Volume One: Thoughts on Going Premium
It goes premium tomorrow, just as Boss Pudding said.
First of all, thank you all, chosen ones of joy, for your support.
Since it's a premium release, there will be ten updates tomorrow—that's 20,000 words. (Stockpiled chapters, stockpiled chapters!)
After that, the daily minimum will temporarily be 4,000 words, or two updates.
I have to admit, this was a book whose title I couldn't even boldly say out loud myself. ()
But then I thought, it wasn't me cross-dressing, so I wrote it.
That's about it. I need to exercise properly during this period and get myself back into shape.
Back to writing. (Stockpiled chapters, stockpiled chapters!)
Volume One: Bronya's Decision
Her complete defeat came from one sudden, close-range exchange.
When Bai Yan seized the opening to close in and drew his sword, One Sword Startling Swan flashed before her face, and the battle ended immediately.
Opponents who had never seen this move, or who were mediocre to begin with, would be temporarily incapacitated by the sudden confusion.
If Bai Yan's strength continued to grow, and One Sword Startling Swan could completely seal off all five senses, then this move's power would be far greater still.
Besides, Bai Yan had a feeling that One Sword Startling Swan's limit was not merely sealing the five senses...
Putting those thoughts aside, Bai Yan prepared to enjoy the fruits of victory.
The Herrscher of the Void was unwilling to accept it, but with a sword at her throat, she did not dare struggle. She could only grit her teeth and glare at Bai Yan.
"Baby, do you still want another round?"
"Hmph!"
The Herrscher of the Void was utterly unconvinced.
"Looks like this personality of yours isn't very convinced. But no, another fight is impossible."
Bai Yan rubbed the flat of his blade against her neck, making the Herrscher of the Void's hairs stand on end.
"Don't get cocky!"
"Your refusal to admit defeat is rather like the main personality's."
Bai Yan was about to continue teasing her when the Herrscher of the Void lowered her head and completely lost consciousness.
"She ran away, huh? Whew..."
He let out a breath of relief.
That was fine too. At least, if the Herrscher of the Void wanted to come out again next time, she would have to think twice.
Bai Yan had not expected Feather Rabbit's appearance to trigger Kiana like that.
But it probably was not just her appearance. World Serpent had created abnormal Honkai energy here, and perhaps that had served as a charge as well.
Thinking of that, Bai Yan found himself unable to understand World Serpent's intentions.
At first, he had thought they wanted Raiden Mei, yet they had helped Anti-Entropy obtain the Gem of Desire.
Later, they claimed they wanted K423, while the Gem of Desire had only been a smokescreen.
Yet now they had all left. They did not want K423, they did not want the Gem of Desire, and as for Raiden Mei...
She had probably retreated first. After all, Kiana would not abandon Raiden Mei. Perhaps she was contacting the other squads right now.
The matter had come to a temporary end.
Bai Yan wiped away the cold sweat on his forehead.
He had not thought much of it while fighting, but after it ended, he remembered what he had done.
"When there was no way to avoid it, I provoked the Herrscher of the Void, then worked with Bronya to defeat her!"
He had never fought anyone like that in his life.
At most, he had encountered a few zombies while cleaning up battlefields, followed by simulated training and matches at the Far East branch.
The Herrscher of the Void was incomplete, and Fu Hua had exhausted her beforehand. That was the only reason his odds of winning had been somewhat higher.
Of course, the most important thing was that Master Jingliu had taught him well.
Her lofty understanding of swordsmanship and unconstrained sword techniques had been the true key to victory this time.
Master Jingliu was incredible!
Even if the internet went out in the future, he could never let Master Jingliu run out of medicine!
"Big Sister Xiao Yan..."
Bronya walked over.
They had won the battle, but she did not know what to say.
In that moment, she understood that Bai Yan actually knew many things. Yet even when he had been captured by Cocolia, he had still worried about her.
World Serpent had used some unknown method to completely control the chip in her brain.
She had originally thought Cocolia was responsible, but after being taken away earlier, that had been denied and she had been told the truth.
Though in terms of the outcome, she had resisted World Serpent, Cocolia, who knew the truth, understood that Bronya had chosen to resist.
Bronya felt fortunate that forcefully burning out the chip had not caused any serious harm. She was soon lively again.
Thankfully, she had ultimately managed to support Big Sister Xiao Yan.
Bai Yan slightly) clothes fin 6 Yin Er Er (#nine) er bent down and leaned closer to Bronya.
"Is your body all right?"
"No." Bronya shook her head, then gazed at Bai Yan. "Big Sister Xiao Yan, did you know all along?"
"From the moment you asked about my brother."
Bai Yan reached out with both hands and pinched and kneaded Bronya's cheeks.
"Just asking him a little was enough for him to guess most of it. He even asked whether it had been a child from Eastern Europe or Northern Europe who asked.
"Bronya, you're still too naive! How could you possibly outplay him?"
Bronya slowly lowered her head.
"Then, Big Sister Xiao Yan's decision is..."
"Decision? What decision?"
Bronya raised her head to look at him, blinked, and said nothing.
"Oh, that." Bai Yan put on a look of sudden realization, then smiled. "First, what is Bronya's decision?"
"?"
"You want to stay, right?"
"..."
Bronya fell silent.
"Bronya fought our enemies all night, and at the critical moment, you still stood on our side.
"If you are willing, you can directly come clean to the headmistress and the others. They will understand."
Bronya said, "Mm..."
She wrapped her arms around Bai Yan's arm again, just like before.
"Bronya will keep Big Sister Xiao Yan's secret."
"That nice of you?"
"Mm." She nodded firmly. "Bronya's friend once suffered because of human experimentation... so Bronya does not want Big Sister Xiao Yan to suffer the same thing."
The corners of Bai Yan's mouth lifted slightly.
"And stupid Kiana too," Bronya added.
"Her situation... is probably like Mei's. She must have only become like that because something triggered her today."
"A Herrscher..."
It had not been long since the disaster in Changkong City ended, and the terror of a Herrscher awakening remained vivid in her mind.
She had originally believed Cocolia's words, thinking that as long as she did what she was told, she could save Seele.
She did not know what the truth was, but the disaster in Changkong City remained vivid in her mind.
"Big Sister Xiao Yan, will there be a problem?"
She was referring to the Herrscher personality.
"If something happens to me, Bronya can be responsible for knocking me awake." Bai Yan smiled.
But Bronya thought further than that.
Although she did not know much about Herrschers, she could see that Herrschers differed from one another.
During the time she had spent with Bai Yan, he had not displayed any abnormalities whatsoever.
Even now, though he had just been implanted with the Gem of Desire, his mind had not been affected in the slightest.
Regarding the Gem of Desire, Bai Yan was even more impressed by Hyperdimensional Space.
It had not only suppressed Jingliu's mara-struck condition, but also the Gem of Desire's side effects.
Bai Yan had not truly undergone Ascension.
When he gained the Wind Authority, Bai Yan had already understood the issue with himself as a Herrscher.
His control over the Authority was incomplete, and he was at a disadvantage when contending with it.
He even had the feeling that he differed subtly from other Herrschers.
The Gem was indeed inside his body, and he could even sense its presence.
Yet whenever he activated the Authority, he always felt that the Gem was not very active.
Even though the Authority itself worked normally.
Bai Yan guessed that he had only just become a Herrscher, so his perception of the Gem was not yet sensitive enough.
Perhaps after more time passed, a firm connection would naturally form.
In any case, the Gem of Desire was already in his hands. Sooner or later, he would find a way to master its Authority.
"We can discuss that later. Let's deal with the immediate problem first."
"Okay."
Next came cleaning up the battlefield.
Those who had participated in the fight lay scattered across the ground, all bearing considerable injuries.
As it happened, Bai Yan had worked in logistics at Schicksal Headquarters, so handling such matters came naturally to him.
With a grin, Bai Yan first came to the unconscious Rita and slowly crouched beside her.
Volume One: Dumb Goose: Don't Run!
"My dear Sister Rita, you worked hard tonight."
Bai Yan did not wake her immediately. He first needed to confirm whether she had truly lost all consciousness.
She was deeply unconscious, with no risk of residual awareness.
He quickly treated her wounds.
When he discovered that Rita had been ambushed by Raven, who had somehow become lively again, Bai Yan somewhat regretted not chopping off that mercenary's hand.
Still, even if she had not been ambushed, World Serpent had some method of trapping Durandal. There had been nothing they could do about them either.
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