53. Xia Ling: Huh? Go on Vacation... at Taixu Mountain? / 54. Fu Hua, a Type of Wood Native to Taixu Mountain

"Little Xi, you and she have fought side by side. Now, what is your impression of her?"

"Hmm... she doesn't seem to be Sister Fu Hua..."

Xi hesitated for a moment before saying, "Although she thinks she is, the feeling she gives me is completely different from Sister Fu Hua..."

"However, she's definitely a good person!"

"Is that so... It doesn't matter. Whether she's an old friend or not, as long as Little Xi thinks she's a good person, that's enough."

Otto couldn't help but curl a gloating smile into his lips.

"I wonder what kind of sparks will fly between my lovely Theresa, her students, and this 'Fu Hua'..."

"Your Lord Bishop, there is something else I would like to ask of you."

Xi handed the core in her hand to Otto.

"Sister Fu Hua gave me this... Your Lord Bishop, could you help me turn it into a Divine Key?"

Chapter 53 Xia Ling: Huh? Going to Mount Tai Xu... for a vacation?

"Headmaster, are you aware of what happened at the Schicksal Headquarters?"

With a series of hurried footsteps, Kiana rushed into Theresa's office.

"Schicksal Headquarters? You mean the attack on Schicksal Headquarters by a mysterious person?"

Behind the large desk, Theresa rested her chin on her hands, looking thoughtful.

"Yes, I heard from Bronya that Otto was seriously injured in the attack, and some people even seem to have seen his body!"

"I just checked, and it seems that Durandal is indeed currently in charge of Schicksal Headquarters..."

"Come on, you'd be better off Mei Otto come back on Crazy Thursday and give you fifty dollars."

Xia Ling's voice drifted softly from under Theresa's desk.

"Wow! Sister Xia Ling, what are you doing crawling under the headmaster's desk?"

Kiana was startled by Xia Ling's sudden appearance.

However, don't misunderstand, Xia Ling wasn't doing anything like replicating a world-famous painting.

She was just bored and simply rummaging through Theresa's closet for comics and snacks.

After all, she had been bullied quite a bit by Theresa these past few days, and it would be a real shame not to get some revenge.

So, it has evolved into the current scenario where someone enters your room, eats your snacks, reads your comics, and then gets a severe beating from Theresa, who can no longer tolerate it, and this cycle repeats itself endlessly.

It is worth mentioning that although she still has one of her five senses, namely taste, which has not yet been restored, Xia Ling has regained her ability to walk and has completely recovered from her wheelchair-bound warrior state.

"I'm consuming Theresa's food reserves to make her work hard." Xia Ling's face was full of righteous indignation.

"Uh... but Sister Xia Ling, you haven't regained your sense of taste yet, have you?"

"That's precisely why we can plunder before they recover. Once their sense of taste is back, who would still want to drink bitter melon juice!"

Xia Ling looked completely at ease.

"In short, given Otto's personality, he's probably fine; he just wanted to slack off, so I put Durandal in for him for a few days."

Xia Ling, unsurprised, said, "If you ask me why I'm so sure, it's because recently on the Kallen Fantasy rankings..."

"Someone surpassed Grandfather?"

Theresa asked curiously, after all, it was Cecilia had done such a feat last time.

"No, anyone who dares to surpass him, even a random player, will have their account banned within a week." Xia Ling shook her head. "I mean, the record he set himself was broken by himself."

"Ah... never mind, let's not talk about this."

Theresa tidied up the report in her hand and looked at Kiana.

"Kiana, I've already read the application you submitted to me before."

"Then... will it pass?"

Kiana's face was full of anticipation.

"Of course you can. It's rare that you're going out not to fight the Herrscher, but to search for treasure in Mount Tai Xu. How could I possibly disagree?"

Theresa laughed and said, "Perfect timing. Bronya's training has recently come to an end, and Xia Ling's health has almost recovered. The three of you can go to Mount Tai Xu together and have a happy vacation."

"What treasure hunt vacation? I'm going to Mount Tai Xu to find something left behind by the Class President..." Kiana said helplessly. "Even without any battles, this shouldn't be considered a vacation. If I had to say, it would be... archaeology?"

"Whether it's archaeology or a vacation, take advantage of this rare period of peace and quiet and get some rest."

"After all..."

Theresa sighed slightly. Ain had already begun investigating the list that Theresia had left behind when she hacked into the database.

This investigation... uncovered quite a lot.

"Kevin... in a place like this? Sigh, he really has no taste."

Looking at the endless yellow sand, Sirin stood on a fairly spacious open space and squatted down slightly.

"It really is underground... but are there so few people in this base?"

Sirin Shi asked himself this question.

"It seems we'll have to make a scene to get Kevin out of here."

Meanwhile, the Raven that were dozing in the base were soon awakened by the alarm.

Looking at the video feed from the operator, Raven scratched his head in confusion.

"This is... Fu Hua? What's she doing here? And why did she start attacking the base's automated mechs without warning?"

"Lady Raven, to be precise, there was no disagreement; she took action directly."

"Uh... never mind, it's not important."

Raven was a little speechless, but still immediately ordered, "Put all the mechs away and turn off the defense systems. You can't stop an enemy of this level anyway, so don't waste your money."

"So, we'll just let her run around the base freely?"

"Of course, just make sure you don't run into her. This base is so big, let her wander around slowly. I'll go find the Honored Master and ask how to handle this."

The Raven picked up the communicator and quickly disappeared.

"Hey... the people at this base are pretty sensible."

Sirin strolled through the base, her eyes slightly narrowed, as a vast amount of spiritual energy spread outwards along her senses, searching for a path for her.

Of course, it wouldn't hurt to ask any living person for directions, but since they've already opened all the doors for her, wouldn't asking for directions make her look like she has no sense of direction? Sirin would never do such a thing.

So, using his mental energy as a map, Sirin made his way down the winding road.

However, she didn't walk for long. Soon, she discovered that Kevin's spiritual energy was beginning to move towards her location.

"Your subordinates are quite interesting and sensible, unlike you, who are like a block of wood."

Inside the base, Kevin quickly found Sirin, and the two chatted casually as they walked out.

"She is very useful, in every way."

Recalling the group of children bearing Stigmata that Raven adopted and his two powerful companions, Kevin gave a fair assessment.

"Really? It's rare to hear you praise someone."

Kevin stopped walking, but Sirin continued walking forward, completely unaware of what was happening.

"Who are you?"

"Hmm?" Sirin stopped in her tracks, a look of confusion on her face.

"I am Hua, your old friend."

"... Hua never calls me a friend."

"Oh..." A few strands of embarrassment appeared on Sirin's face, along with a barely perceptible... sense of helplessness.

"To be honest, I died once before, when Otto shot me in the head. I've just woken up and there are still a lot of things I don't understand."

"We fought side by side 50,000 years ago, so I think we should be friends."

"You and Hua have very different feelings."

"Right, I think so too." Sirin's expression became somewhat relieved. "Looking back, I often think, ah, why did I make things like that back then?"

"Anyway, think of it this way, Kevin: you can see me as a better version of myself than I used to be."

Kevin paused for a moment, then drew his Skyfire Greatsword.

"Friend or foe, the choice is yours."

"Ha." Sirin's voice was eager to try. "As expected of my friend, you really understand me."

"It just so happens that I've just recovered and I'm itching to get my hands dirty."

Chapter Fifty-Four: Fu Hua, a type of wood unique to Mount Tai Xu

Sirin lay comfortably on a huge rock wall, humming an unknown tune. She called this behavior "recharging her energy."

She did need to take a break, after all, she had just fought the strongest warrior of the Previous Civilization not long ago. Regardless of the outcome, at least she had achieved her goal.

"Aren't you going to fight anymore?"

"Okay, that's settled then."

Kevin sheathed his greatsword, and the area around them had become a desolate wasteland.

"Sigh, as expected of you, it's really not easy to find your weakness." Sirin sighed. Although she didn't want to admit it, she was probably indeed a little inferior to Kevin.

Well, it's probably gone from a 50/50 split to 4.9 to 5.1, since Kevin has Heavenly Fire, while his own Feather Dust is ineffective against him.

Sirin thought confidently.

"What, do you still want to continue?"

"No, no, I'm not a martial arts fanatic, this is fine." Sirin quickly shook her head. "How about that, now you believe that I am Hua, right?"

Kevin gave a meaningful look, and after a moment of silence, he raised his right hand and placed it on his heart.

"?" Sirin looked puzzled.

"Yes, you are here; Yi Lin Yi Qi? "is (five) Jiu Si IXVIII.

Kevin stretched out his hand, and a feather floated in his palm—one of the thousands of feathers of Feather Dust.

"I'm giving her back to you, Hua."

Kevin said in a low voice, and the feathers floated gently toward Sirin as he spoke.

"Haha, I haven't even said I came for this feather yet, and you guessed pretty accurately." Sirin grabbed the feather. "Thank you."

Where are you going next?

"I don't know, I haven't thought about it yet, but I have plenty of time."

"I have to repay kindness, avenge wrongs, take care of a bunch of partners, and deal with the Honkai... Now is the only time I can rest."

"Who knows, we might have the chance to fight side by side again in the future, old friend."

Kevin found Sirin's words quite interesting.

"Are you coming to the World Serpent? Perhaps, you might even see..."

"I would be honored to decline. I have no desire to be your subordinate. My mind is still a complete mess. After all, Otto shot me in the head, and I don't remember anything after that."

"You can ask me about the feather I gave you, and she will tell you."

"Okay, I will. Sigh, I still have a ton of things to deal with... Old friend, please don't die."

After saying goodbye to Kevin, Sirin came here. After resting for a few hours, she seemed to suddenly remember something and took out the feather.

"Hmm... why isn't there any reaction? Oh, Kevin sealed this feather."

Honkai Energy gathered in his hand and then surged into the feather.