather than waiting for him to investigate and potentially cause trouble, it was better to tell him the truth.

"It's nothing much, I might be taking on a disciple. Bring it over, perhaps it'll be useful later."

"...Did I hear you correctly?"

"No."

"Congratulations, old friend. The Key of God will be delivered to your room tomorrow."

Otto's smile became a bit more sincere. After chatting with Fu Hua for a couple more sentences and seeing her usual indifferent reaction, he smiled and cut the communication.

Above the Mediterranean Sea, in the magnificent and majestic Sky City.

Otto walked to the window and looked down at the sun-drenched technological city. After a moment of contemplation, he said:

"Amber, investigate the disciple mentioned by my old friend. Find out what's going on."

"Yes, Bishop. Also, there is one matter that requires reporting."

"Hm?"

"Two weeks ago, the research department of the Oceania branch sent a letter to headquarters, inviting Dr. Maki to a technical exchange seminar on the Herrscher Gem experiment. Dr. Maki considered it and decided to accept. She will be departing in the next couple of days."

Amber reported the situation in a calm, unruffled tone.

Otto turned his head and looked at his incredibly beautiful and eye-pleasing silver-haired secretary. He raised an eyebrow and said:

"Exchange generates intellectual collision, and collision is more likely to spark new inspiration. As teams researching the fusion of Herrscher Gems and the human body, I approve of the exchange and cooperation between Oceania and Dr. Maki. You don't need to worry about this matter. More importantly, I am more interested in my old friend's disciple right now."

"Yes, Bishop!"

Amber respectfully withdrew from the room and, as Otto had said, went to gather detailed information on Anqi.

Chapter 60: Anqi, Who Wants to Do Good Deeds

On this planet, there were few things Otto wanted to know that could be hidden from him. At least, the information about Anqi that was out in the open couldn't escape Schicksal's intelligence network.

"A rare natural awakened, and she reached the evaluation criteria for an B-rank Valkyrie after only two months of contact with Honkai Energy. Is she another genius Valkyrie? Also, she was long-term bullied and is a victim from Changkong City... Hiss, old friend, your disciple is quite interesting."

On a warm afternoon, Otto held his teacup and read Anqi's information. Suddenly, he chuckled with a touch of mischief.

Raiden Mei was the direct culprit of the Changkong City incident, and she was very close to K423. Then, Theresa placed Anqi in the same room as Raiden Mei and K423.

The more Otto savored it, the more he felt that interesting things would happen in the future of this group.

However, his smile quickly vanished, replaced by a slight frown.

"There are already records of two Honkai Energy corrosion episodes? It seems fate is particularly cruel to this genius. I see, so that's why my old friend took an interest. She hopes Anqi can master the Taixu Sword Qi to extend her life, right?"

Otto couldn't help but glance at Anqi's birth date.

Born in 2000, she is 14 years old this year.

As for the Taixu Sword Qi, even for those with talent, it's best to cultivate their sword heart from a young age.

At 14, it's not too early, but not too late either. If she truly has talent, she might actually achieve some results.

Didn't you see that Cheng Lixue back then, at just the first level of Sword Heart, the Still Water realm, became the strongest A-rank Valkyrie? If she were to wear a better Valkyrie battlesuit now, she might not be inferior to Rita. It's a pity that the situation got out of control during the Second Great Honkai War, and Otto couldn't protect this child. He owes Fu Hua a lot and has no chance to compensate her.

Thinking of this, Otto spoke to Amber:

"Prepare a set of equipment to treat corrosion syndrome near St. Freya. If the Taixu Sword Qi can't be mastered... it's fine to give up the path of a Valkyrie. Let this girl live."

Otto didn't feel any sympathy for Anqi. He just didn't want Fu Hua to lose another disciple. Moreover, this time Fu Hua might not be able to forget it, and it would become a long-term psychological trauma.

Of course, all of this still depends on K423's plan, and Anqi not appearing where she shouldn't be.

"Achoo!"

"Delta, what's wrong? The weather has been changing rapidly these past two days, be sure to keep warm."

In the Oceania branch, Wendy stood with difficulty, leaning on the handrail. Hearing the sneeze, she blinked her beautiful dark blue eyes and spoke softly to the person beside her, a look of concern on her face.

At this moment, Wendy was undergoing rehabilitation training to try and regain her ability to walk.

Accompanying her was a beautiful girl with green hair and red eyes.

Her name was Delta. As far as Wendy knew, she was a recently promoted A-rank Valkyrie, rumored to be powerful, and most importantly, she was suspected to have some connection with the branch leader, indicating an extraordinary background. However, Wendy didn't care about the rumors about her identity. She only knew that Delta was a Valkyrie who would participate in the experiment with her, a somewhat confused but pure and cute junior colleague.

Delta rubbed her nose, looked around, and finding nothing unusual, tilted her small head blankly. She said in a childish, slightly lazy, and pleasant voice:

"It's not the weather. Maybe someone is thinking about me? Ah, speaking of which, maybe Wendy is saying bad things about me in her heart."

"I would never do that, Delta, you're too mean!"

"Oh. Then keep walking forward, try to let go, don't be afraid. Rehabilitation is always wobbly."

Delta stood in front, extending a slender, fair, and tender hand with distinct knuckles towards Wendy, who was holding the railing.

Wendy refocused, took a deep breath, and walked towards Delta step by step, finally tentatively letting go of the handrail.

"Delta... Ah!"

The moment she let go of the railing, Wendy felt her legs suddenly lose their response. Caught off guard, her body pitched forward.

Delta moved forward in time and supported her body.

"Are you okay, Wendy?"

Wendy didn't respond, just leaned against Delta's soft body.

It smells so good...

Wendy fleetingly had this thought, and then, an unspeakable sadness surged into her heart, as if she saw boundless darkness and coldness approaching.

"Delta, am I… am I never going to stand up again… am I… a cripple?"

Wendy's lips trembled, and tears slowly soaked through Delta's chest.

If the people around her were only indifferent and scornful researchers, Wendy would have instead displayed her pride and strength, swallowing all her pain and tears. But fatefully, Delta was a friend she had recently made, and the only one who hadn't mocked her for the poor progress of her experiments.

In front of Delta, Wendy suddenly couldn't maintain her strength, exposing her fear and unwillingness.

Delta hugged Wendy's head, stroking it gently, and said in a voice that was still lazy but reassuring:

"I don't know. We're not the only ones doing the Herrscher gem fusion experiments; headquarters is doing them too. I recently heard some intel that Anti-Entropy seems to be doing them as well, but there hasn't been a successful case yet. The whole world is exploring; this is an unfamiliar field. Who knows, maybe in a couple of days when I come out of the lab, I'll be like you. Ah, or maybe I'll be dead by then, and you'll have to overcome this situation alone!"

"What are you talking about! Alright, alright, it's nothing, really. I knew the success rate was low from the very first day I participated in the experiment. Anything can happen. At least I'm alive right now, and you'll definitely be fine too!"

Wendy looked up and smiled through her tears, then wiped her eyes.

However, at this moment, she also noticed that her tears had soaked Delta's top, revealing the outline of her white inner clothing, and even faintly showing the contours of her still-young but round and cute figure.

Wendy's small face instantly turned flushed.

"I… I… I'm sorry, let's go back, let's go back and change!"

Delta seemed to only notice the situation now, lowering her head, blinking her eyes with a slight delay, and then said blankly:

"Mm, no one else is using the rehabilitation room today, so this is fine."