Theresa, torn by inner conflict, was naturally even easier for Otto to persuade...
While Otto was busy sweet-talking... persuading Theresa, the teaching of Tai Xu Sword Qi proceeded in an orderly fashion in the virtual laboratory on the other side.
"Tai Xu Sword Qi was created by the legendary Immortal Crimson Kite of the Divine Land. It contains the five essences of Heart, Form, Intent, Soul, and Spirit, and is a martial art that has been highly refined and specialized for true qi.
"What I just demonstrated for you was the Form Essence. A renowned martial artist once praised it as 'one art encompassing all.'
"As for Soul Essence, it is the essence of swordsmanship. Once comprehended, one may wield any weapon in the world as though wielding a sword, no longer bound by the form of a blade. Only upon reaching that realm can one be said to have mastered swordsmanship.
"Unfortunately, I cannot teach you that. You can only comprehend it yourself."
After personally testing Gwen's abilities in the virtual training room and gaining a more detailed understanding of him, Fu Hua did not immediately launch into complicated theories. Instead, she first taught him the moves of Form Essence—
Based on Fu Hua's understanding of the Caslana family over the years, learning these would be far easier for him than understanding those obscure and difficult theories.
Cognition and Choice
After listening to Fu Hua's explanation, Gwen—who, given his current identity, ought to know nothing about Divine Land martial arts and whose real understanding was limited to the few wuxia novels he had read—pondered for a moment before asking:
"So Soul Essence needs to be learned from Form Essence, or rather... comprehended through it?"
"To a certain extent, that is not wrong..."
Fu Hua nodded lightly at his words, approval appearing on her face. However, she immediately added,
"Yet in theory, Form Essence is merely a necessary condition for attaining Soul Essence. There is no need to become fixated on it. Forcing yourself to pursue it would only spoil things.
"Go with the flow, and perhaps you will comprehend it when you least expect it—
"A ray of morning sunlight at dawn,
"A breeze upon your journey...
"Everything between heaven and earth may become your aid."
"...
"I understand..."
A hint of surprise appeared on Gwen's face as he slowly nodded, accepting Fu Hua's explanation.
Although hearing such mystical words in the world of Honkai Impact 3rd made Gwen feel as though the genre had gone slightly off the rails, it was not so difficult to accept when they came from Fu Hua.
Seeing that Gwen remained calm and mentally stable, Fu Hua quietly nodded to herself. A sharp, enterprising spirit was certainly good, but for someone cultivating Tai Xu Sword Qi, a placid temperament like water was more suitable.
However, the calmness Fu Hua saw was merely because Gwen did not place overly high expectations on this matter—
In Gwen's impression, whether it was Cheng Lixue from more than a decade ago or the Seven Swords of Tai Xu from five hundred years ago, they had all been unparalleled geniuses who studied diligently and trained bitterly from childhood before mastering Tai Xu Sword Qi.
Although Gwen had reached the current A-rank level in just over a short period through the system and his own sweat and effort, he did not therefore consider himself some once-in-a-generation genius—
Though he had once been the kind of child parents used as an example when he was young, after reaching adulthood, Gwen had only barely gotten into a provincial key university. At best, he was moderately gifted, still far from those truly peerless geniuses.
Even if the common novel trope of his soul fusing or evolving during his transmigration had happened to him, Gwen estimated that he was still quite a distance away from being such an extraordinary genius.
With such clear self-awareness, Gwen did not hold excessively high hopes of easily mastering Tai Xu Sword Qi, and naturally would not get hung up over it.
Of course, beyond that, the system was the most important reason Gwen could remain so composed—
If Gwen had transmigrated without any advantage, then this martial art, which could improve the human body's capacity to bear Honkai Energy, would have been one of his few lifelines.
But to Gwen, who possessed the system, Tai Xu Sword Qi did not hold such irreplaceable importance.
Besides, many things truly could not be achieved through effort alone—
For example, mathematics and physics. If you did not know them, then you simply did not know them; staring at a problem for an entire day would not make you solve it.
Compared to obsessing over Tai Xu Sword Qi, which demanded immense talent and which he did not know whether he could learn, figuring out where points came from and then working hard to earn points to strengthen himself was clearly the most suitable choice for Gwen.
With the mindset of "if I gain it, I am fortunate; if I lose it, it is fate," Gwen's emotions naturally remained very stable.
Of course, not being obsessed with it did not mean Gwen would simply give up—
Even if his talent was insufficient and he could not learn things requiring comprehension, such as Heart Resonance, Soul Essence, and Spirit Resonance, Gwen would still devote himself to practicing Form Essence, which could theoretically yield results through diligent study and hard training.
After all, it was the martial art created by Fu Hua... the Scarlet Mandarin Immortal, after summarizing Divine Land martial arts. It was praised as "one art encompassing all," practically the Honkai world's general outline of all martial arts.
As for Intent Resonance...
"Next is Intent Resonance. It requires the Xuanyuan Sword—namely, the Key of Domination—to be mastered.
"As long as the user and the Xuanyuan Sword are of one mind, sword intent will naturally take form.
"According to the analysis of generations of elders in my family, Intent Resonance is fundamentally unrelated to the other four essences and is not truly a martial art. It is more like the Xuanyuan Sword's own ability—
"Once it resonates with its wielder, the Xuanyuan Sword gathers energy and changes shape into the form most suited to its user."
Fu Hua adjusted her phrasing according to the identity in her files and explained the nature of Intent Resonance to Gwen.
"Then what exactly does this so-called resonance mean?"
After hearing Fu Hua's explanation of Intent Resonance, Gwen took out the Xuanyuan Sword he had brought into the virtual training room that morning. Gently stroking the blade of the golden sword, he asked in confusion.
Previously, Gwen had simply taken the "resonance" from his memories to mean the transformation of an ordinary person incapable of using Honkai Energy into a warrior capable of wielding it. Yet merely injecting Honkai Energy into the sword had produced no effect.
"This..."
Fu Hua fell silent for a moment, seeming as though she wanted to say something. Yet after hesitating, she abandoned the explanation and said instead,
"Close your eyes first. Next, I will project the strongest enemy you have ever faced here. Use the Xuanyuan Sword and fight it with all your strength."
"Ganesha?
"All right, I understand."
Hearing Fu Hua's words, Gwen was somewhat surprised. Then he nodded in agreement and closed his eyes as she had instructed.
A moment later, Gwen felt the ground shake violently as a thunderous crash rang out beside his ears.
Gwen instinctively opened his eyes, only to see a colossal creature land before him amid billowing dust, as though another mountain had been stacked atop this one. It was Ganesha, whom Gwen had encountered only half a month ago.
"Hmph..."
With a soft snort, Gwen did not dare relax in the slightest and instantly entered a combat stance. The Xuanyuan Sword stood before him, Honkai Energy swirling around its blade.
As the Honkai Energy surged, the Xuanyuan Sword in Gwen's hand—originally a double-edged blade two chi and one cun long—rapidly changed shape and lengthened, transforming into the greatsword form Gwen knew best.
"?"
Gwen, who had still been considering how to adjust his tactics to accommodate the Xuanyuan Sword, froze at the sight.
However, before Gwen could carefully examine the Xuanyuan Sword's transformation, the projected Ganesha in the virtual training room moved. Its mountain-like body suddenly leaped into the air, curled into a ball in midair, and smashed fiercely down toward Gwen.
Without time to inspect the changes in the Xuanyuan Sword, Gwen directly raised his blade to meet the enemy. Mount Tai Xu, once filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers, became their battlefield in an instant.
At the control console, Fu Hua watched Gwen's performance and nodded slightly.
"On his first time fighting with the Xuanyuan Sword, he has already achieved its basic transformation. Completely mastering the Xuanyuan Sword should not be difficult for him.
"Moreover, after merely watching me demonstrate Form Essence once, he is already trying to use those moves in battle...
"Though somewhat reckless, it also shows that his foundations are solid and that his talent is exceptional."
Otto: A Truly Peerless Genius!
While Gwen fought the projected Ganesha in the virtual training room, Otto's sweet-talking... persuasion of Theresa on the other side was also nearing its end—
"Phew..."
Letting out what felt like the longest breath of her life, Theresa curled her small body into the sofa, her little face still carrying a trace of bewilderment—
Just now, Theresa had questioned Otto about each and every thing he had done over the years.
After playing the card of humanity's survival, Otto had answered with ease, casting nearly everything he had done as a righteous act for the sake of humanity's continued existence.
Although years of hostility still left Theresa with some lingering doubts, the more distant emotions buried in her heart made her want to believe Otto just like this. Caught between those conflicting feelings, Theresa felt even more exhausted.
"Come, my good granddaughter. Have some bitter melon juice to quench your thirst..."
Otto, who had just stepped away, returned carrying a glass of freshly squeezed bitter melon juice and offered the cup, still faintly cool, to Theresa.
Theresa instinctively wrinkled her little nose. Catching the familiar fresh scent of bitter melon, her eyes immediately lit up. She accepted the freshly squeezed bitter melon juice personally made by the Overseer of Schicksal with both hands, a blissful smile instantly blooming across her face as she sweetly said:
"Thank you, Grandpa..."
As she spoke, Theresa wrapped her little lips around the straw and took a strong sip. The familiar fresh taste of bitter melon flooded her mouth, instantly reviving her tired spirits.
Watching Theresa's adorable appearance, Otto chuckled softly, gently rubbed her little head, and sat down beside her once more.
This time, Theresa was no longer as wary as before. Instead, she naturally leaned against Otto's side, just as she had in the past.
"Little Theresa, is there anything else you want to ask? Why not ask it all at once?"
"Mm..."
Hearing Otto return to business, Theresa, who had nearly melted into the bitter melon juice, instantly came back to herself. She licked the bitter melon juice from the corner of her mouth with her little tongue and tried hard to put on a serious expression.
"Grandpa, is that child Gwen really just a survivor of a Honkai incident?"
Though this question was no longer so important to Theresa after learning the truth of the world, since they had already come this far, she still asked it.
"Of course..."
Otto immediately understood what Theresa was worried about and nodded with a smile.
"Gwen truly was a survivor Bianca and Rita brought back while on a mission. You can verify that with the two of them."
"Then why did you allow the news that he has Caslana blood to spread so widely?"
Hearing Otto mention the two of them, Theresa instantly believed more than half of it. After all, Bianca was not someone who would lie. Still, she continued asking,
"Even if people do not care as much about one's origins now, it could still easily bring that child trouble, couldn't it?
"Or... do you actually intend to use that child for something, Grandpa?"
Although she now wanted nothing to do with Siegfried's affairs, Theresa still asked the latter question for Cecilia's sake—and because it also concerned Gwen's future.
"Ha..."
Under Theresa's sharp gaze, Otto instead let out a relaxed laugh.
As Theresa watched him with slight dissatisfaction, Otto restrained his amusement and slowly asked:
"Theresa, do you still remember the Second Honkai War more than a decade ago?"
"Of course. I will never forget it."
A sorrowful expression appeared on Theresa's little face as she gently nodded.
"In that battle, Schicksal deployed nearly all of its strength. Whether it was well-trained Valkyries or the armies of secular nations, all of them played their proper roles in that disaster.
"Yet the immense sacrifices they made during the Second Honkai War cannot be overlooked.
"If Cecilia had not led others in securing the chance to kill the Second Herrscher on the core battlefield, then that hard-won victory would have become the prelude to humanity's extinction.
"I had no choice but to reconsider our plans for the future. Perhaps in the war against Honkai, what we need is not merely an army, but also geniuses."
Otto emphasized a single word—
"Jemand."
"Jemand?"
"Der Eine!
"A truly peerless genius, a leader on the battlefield, a hero capable of defeating a Herrscher!
"One is enough, just like Cecilia was..."
Otto lowered his voice.
"Gwen is currently the best candidate. He possesses unmatched talent, a sufficiently steady temperament, and is even more adaptable than Bianca.
"The only issue is that he does not like to stand in the spotlight. He prefers to hide his brilliance and only do what must be done by him when the time comes."
Before you continue